Licensing for schools

Playing music at school events and concerts

• Playing and performing music in public at events directly associated with school activities, on or off campus*, including:
  • School concerts, showcases, soirées, talent shows
  • Speech days and graduation ceremonies
  • Religious ceremonies and activities
  • Combined schools events
  • Theatrical productions written by teachers or students (conditions apply – see Theatrical Productions for more information)
  • Fêtes, discos and other social activities primarily for the benefit of the school community
  • Participating on behalf of the school in certain third party events

*where admission fees are charged, profits from ticket sales must go substantially the school or a registered charity.

Playing music in school spaces and facilities

• Playing background music in communal areas of the school
• Playing music as the school bell
• Playing a commercially released film for non-educational purposes, eg. a bus trip or rainy lunchtime (a Roadshow PPL Licence may also be required)
• Using on-hold music on the school telephone system

Is your school putting on a musical or staging a drama production that uses music? You’ll need to know what kinds of productions are covered by the Schools Music Licence and when to go directly to rightsholders for the rights to perform a show.

In Australia there are two types of dramatic use of music in theatrical performances - ‘Dramatic Context’ and ‘Grand Rights’.

Dramatic Context performances use pre-existing songs to tell a dramatic story (i.e. songs that weren’t written specifically for the show in which they are being performed). Dramatic context is defined as the use of musical works: a) in conjunction with a presentation on the live stage that has: (i) a storyline; and (ii) one or more narrators or characters; or b) as a Ballet.

An example would be a show where the storyline and script have been written by a teacher or student, and a variety of pop songs are played or performed throughout the show.

Under the Schools Music Licence, schools are generally covered to put on Dramatic Context performances. However, if you are a secondary school and you are both charging for admission and advertising/promoting the show outside of the school community, you require written approval from APRA AMCOS and some restrictions may apply.

Grand Rights apply to “dramatico-musical works” - dramatic works that include music intentionally written for them (for example, operas, operettas or Broadway musicals such as Cats or Wicked). Staging Grand Rights productions in their full context (with any costumes, characters, staging or choreography that reference the original production), or performing all of the musical works together in the one concert, always requires licensing directly from the rightsholders who control the rights in Australia.

Performing songs from shows

It’s common for schools to want to perform songs from popular musicals and shows, without necessarily staging the performance in its theatrical context. This is covered by the Schools Music Licence.

School event recordings

Recordings of school events and performances, where the audio and the video footage are captured at the same time (or where only the audio is recorded), can be shared in the following ways:

• on the school’s password protected learning management system
• directly with the school community (including parents and carers) via email or an educational app used by the school
• uploaded to the school’s website and official social media channels, including Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and Vimeo (streams may be subject to being taken down or blocked by social media platforms)
• on conferencing platforms such as Zoom
• played at a school event
• with a third party, purely to facilitate the school’s entry to events such as music competitions and festivals

Audio visual productions

Audio visual productions where a school recording of musical work has been paired with footage, or other visual elements, not captured at the same time as the audio, can also be shared in all of the ways above. For example, a recording of the school orchestra is overlaid on some drone footage of the school campus, or a recording of some students singing a popular song accompanies a montage of photos from the school camp.

If a commercially available sound recording has been used in an audio visual production, it can also be shared in the ways listed above, except on the school’s social media channels. Additional permission will be required for this (see below When do I need further permissions?)

This flow chart explains how school event recordings and audio visual productions can be shared online under the licence, depending on how the music is captured and whether commercial sound recordings have been used.

All recordings and audio visual content must display this notice: ‘This recording has been made under a licence from AMCOS and ARIA for school purposes only’.

School event recordings and audio visual productions can be sold for a cost recovery price to members of the school community, for their own private and domestic use. They may also be sold to another school for no more than the direct cost of copying the recording.

The Schools Music Licence covers schools to make physical and digital copies of print music owned by the school, or a member of staff, for school purposes. Digital copies can be saved and shared with students and staff on the school’s password protected learning management system.

Copies can also be shared with members of the school community who are assisting students with their learning, or who are attending a school event.

The number of copies that can be made from any one original is limited to the number reasonably required for the school’s purpose.

The following information should be included on each physical copy and, where practicable, accompany digital files when they are shared:

• the words "AMCOS licensed copy";
• the name of the Participating School;
• the date copied; and
• the details of the owner of the original (school or staff member)

Making an exact transcription or transposition of original print music owned by the school or a member of staff is also permitted under the licence. For example, writing out the melody line or lyrics, changing the key of a song to suit the range of a student’s voice, or writing out a band part to be played on another instrument.

If the primary purpose is to advertise or promote the school outside of the school community (including for recruitment purposes) or to advertise or promote any third party (including the business, organisation, product, or service of a member of the school community), the use of music will not be covered by the Schools Music Licence.

Examples

• the marketing department is making a video and wants to use it to show to prospective parents to attract new enrolments
• the school has made a video of one of its recent concerts and wants to include the logo of a local business at the end of the recording

If you want to write out an arrangement of a song/work that involves adapting the original to be something new – including changes in harmonic structure, chord progressions, melody or lyrics – you will need permission from the copyright owner (usually a music publisher).

Example

• a teacher wants to write an arrangement of a pop song for the school choir to sing, with a few extra harmonies for the lower voices and some new string parts

Copying sheet music for the purpose of a student learning an instrument in private lessons/tuition is not covered by the Schools Music Licence and requires permission from the copyright owner. This applies even where the lessons occur in school time, on school premises, and/or are delivered by a member of staff, and where the original is owned by the school.

Instrumental teachers can refer to our Guide to Music Copyright for Instrumental Teachers (PDF 3MB) for more information.

Example

• a visiting tutor wants to make a copy of one piece in a book of solo works for violin so a student doesn’t need to buy the whole book

As covered under the Theatrical Productions section above, staging pre-existing musicals is not covered by the Schools Music Licence.

Example

• the Year 6 class wants to put on a production of The Lion King, with all the musical numbers and original storyline. The costumes will be made by students and parents, but will look similar to the original characters.

Some school videos can be shared on social media under the Schools Music Licence (so long as they are not for promotional or commercial purposes) – for example, a video of a school event or a video montage overlaid with a recording of students performing a song.

However, where a commercially available sound recording has been paired with video footage that was captured separately, or with any other unrelated visuals (such as a photo montage or animation), the Schools Music Licence does not cover you to share that video on social media.

Examples

• drone footage of the school campus has been paired with the original recording of a professional choir singing a choral work
• footage from a recent school camp is paired with a popular song, and the sound recording of that song has been added separately in post-production

The Schools Music Licence does not cover the use of music when school facilities and spaces are used by third parties for non-school purposes or are used for a commercial purpose.

External performers and educators playing music at school

The Schools Music licence does not cover the use of music when school facilities and spaces are used by third parties for non-school purposes.

Examples might include:

• a concert promoter or professional theatre company putting on a show in the school auditorium
• a fitness instructor charging students to attend programs run in the school gym after school
• a local ballet school holding classes in the school hall
• a community music group using the school hall for its rehearsals
• a third party provider running a childcare centre or fitness centre at school

In these situations, the person, business or organisation using the facilities should have a OneMusic Australia licence in place, or an agreement directly with the copyright holder, to cover their music use.

Visiting musicians, performers and educators are covered by the Schools Music Licence to play music when:
a) it is for the benefit of the school community only, and
b) any proceeds of ticket sales/participation fees go to the school (or a registered charity associated with the school)

School facilities used for commercial purposes

If your school is operating facilities on a commercial basis, any related music use will not be covered by the Schools Music Licence, and you will need to take out a OneMusic Australia licence to legally play music in those areas.

Here are some examples of what would be considered ‘commercial’:

• a school gym or swimming pool that is open to the general public
• parents paying for access to fitness classes provided by the school
• a social club where attendees pay a membership/entry fee
• a school childcare centre that is open to children not enrolled at the school, or which operates during weekends or during vacations