Retrospective Royalties
How do I get paid for a past performance?
If you’re a new member, you can only claim royalties for past performances of live shows or live streamed performances for up to twelve months prior to the date you joined.
What if I’m an existing member?
An existing member can claim royalties for past performances of live shows, live streamed performances and/or performances on radio, television or a Video On Demand service, for up to three years after the performance date.
This is provided those performance occurred while you were a member (or within a 12-month period before you became a member).
What evidence do I need to provide?
If the performance was in the last 12 months, just submit your Performance Report. No additional evidence is required.
If the performance was over 12 months ago, supportive evidence is also required to be submitted. This can include ticket stubs, advertisements, flyers, screenshots from social media promoting the show, a letter signed by the venue owner/booker confirming the performances took place or posters.
Invoices are not accepted as evidence unless accompanied by other forms of evidence.
How do I submit this?
Log into the Member Portal or your App to submit your Performance Reports.
Frequently asked questions
How do I copyright and register my works?
Copyright and registration are two separate things.
Copyright is free and automatic.
That's right—you don’t have to do anything to ‘get’ copyright; it's there from the moment you write down or record the song. So as soon as you create a new song or piece of music, you have copyright in it.
Register works with APRA AMCOS.
To ensure you receive royalties when your work is played or performed, you must register your songs and compositions through the Writer Portal or App.
Will AMCOS collect my mechanical royalties retrospectively?
It depends on when the release was and whether there was a mechanical licence taken out by the third party administering the reproductions.
Eg: if you released a CD album last year through Universal Music, you're unpublished and weren't an AMCOS member at the time, it’s likely a mechanical licence was issued for this release. Send us an email with the details and we'll investigate for you.
If you’re not sure about your specific situation get in touch and we can advise you.
I missed out on submitting my Performance Reports for a previous year, can I still get paid for these performances?
The standard claim period for Performance Reports is limited to one year from the date of the performance. It may be extended to up to three years from the date of the performance, where additional evidence (e.g: copies of material advertising the performance, ticket, posters and letters from the venue) is provided in support of the claim.
The extended three-year retrospective claim period is not open to new members. A new member may only claim retrospective performances for the 12 months immediately preceding their date of application.
The App and Writer Portal automatically sets the performance dates you are eligible to claim.
