Australasian Performing Right Association
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The Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) is a copyright collecting society representing New Zealand and Australian composers, lyricists and music publishers. Its head office is in Sydney, with other offices in Auckland, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. APRA is a member of the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC), which was formed in 1926 and is based in Paris, France. It also presents awards for songwriters and composers in popular and classical music.
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[edit] Brief history
The first Performing right society acting as a copyright collecting society was established during 1850 in France. Co-operation between societies is formalised under the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC), which was formed in 1926 and is based in Paris, France. Each member society is responsible for documenting the ownership of its own members' works and for issuing licences to music users within its territory. Reciprocal agreements exist between societies.
APRA was formed in 1926 and has represented the interests of music copyright holders in Australasia since then. In 1929, radio broadcasters in Sydney and Melbourne offered APRA £7 pounds a week to cover the cost of royalties with music broadcasts limited to 66 hours a week. (1) This arrangement broke down in 1931 with APRA banning the playing of records on air. The Australian Federation of Commercial Broadcasting Stations was formed in that year to sort out problems with royalties and copyright issues and the stations agreed to pay a fixed sum for broadcasting rights.
In 1968, Australian copyright law was changed with the introduction of the Australian Copyright Act. APRA manages the rights of its members under this act. It offers businesses and other organisations a range of licenses to use copyrighted music with APRA monitoring radio and television stations, concert promoters and cinemas in particular. Since 1997, APRA has also represented the Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society representing Australasian music publishers.
As at 2005, APRA has 28,000 members in Australasia and represents the interests of 2 million creators and publishers from elsewhere in the world. It collected $146 million in royalties and distributes $127 million to copyright holders. (3)
[edit] APRA Awards
APRA also runs a number of awards to honour achievements by songwriters including the APRA Awards, the APRA Classical Music Awards and the Screen Awards, all in Australia. In New Zealand, the annual Silver Scroll is awarded by an anonymous judging panel to the year's best-written song on commercial release. Also awarded are the songs receiving the most airplay in New Zealand and overseas for the year.
[edit] APRA Awards (Australia)
The APRA Awards were established in 1982 to honor songwriters and music composers for their efforts. The award categories are:
[edit] Song of the Year
Song of the Year is decided by the votes of APRA members. All eligible songs must be written by an APRA member and released in the preceding calendar year for consideration. The Song of the Year award is considered one of the most prestigious of the APRA awards.
- In 2000 Powderfinger won with their song "Passenger".
- In 2001 Powderfinger won for their song "My Happiness".
- In 2002 Alex Lloyd won for his song "Amazing".
- In 2003 Kasey Chambers won for her song "Not Pretty Enough". (4)
- In 2004 The John Butler Trio won for their song "Zebra".
- In 2005 Missy Higgins won for her song "Scar".
- In 2006 Ben Lee won for his song "Catch My Disease".
[edit] Songwriter of the Year
Songwriter of the Year is voted by APRA's Board of Writer and Publisher Directors rewarding the songwriter who has recorded the most impressive body of work in the previous year.
- In 2000 Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones of Savage Garden were joint winners of this award.
- In 2001 Ella Hooper and Jesse Hooper of Killing Heidi were joint winners of this award.
- In 2002 Kasey Chambers won this award.
- In 2003 Daniel Johns from Silverchair won this award.
- In 2004 Powderfinger won this award.
- In 2005 Jet won this award.
- In 2006 Bernard Fanning won this award.
[edit] The Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music
The Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music' is decided by APRA's Board of Writer and Publisher Directors for a lifetime contribution. The Award is named after Ted Albert whose company Albert Productions put out records by The Easybeats, AC/DC and John Paul Young.
- In 2000 national radio station Triple J won the award.
- In 2001 Charles Fischer won the award.
- In 2002 Barry Chapman won the award.
- In 2003 Angus Young, Malcolm Young and Bon Scott of AC/DC won the award.
- In 2004 Don Burrows, Australian jazz and swing musician, won the award.
- In 2005 promoter Michael Chugg won the award.
- In 2006 Bill Armstrong won the award.
[edit] Breakthrough Songwriter Award
Breakthrough Songwriter Award is decided by APRA's Board of Writer and Publisher Directors for an emerging songwriter or groups of writers. The award category was first introduced by APRA in 2002.
- In 2002 Jennifer Waite and Grant Wallis of Aneki won the inaugral award.
- In 2003 Craig Nicholls from The Vines won the award.
- In 2004 Delta Goodram won the award.
- In 2005 Missy Higgins won the award.
- In 2006 Wolfmother won the award.
[edit] Awards for Most Performed Works
There are a number of awards given for most performed work based on a statistical analysis of APRA's database. These awards include "Most Performed Australian Work of the Year", Most Performed Australian Work Overseas", "Most Performed Foreign Work", "Most Performed Jazz Work", "Most Performed Country Work" and "Most Performed Dance Work".
[edit] APRA - Australian Musical Centre Classical Music Awards
In 2001, APRA joined forces with the Australian Music Centre (AMC) to present awards for Australian classical music. The AMC had been presenting awards for classical music since 1988 although funding cuts meant that no awards were presented between 1993 and 1995. The participation of APRA helped to secure the future of the awards which are the only Australian awards for contemporary Australian classical music. This award has been won by composers including Peter Sculthorpe, Richard Mills, Breton Broadstock and Ross Edwards.
[edit] Screen Music Awards (Australia)
APRA presents award for music used in movies together with the Australian Guild of Screen Composers with the first awards presented in 1992. In the 2004 Awards, Lisa Gerrard won the 2004 International Achievement Award, Elizabeth Drake won the Best Feature Film Score and Iva Davies, Christopher Gordon and Richard Tognetti won the Best Soundtrack Album for Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
[edit] APRA Silver Scroll (New Zealand)
Each year all songwriters with a song on general release that year can enter the Silver Scroll. An anonymous judging panel considers a shortlist of songs awards the Scroll purely on the basis of songwriting.
[edit] Silver Scroll winners
- 2006: Don McGlashan (second award), Bathe in the River
- 2005: Dan Hume, Peter Hume and Jon Hume (Evermore), It's Too Late
- 2004: Malo Luafutu (a.k.a. Scribe) and Peter Wadams (a.k.a. P-Money), Not Many
- 2003: Donald McNulty, Te Awanui Reeder, David Atai, Junior Rikiau and Feleti Strickson-Pua (Nesian Mystik), For the People
- 2002: Che Ness (a.k.a. Che Fu) and Godfrey de Grut, Misty Frequencies
- 2001: Neil Finn, Turn and Run (which he recorded with Sheryl Crow)
- 2000: Chris Knox: My Only Friend
- 1999: Bill Urale (a.k.a. King Kapisi), Reverse Resistance
- 1998: Dave Dobbyn (third award), Beside You
- 1997: Greg Johnson, Liberty
- 1996: Bic Runga, Drive
- 1995: Mary Tierney, Paul Casserly, and Anthony Ioasa (Strawpeople), Sweet Disorder
- 1994: Don McGlashan (The Mutton Birds), Anchor Me
- 1993: Dave Dobbyn (second award), Belle of the Ball
- 1992: Shona Laing (second award), Mercy of Love
- 1991: Rikki Morris, Heartbroke
- 1990: Guy Wishart, Don't Take Me Forgranted
- 1989: Stephen Bell-Booth (second award), Hand It Over
- 1988: Shona Laing, Soviet Snow
- 1987: Dave Dobbyn, You Oughta Be In Love
- 1986: Tony Waine, Abandoned By Love
- 1985: Malcolm Black and Nick Sampson (Netherworld Dancing Toys), For Today
- 1984: Hammond Gamble, Look What Midnight's Done to Me
- 1983: Stephen Bell-Booth, All I Want is You (Note: a different, unrelated song of the same name was later recorded by Irish rock group U2 for the album Rattle & Hum)
- 1982: Stephen Young, I Can't Sing Very Well
- 1981: No award
- 1980: Paul Scheuder, You've Got Me Loving You
- 1979: Sharon O'Neill, 'Face in a Rainbow
- 1978: Steve Allen: Why Do They?
- 1977: Lea Maalfrid, Lavendar Mountain
- 1976: Mike Harvey (second award), All Gone Away
- 1975: John Hanlon (second award), Windsongs
- 1974: John Hanlon, Lovely Lady
- 1973: Ray Columbus (second award) and Mike Harvey, Jangles, Spangles and Banners
- 1972: Stephen Robinson, Lady Wakes Up
- 1971: Corben Simpson, Have You Heard a Man Cry?
- 1970: Wayne Mason (The Fourmyula), Nature
- 1969: David Jordan (second award), Out of Sight, Out of Mind]]
- 1968: David Jordan, I Shall Take My Leave]]
- 1967: Roger Skinner, Let's Think of Something
- 1966: Ray Columbus, I Need You
- 1965: Wayne Kent-Healey, Teardrops
[edit] Airplay awards for New Zealand songs
As the body responsible for paying royalties, APRA is also names the New Zealand songs most played in New Zealand and around the world each year. While the national award is very highly contested, the international airplay award has been monopolised by Neil Finn since Crowded House's Don't Dream It's Over went to number 2 in the USA in 1986.
[edit] Links
- International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC), formed during 1926 in Paris, France.
- Performing Right Society - the reciprical society serving the United Kingdom.
[edit] References
- "Australasian Performing Rights Association Awards" in Ann Atkinson, Lindsay Knight and Margaret McPhee Encyclopedia of the Performing Arts in Australia Allen & Unwin 1996 published on Macquarie.net, 2005
[edit] Footnotes
(1) Macquarie Library, Encyclopedia of Australian Events 1997 Bryce Fraser editor accessed through MacquarieNet
(2) Encyclopedia of Australian Events Op. Cit.
(3) APRA About Us
(4) Undercover News, Kasey Chambers proves Pretty Enough for APRA Award May 20, 2003 [1]
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