At the 2015 APRA Music Awards, Fifa Riccobono was awarded the Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music, in recognition of her 40 year career in the Australian music industry. As the CEO of Albert Music, Fifa was the first female CEO in Australian music history. Fifa's publishing company Viola Jade Music is a current AMPAL member, and Fifa has previously served as an AMPAL board director. Congratulations Fifa!
Draft Industry Code to Combat Online Copyright Infringement released for public comment
The Communications Alliance has released a draft Industry Code to combat online copyright infringement: http://www.commsalliance.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/47570/DR-C653-2015.pdf. The Code is the product of an intensive development process by Internet Service Providers and a broad alliance of Rights Holders from the music, film, television and performing arts industries, following the request by the Federal Government in December 2014. The Code creates a Copyright Notice Scheme through which residential fixed internet users who are alleged to have infringed copyright online will receive an escalating series of infringement notices designed to change their behaviour and steer them toward lawful sources of content. The effectiveness of the Code will be independently evaluated 18 months after its commencement.
The public have 30 days to submit comments on the draft. After that consultation period the code will be finalised and submitted for registration with ACMA, which is the regulator for the communications industry. Comments can be submitted at:
http://www.commsalliance.com.au/Documents/public-comment. The deadline for public comment is 23 March 2015.
CISAC releases 2015 Global Collections Report
The International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) has released its 2015 Global Collections Report.
The Report reveals that total royalties remained stable for the year 2013 at €7.8 billion, with music repertoire accounting for the majority of collections at 87%. Total collections for music repertoire were €6.765 billion, down 0.6% from €6.808 billion in 2012.
More information and the full report are available at: http://www.cisac.org/Newsroom/News-Releases/CISAC-Releases-2015-Global-Collections-Report
US Copyright Office releases music licensing study
The United States Copyright Office has released a comprehensive study of US music licensing arrangements entitled Copyright and the Music Marketplace. The Copyright Office makes a number of recommendations for the US dealing with existing statutory licenses, the role of performing rights organisations, terrestrial performance rights for sound recordings, federal protection for pre-1972 sound recordings, access to music ownership data, and the concerns of songwriters and recording artists. More information and the full report can be found at: http://copyright.gov/docs/musiclicensingstudy/
AMPAL Director Ian James nominated for International Music Industry Award
AMPAL board director Ian James has been nominated for the Music Publisher award at the International Music Industry Awards to be announced at MUSEXPO on 29 April in Los Angeles. Ian is the Managing Director of Mushroom Music Publishing (Australia). For more information see: http://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/137762/musexpo-announces-nominees-for-international-music Congratulations Ian!
The MPA has produced a series of videos on music publishing
The Music Publishers Association in the UK has produced an entertaining and informative series of videos that cover all aspects of publishing, from synchronisation to royalty collection and sheet music, while the final piece discusses the future of music publishing.
The trade body invited prominent figures to contribute, including Nigel Elderton (Peermusic), John Truelove (Truelove Music), Becca Gatrell and Caroline Elleray (Universal Music Publishing), Natasha Baldwin (Imagem), Sarah Osborn (Schott Music) and Jake Gosling (songwriter/producer).The videos are available for viewing on the MPA website: http://www.mpaonline.org.uk/videohomepage
Australian Copyright Council releases 2015 National Seminar Series dates
The Australian Copyright Council has released the dates for its 2015 National Seminar Series around Australia. A range of seminars are offered covering copyright law in the digital age. For more information go to: http://www.copyright.org.au/seminars
2014 Vanda and Young Songwriting Competition winners announced
The winners of the 2014 Vanda and Young Songwriting Competition have been announced, with Husky Gawenda taking out first place, Meg Mac in second place, and David Le'aupepe in third. The Encouragement Award went to Andy Bull.
AMPAL was proud to again sponsor the $10,000 second prize.
The Vanda and Young Songwriting Competition is one of the world’s most prestigious songwriting competitions with a first prize of $50,000. This is the largest first prize for any songwriting competition in the world. The 2014 competition saw 3,400 entries from 1,949 songwriters in 17 separate countries, with $170,000 raised for Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Australia.
More information can be found at http://www.apraamcos.com.au/vandayoungsongcomp/
Congratulations to the winners and thank you to all of the entrants!
US National Music Publishers' Association CEO discusses issues with digital streaming services
In a recent interview with Bloomberg, David Israelite, CEO of the US National Music Publishers' Association, discussed current issues in the US with digital streaming services. Watch the interview here: http://www.bloomberg.com/video/digital-music-streaming-are-songwriters-getting-ripped-off-19A898LbSLK6V8yAMS~G8Q.html
Leading Australian executive Kim Williams AM discusses the importance of music
In a recent interview, leading Australian executive Kim Williams discussed the importance of music in the role of managers, and in life more broadly. Watch the interview here: http://youtu.be/PGQx9FTIxK8
Music Australia Program for 2015
Music Australia has now published its program of events for 2015. The program can be found here: http://musicaustralia.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Music-Australia-Program-2015.pdf.
Music Australia is a fifty member not-for profit national umbrella body representing all aspects of Australian music. It is the only organisation in the country devoted to music in its entirety with activities spanning education, community and the professional industry.
New Director Elected at AMPAL Annual General Meeting
Jaime Gough was elected to the Board of Directors of AMPAL at the AGM on Thursday 13th November. Also re-elected were Matthew Capper, Clive Hodson, Ian James and Damian Trotter. Matthew Capper and Clive Hodson were subsequently reappointed as chair and deputy chair respectively.
Jaime Gough is General Manager at Native Tongue Music Publishing (Australia), an independent music publisher with offices in Melbourne, Auckland, London and Los Angeles. After completing a Bachelor of Business (Marketing) and Bachelor of Business (Management) at Monash University, Jaime started working in the family business as Copyright and Royalties manager from the company’s inception in 2004, before becoming Creative Manager in 2007 where his role evolved to include A&R, Licensing and International catalogue management. Jaime recently spent almost 4 years based in London expanding Native Tongue’s operations in the UK, Europe and US markets. Prior to joining Native Tongue Jaime worked for music licensing company Mana Music and prior to that at Mayday Management representing The Go-Betweens, Mia Dyson, Renee Geyer and David Bridie. Jaime has served on the board for non-profit youth music organization The Push.
Music Talks - limited places still available!
Music Talks Is a new series of talks, seminars, and panels and discussing topical issues in music. They are future focused with many geared to the independent sector. All feature expert presenters and speakers, and each targets a particular professional audience. Panel sessions include a skilled Chair with expert speakers, moderated discussion, and questions from the floor.
Music Copyright – the Artist and the Internet
Our second Music Talks seminar takes a look at Copyright. We are delighted to present Music Copyright – The Artist and the Internet sessions in Brisbane, Melbourne and in Sydney, each presented with local partners.
About the Seminar:
This Q&A/Panel Discussion looks at the latest developments to enhance protection for composers and creators from their content being used on the internet without authority. Our expert panel explains what is happening here and overseas, unpacks the terms involved, and answers your questions. Attend this seminar to understand what a ‘safe harbour’, a ‘takedown notice’ and ‘web blocking’ is, and the copyright issues involved for musicians and music makers.
Brisbane Session
Date: Tuesday 18 November 2014
Time: 6.00 – 8.00pm
Location: River City Labs
Presented By: Music Australia in association with QMusic
Brisbane Panel:
- Chris O’Neill – Panel Chair, National Team Leader – Writer Services APRA AMCOS
- Vanessa Hutley – General Manager, Music Rights Australia, Music Rights Advocate
- Rick Chazan – Manager, GROUNDCONTROL Music Management (AUS)
- Matt McCormick – McCormick Lawyers
This session is free to attend, More information here. Bookings are essential. Register to Attend.
Sydney Session
Date: Wednesday 19th November 2014
Time: 4.00 – 6.00pm
Location: Erskineville Town Hall
Presented By: Music Australia in association with Music NSW
Sydney Panel:
- Michael Smellie – Chair, Music Australia, Panel Chair
- Vanessa Hutley – General Manager, Music Rights Australia
- Lindy Morrison – Artist
- Fiona Phillips – Executive Director, Australian Copyright Council
Tickets to the event talk are $20 with refreshments provided, free to Music Australia members. More information here. Bookings are essential. You can book here.
The Music, The Artist and The Internet - The Latest in Digital Rights
Melbourne Session
Date: Friday 14th November 2014
Time: 2.40 – 3.40pm
Location: The Arts Centre Melbourne, 100 St Kilda Rd
Presented By: Music Australia and Face the Music
This lively discussion brings together users, artists and experts to look at the future of digital music rights in Australia. The Government’s recent Online Infringement discussion paper is a hotbed for discussion for rights advocates and artists who want the right to choose how their music is used, and those who make their living from composition or recorded music. From the latest developments for composers and right holders, to artists wanting to know more about sampling to media and users who want to understand fair dealing, we've got you covered. We'll explore and demystify copyright as our expert panel explain developments here and overseas, unpack the terms involved, and answers your questions.
Melbourne Panel:
- Nicholas Jones – Tone Deaf: Moderator
- Vanessa Hutley – General Manager, Music Rights Australia, Music Rights Advocate
- Frank Rodi – Deputy Director Writer Services, APRA AMCOS
- Ben O'Hara – Head Of Music Business, Box Hill Institute / Business Writer thebiz.com.au
- Artist - To be announced
This session is open to delegates to the Face the Music Conference. Registration is essential. You can register for the conference here.
New UK Exceptions to Copyright
A number of new exceptions to copyright have come into force in the UK over the past few months, most notably for publishers in the areas of education, private copying, and parody. These exceptions are similar to exceptions already in place in Australian Copyright Law.
The UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has issued guidance notes on these changes and how they will affect consumers, educators, creators and rights holders. The notes can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-to-copyright-law.
Certain exceptions only apply if the use of the work is a ‘fair dealing’. There is no statutory definition of fair dealing - it will always be a matter of degree and interpretation in each case. In general though, if the use of a work acts as a substitute for it, causing the owner to lose revenue, then it is not likely to be fair.
National Music Teachers Mentorship Pilot Programme Launched
The Minister for the Arts, Senator George Brandis and the Minister for Education, Christopher Pyne have announced $594,000 in funding for a new national music mentorship programme to bring high quality music mentorship to classroom teachers across Australia.
The National Music Teachers Mentorship Pilot Programme was developed in consultation between the Australian Government, the Australian Youth Orchestra and Mr Richard Gill OAM. It will be hosted by the Australian Youth Orchestra who will utilise their connections within the music and education sectors to deliver the programme.
Commencing in classrooms in February 2015, the programme will run for three years and establish mentoring partnerships between professional music educators and generalist classroom teachers with the goal of enriching music education in primary schools and engaging students in a quality music education.
The positive academic and social impact of a quality school-based arts education has long been recognised with many demonstrated positive impacts, including on academic achievement, school attendance and social cohesion.
The official media release can be found here: http://www.attorneygeneral.gov.au/Mediareleases/Pages/2014/FourthQuarter/20October2014-LaunchOfTheNationalMusicTeachersMentorshipPilotProgramme.aspx
Latest Issue of the CISAC Newsletter
The International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers have initiated a quarterly newsletter. The current edition can be found here: http://www.cisac.org/CisacPortal/consultNewsletterEdition.do?id=5
Get on the Bandwagon
Support Act's crowd funding campaign to raise funds for its important work in supporting music industry professionals in need is proving to be a big success - with some great rewards on offer. Details on Bandwagon can be found here: http://supportact.org.au/bandwagon/
2014 Vanda & Young Songwriting Competition Deadline Extended!
The cut off time for entries for the 2014 Vanda & Young Songwriting Competition – the largest charity songwriting competition in the world – has been extended for a further four weeks and will now close on Friday, 24 October, 2014.
AMPAL is proud to co-sponsor the competition.
The Vanda & Young Songwriting Competition is one of the world’s most prestigious songwriting competitions in the world, supporting talented songwriters whilst raising much needed funds for music therapy that has been proven to help people with developmental disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, Rett Syndrome and Angelman Syndrome and disabilities such as Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, Dyspraxia and Spina Bifida.
The competition is open to songwriters worldwide with each applicant paying an entry fee of A$50.00 per submission with money raised going directly to supporting Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Australia. To date, the Vanda & Young Song Competition has raised over $485,000 for NRMTA over the past three competitions.
Submissions on the Government's Copyright Discussion Paper Released
Attorney General George Brandis
Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull
Submissions to the online copyright infringement discussion paper issued by the Attorney-General, George Brandis, and the Minister for Communications, Malcolm Turnbull, have been made available. The submissions, including the submission made by AMPAL, can be found here: http://www.ag.gov.au/Consultations/Pages/OnlineCopyrightInfringement-PublishingSubmissions.aspx. The original discussion paper paper can be found here: http://www.ag.gov.au/Consultations/Documents/Onlinecopyrightinfringement/FINAL%20-%20Online%20copyright%20infringement%20discussion%20paper%20-%20PDF.PDF
US Music Buness Association Infographic
This interesting infographic has been prepared by the US Music Business Association in association with the US societies HFA, ASCAP and others. It does not exactly mirror the Australian situation.....
