What are the differences between a PPCA and a APRA licence?

There are at least two (2) copyrights in any recording:

(i)  The copyright in the song, being the composition and/or lyrics (i.e. the “musical work” in copyright language).  APRA grants licences for the broadcast and public performance rights in the musical work and distributes licence fee income to songwriters and their publishers.

(ii)  The copyright in the recorded version of the musical work.  PPCA grants licences for the broadcast and public performance of recordings and distributes licence fee income to record labels and directly to registered Australian recording artists.

The practical effect of this distinction is that the broadcast or public performance of a recording usually requires two licences – one from APRA and one from PPCA.