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Congratulations Boy & Bear
29th of November 2011
PPCA were proud to sponsor the Breakthrough Artist – Single and Breakthrough Artist – Album categories at the recent 25th anniversary ARIA Awards. Sydney band Boy & Bearwere announced as the winner for both of these awards, presented on 27 November at Allphones Arena in Sydney.
The list of nominees for both Breakthrough Artist awards was very impressive, and it’s great to see so much new Australian talent emerging each year. Previous winners of the Breakthrough Artist Award include Missy Higgins (2005), Delta Goodrem (2003), The Living End (1999) and Silverchair (1995), all of whom have gone on to enjoy great success in the Australian music industry.
No doubt Boy & Bear also have a very exciting future in music. The five-piece, formed in 2009, can already boast of some pretty impressive achievements. In 2010, they won Triple J’s Unearthed J Award and have toured with Angus & Julia Stone, Mumford & Sons and Laura Marling.
Sponsoring the Breakthrough Artists awards is a great opportunity for PPCA to demonstrate our support of new Australian artists. We place great importance on being involved in initiatives that help them to develop in the industry.
On behalf of the team at PPCA, I’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate Boy & Bearon their success at the recent ARIA Awards. We look forward to working with all of the nominated artists throughout their careers.
Cheers,
Dan Rosen
CEO, PPCA
The Value of Music
28th of July 2011
People love listening to music. Whether it’s in the car on a long road-trip, on their headphones as they commute to work or even just relaxing around the house, there is no doubt music lifts our mood, affects us on a personal level and ultimately determines how we act or behave.
One place in particular where music has a huge impact on behavioural patterns is in hospitality, especially in restaurants and cafes.
Studies have shown that the style or genre of music that you play has a huge effect on how your business performs by influencing customer behaviour - from creating a comfortable and enticing atmosphere, right through to helping manage table turnover.
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For example, the use of contemporary jazz can create an up-market impression and suggests sophistication, while traditional Italian music can add an air of authenticity to your local pizza restaurant.
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If you’re trying to manage table turnover, it is important to note that people eat and drink in time with music. Music that is up-tempo encourages customers to eat and drink faster, therefore freeing up tables, while slower-paced music will encourage them to sip slowly and stay longer.
At PPCA we understand the important role music plays in determining the success of our customers businesses.
We also understand inherently the time and financial sacrifice Australian artists make to create and deliver this music.
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Therefore PPCA is a strong believer in our customers getting the maximum effect out of playing recorded music in their business, but also feel that the artists who created this music should be fairly rewarded.
At PPCA, we provide blanket licences so that businesses can play almost all copyright protected music from Australia and around the globe, with the net income from these licences being returned to the artists and record labels that produced it.
An example of this is PPCA’s Restaurant/Café licence - a licence which was in review and industry consultation from 2007 – 2009, after which a new tariff was settled upon that better served both our customers and artists.
The new tariff (phased in gradually from 2009 – 2014) better reflects the true value of recorded music being used in restaurants and cafés. Our aim was to make the tariffs fairer for licence holders by accounting for variables such as days of operation, average main meal price, liquor licensing, as well as considering the needs of restaurants and cafés in hotels and motels.
The beauty of a PPCA blanket licence such as this, is that it gives the restaurant or café owner complete control over the music that is played in their venue, allowing the licence holder to create the desired atmosphere and give customers the best possible experience.
The right choice of music is often just as important as great food or quality service when customers decide on their favourite restaurant and at PPCA we hope we can help deliver this music, so that it benefits both our customers and artists.
Regards,
Dan Rosen
CEO, PPCA
View more information about the Restaurant and Cafe Tariff
*Study courtesy of Prof Charles Areni, Univeristy of Sydney – July 2010
A ‘Fair Go’ for Australian Artists – Graeme Connors
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By Graeme Connors, 17th of June 2011
The right to a ‘fair go’ is reportedly what most Australians put at the top of their values list. It is celebrated and appealed to by politicians and commentators as one of our finest collective qualities. In fact a 2006 Morgan Survey showed 91% of Australians believe a ‘fair go’ is the backbone of our society - but is this simply ‘lip service’ - or is it a genuinely held belief?
While you contemplate that question let me put another to you - How many Australian occupations or industries can you identify where the value of an individual’s labour and services or a company’s right to trade their products at market value is restricted by a 42 year old piece of Government legislation placing a ceiling on their earnings?
Let me help you out.
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The answer is: The Australian Recording Artist and The Australian Recorded Music Industry - particularly in relation to the Broadcast of Copyrighted Australian recordings by Commercial Radio and ABC Radio.
Since 1968 a restrictive cap of 1% of the advertising revenue of commercial radio and half of 1 cent per head of population for ABC radio has been enforced by consecutive Governments. The Attorney-Generals speech during the passage of the 1967 Bill establishing the cap read “These limits have been set to allay fears expressed by both the commercial broadcasting stations and the Australian Broadcasting Commission that the payment of royalties for the broadcasting of records could impose a substantial financial burden on them.” From the very outset the legislation was introduced to benefit radio - against the interests of Artists and Recording Companies.
The current High Court challenge brought by the PPCA against CRA and the ABC - like so many legal battles is being fought on technical rather than ethical issues - discussions centre on ‘acquisition of property’ and ‘just terms’ - never a mention of the real elephant in the room – ‘protection of and unfair advantage to’ a $647million+ per annum Commercial Radio Business against a $384million per annum Recorded Music Industry - for anyone without vested interest in maintaining the status quo the inequity is blindingly obvious.
By the way - so you are aware - due to various discounts the current ‘paid through’ rate by commercial broadcasting stations is more like 0.4% of advertising revenue. Add this to shrinking CD sales globally and unprecedented piracy and you have an Australian Recording Industry well and truly in need of a ‘fair go’.
All sorts of threats have been made by spokespersons for CRA regarding possible ramifications should the cap be lifted - personally I’m at the point of – ‘Don’t pay – Don’t play’. Rather than accept this unjust situation why not withhold the right to broadcast Australian music until equitable terms are reached - ‘let commercial radio and the ABC pump out as much music that is not protected by Australian copyright law as they like until the 91% of Australians who do believe in a ‘fair go’ turn off their radios. As a society we get what we deserve – both with our Governments and our Artistic community.
I don’t believe in handouts - I don’t believe in protection - I do believe that a ‘fair go’ is still at the top of the list of Australian values and in time this issue will be resolved in a mutually beneficial way. What I propose is certainly radical but wouldn’t it be good to see it happen sooner rather than later.
Graeme Connors
Read more on the radio cap here
Cap and Rough Trade - Australian Recording Artists are the One per Centers of the Music Business.
by Greg Macainsh, 11 May 2011
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Imagine if the government passed a law that stated that Australian cinemas were not required to pay more than 1% of their annual box office receipts to the makers of Australian films. I think most people would immediately understand the manifest unfairness of this. Investment in local productions would plummet and even the producers of the most spectacularly successful movies would find their returns to be far below those in other countries.
Not that people would stop writing scripts or making low budget opuses –that’s what the creative psyche is born to do. However the drop in level of excellence and quality that comes from inadequate rewards in return for the risk involved would be obvious. In a free market based economy the inhibition on return and the absence of a level playing field when it comes to negotiating such would be laughable in 21st century Australia.
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However the above scenario is not some imaginary hypothesis. Australian recording companies and artists have been living with this draconian inhibition on their creative capital since 1969 in regard to royalties for airplay in this country. Under this, still current law, Australian radio does not have to pay Australian recording artists or their record companies more than 1% of their revenue. The actual figure paid, after discounting, is far less at approximately 0.4%. This is pretty close to world’s worst practice. Songwriters on the other hand don’t have to suffer this indignity when negotiating for their airplay royalties.
Bean counters no doubt salivate at such a one-sided income versus expenses ratio. One of the key ingredients of music radio i.e. Australian recordings, can be obtained at a government regulated, discounted market price – fantastic! A text book buyers’ market. Furthermore it is not as if the creators of Australian music can go anywhere else in their home country to get their works heard on radio at a fair price. The current law covers the whole playing field when it comes to commercial broadcasting and artists and their companies legally cannot withhold their work from broadcast.
Somehow the radio lobby has convinced some politicians that their electorates will be devoid of a local radio station if commercial broadcasters have to pay one cent more for the use of local music on their playlists. For this they should be applauded for achieving what Socrates was executed for: making the weaker argument appear the stronger. All this against a backdrop of continued profit increases for commercial radio. You just know that if Lachlan Murdoch is buying a 50% stake in dmg Radio Australia he’s not backing a sinking ship.
As one former cabinet member confided to me while I was engaged in lobbying in Canberra on the issue: “The music industry has the economically moral high ground on this”. Undoubtedly, but whether any side of politics has the courage and common sense to put principles ahead of petty horse trading of issues and vote to repeal the offending section of the Copyright Act remains to be seen.
I fantasize that one of the independents that currently holds the balance of power at present might refuse to pass any other piece of legislation until section 152(8) was repealed. But then again I’m probably living in the 1970s when conviction and principle were slightly more valued perhaps.
Of course the Australian music business has produced some great successes despite having one hand tied behind it’s back by this inequitable state of affairs. However one wonders just how much more flourishing it could have been if recording companies and artists had been able to invest more in their acts and careers. Undoubtedly there were some great local talents who never made it to Obama’s IPod because the investment returns to justify the R&D just wasn’t there.
I’ve scoured the web looking for a blog where Australian recording artists actually support their right not be able to negotiate freely for the value of their work but haven’t been able to find it. If you do then let me know.
Greg Macainsh
Former PPCA Board member, former APRA Board member and former member of Skyhooks.
Read more on the radio cap here
“Tell them they’re dreaming!”
by Simon Whipp, 10th May, 2011
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The rights holders in records (performers and producers) have a right to be compensated fairly for the exploitation of their work.
The caps on compensation imposed forty years ago were probably not fair at the time, but are certainly not fair forty years down the track. The bodies who pay the compensation for the use of the performers and producers rights are not small struggling businesses, they are profitable radio stations and national radio networks who rely on these records for their businesses to work.
Rights holders have sought to focus the attention of Federal Governments of both political persuasions to this issue for the last ten years to no avail.
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All we are seeking, as is the case with all other copyright owners such as composers and film producers, is that where no agreement can be reached about the value of the rights, then an appropriate value will be determined independently by the Copyright Tribunal.
It is only fair that the true value of the use of the records by these radio stations is acknowledged in the payments made to performers and producers. Radio stations and networks have a right to be profitable and they are. But these profits should not be at the expense of fair compensation to producers and performers for the use of their work.
In the movie, The Castle, the immortal line “Tell them they’re dreaming!” was used with respect to sellers who sought prices too high for what they were selling. Performers and producers have a dream too. That they can be compensated fairly for their work. Radio stations’ fears of increases not warranted by the value of the rights they use are not justified. In the event that rights holders are unreasonable, radio broadcasters have the protection of the Copyright Tribunal to value the rights fairly.
Simon Whipp
Head of Equity Section and Assistant Federal Secretary,
Read more on the radio cap here
The 1% Cap
by Bill Cullen, 9th May 2011
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Here in Australia, there is a bizarre piece of legislation, which was introduced in 1969, that puts an artificial cap on what radio pays to recording artists and copyright owners for the right to broadcast recordings. This cap is set at 1% of radio’s revenues. Due to different rates being set for different formats of radio, the net result is that only 0.4% of revenue is paid to artists and copyright owners. This is a tiny fraction of what is paid in most other developed countries in the world.
Strangely, there is no cap in place on what is paid to songwriters, who get significantly more than recording artists. In other areas recordings are deemed to have at least an equal value to the songs themselves.
Commercial Radio routinely wheels out the same old boring arguments:
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- Increasing the rate will harm poor regional broadcasters who struggle to make any money.
So why is that the vast majority of regional radio stations are owned by companies like Macquarie Bank, ARN & DMG? I think we all know that Macquarie Bank don’t invest in anything that they can’t make a lot of money from.
- Radio Stations help artists and labels sell their products by giving music airtime and promotion.
Commercial radio would not exist without music. Radio is in the business of selling advertising. They play music, because that attracts listeners, which enables them to sell advertising. By their argument, if I wear a t-shirt with a Nike logo emblazoned across the front, Nike should give me that shirt because I am helping to promote their company.
- This argument is all about big multinational record companies being greedy and poor little commercial radio can’t afford it and can’t defend themselves
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PPCA represents the major labels, but also hundreds of independent labels, many of which are artist owned, or are one person operations. Half of all revenue received by the PPCA for Australian recordings is paid directly to Australian artists. Joan Warner (head of CRA) is regularly putting out press releases showing the increases in advertising revenue received by radio. CRA represents commercial radio stations, the vast majority of which are owned by publicly listed companies.
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...It is about artists and copyright owners being able to negotiate on a level playing field.
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We all know how the recording industry has contracted massively over the last decade and in Australia recorded music revenues last year were $384 million, a 14% decline over the previous year. In contrast metropolitan only commercial radio revenues were over $675 million last year, a 7.8% increase. Radio continues to grow, aided by them not having to pay market rates for their content.
This is not about any David and Goliath battle as CRA would let you think. It is about artists and copyright owners being able to negotiate on a level playing field. While there is an anachronistic and antiquated artificial cap in place, we are not able to even fight for a fair market value for our artists’ recordings.
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Bill Cullen
Managing Director, One Louder Entertainment
Director, Association of Artist Managers
Read more on the radio cap here
We Need Change
by Lindy Morrison, 6th May 2011
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I have written many pieces over the years about the inequity imposed on musicians by legislation existing in the Copyright Act 1968 which places a cap on fees paid by commercial radio broadcasters for the use of our recordings.
I have lobbied a variety of politicians across all parties in Canberra over many years, as it makes me furious that musicians most of whom earn so little through their business of producing recordings are subsidising radio.
In 2000, there was a Federal review of intellectual property legislation by what is known as the Ergas committee. They recommended the removal of the cap "to achieve competitive neutrality and remove unnecessary impediments to the functioning of markets on a commercial basis." Basically the legislation disrupts the performance of market mechanisms and allows radio to make profits on a false economy. If left to the market to determine, as happens with the value of songs (not subject to the cap), musicians would be paid commensurate with the real value their recordings give to radio.
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Radio has many arguments against the removal of the cap and I won’t go into depth about all of these right now. Crying poor when they achieve substantial profits every year wears thin.
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...it makes me furious that musicians most of whom earn so little through their business of producing recordings are subsidising radio.
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For now, I will make mention of one interesting point that I understand Commercial Radio Australia (CRA) has made, that is that if the cap is removed so should the voluntary code of conduct between the music industry and radio.
The code requires radio stations that play the most popular music to play 25% Australian music, and there is a sliding scale of local content required by radio stations depending on a station’s use of music, see http://www.aria.com.au/pages/ampcom.htm. For CRA to link the removal of the cap with the removal of the code is very devious. The cap was introduced in 1969 and the quotas in the mid 90’s. Radio broadcaster’s fees to Australian songwriters for the use of their songs have never been capped and CRA has never attempted to tie their fees to local content quotas.
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Commercial radio has always railed quietly behind the scenes about local content required by the voluntary code of conduct. Believe me commercial radio would dump the local content requirements given half the chance. As it is, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) registered a new code last year, which exempts digital commercial radio stations from local music quotas for three years.
Australian songwriters are paid for the use of their songs by radio without a cap placed on the value of the song so why are Australian recording artists singled out for discrimination and why is this allowed by law?
Lindy Morrison
National Welfare Coordinator Support Act Ltd & Artist Representative PPCA Board
Read more on the radio cap here
Let's Remove the Radio Cap
2nd May 2011
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When I joined the PPCA and was given a background on the challenges we face in representing recordings artists and labels, the issue that stood out for me was the 1% legislative cap placed on royalties paid by commercial radio for recorded music.
For the life of me I could not understand why a billion dollar industry like commercial radio needed Government protection from negotiating a fair and commercial royalty rate with Australian artists for the use of their sound recordings.
The cap seemed grossly unfair when I thought about how much commercial radio relies on recorded music to generate revenue for its business. Just think about how long you would listen to your favourite radio station if they were not playing any music!
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I can proudly say that PPCA is doing everything we can to change this ongoing injustice on behalf of Australian artists and record labels. In fact, we feel so strongly about this issue, that we are taking our fight to the High Court of Australia on May 10th.
The current cap states that radio stations need not pay more than 1% of their gross income to artists and labels. Their annual gross income now totals almost $1 billion. The artificial cap means Australian artists and record labels are missing out on millions of dollars each year despite the use of their recorded work driving record revenue and profits for the radio sector.
The cap is a historical anachronism. It was passed into law in 1969 to protect what was then a still developing radio sector. Over 40 years later and this is clearly no longer the case, as commercial radio is now a mature and thriving industry. There remains no current economic, social or legal justification to maintain this artificial cap.
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If we look to other industries, there is no basis for this cap. There is no other copyright in Australia that is the subject of an artificial statutory price. No such limit applies to composers, leaving APRA free to directly negotiate licence fees with commercial radio without any constraints.
The 1% cap is also significantly below the rate applicable in other similar territories around the world including the UK and NZ, which receive up to 4% of radio revenue for the use of their work.
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After 40 years of protection, all we ask is for the chance to negotiate a commercial rate with the radio sector, so that Australian artists and labels are finally fairly rewarded for their music - because at the end of the day, what would commercial radio be without the music of our great Australian artists?
Cheers,
Dan Rosen
CEO, PPCA
Read more on the radio cap here
Aussie Music with President Obama
10th March 2011
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It is with great pride that I read this morning of the gifts that our Prime Minister decided to give President Obama during her visit to the United States – an Australian Rules Football, and an iPod full of Australian recorded music.
The gifts say a lot about how we define ourselves as a nation, and how we would like to be perceived by our international allies.
I love Aussie Rules – been a Collingwood fan my whole life – so it was a real treat to see the Sherrin handballed around in the oval office.
But I was truly proud to know that the President now has the opportunity to listen to some of our best recording artists. The playlist chosen by Prime Minister Gillard contains some of our classic artists (Jimmy Barnes, Midnight Oil, Crowded House), some of the latest crop (Angus and Julia Stone, Bliss n Eso, and Washington) and indigenous artists (Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, Archie Roach, and Dan Sultan). Of course, the playlist is a great taster, but obviously there are many more great Australian artists / recordings worthy of inclusion.
The Prime Minister’s gift shows that Australian recorded music is something we are so proud as a nation that we need to share this with the most powerful person on the planet!
I look forward to hearing stories of President Obama inviting friends round to the Rose Garden to kick the footy around as Barnesy wails in the background ...
Dan
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Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu
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And The Winner Is... Cloud Control
4th March 2011
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Last night I had the pleasure of announcing the winner of the 6th annual Australian Music Prize at the Annandale Hotel – to the band from the Blue Mountains – Cloud Control.
The venue was brimming with excitement as the crowd celebrated the showcase of Australian talent as nominees Pikelet (and later on) The Holidays graced the seminal Annandale stage.
The nine nominees would have all been worthy winners, but ultimately it was Cloud Control and their debut album ‘Bliss Release’ who took the honours and with that a $30,000 cash prize provided by the PPCA.
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Cloud Control certainly delivered a remarkable debut album. My current favourite track is “This Is What I Said”. There is something very authentic and nostalgic about this track; reminds me of the summer that has just passed. Cloud Control could give MGMT or Vampire Weekend a run for their money.
The band is currently on tour at the moment, on their way to Austin for SXSW. Let’s hope the rest of the world quickly catches on to what we already know ... these guys are awesome.
It was also great to see the music industry and fans out in force at the legendary Annandale Hotel. The Annandale is one of those venues where you can feel the history of the great bands that have performed there over the years. Pub rock at its best.
I want to thank Scott B. Murphy and Max White from the Australian Music Prize for supporting our initiative and providing an incredible platform for Australian artists.
And now I am already looking forward to listening to the great Australia albums that will be in contention for the 7th AMP!
Dan
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Welcome to PPCA
4th February 2011
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On behalf of everyone here at PPCA, I would like to welcome you to our very first blog on the new and improved PPCA website. Our PPCA team is working hard to be far more accessible to you - our artists, labels and licensees - and we believe communication is the key. Therefore we have re-vamped our website with concise and easier to access information and have made artist registration faster and simpler than ever before. We have also entered the world of
Facebook and Twitter, ensuring we can get PPCA news out to you as it happens, whilst providing you with an avenue to raise questions and generate discussion.
I hope that this blog will serve much the same purpose. An opportunity for us to talk seriously about a number of key issues, not just PPCA related, but about the Australian Music Industry in general. As a musician myself, I feel passionately about many of the same issues that our artists do and hope to discuss these issues in details within this forum.
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I came on-board here at PPCA in October 2010 and have since been busy familiarising myself with the history of PPCA, the various arms of our organisation and the issues and challenges we face on a daily basis.
However the one thing that struck me most since I walked into the PPCA offices is the passion that the people here have for music and in particular Australian music. The PPCA staff are dedicated to ensuring artists are fairly rewarded for their recordings and ultimately guaranteeing that these artists can continue to make the music that we all enjoy, day in and day out.
It is this passion for music and the artists that create it that serves as the foundation upon which PPCA is based.
I can assure you the life of an artist is not all stadium shows and cocktail parties, it is years of hard-work, support gigs, self-funded recordings with little or no profit margins and an irregular income.
Therefore when studies emerge showing that businesses such as cafés, hotels, hairdressers or fitness centres who play recorded music enhance their customers experience dramatically, PPCA believes that the copyright holder of this music is entitled to be remunerated by that particular business. 
Consequently it is with great pride that PPCA was able to distribute a record amount of $20 million to our registered artists and licensors in 2010.
We were able to achieve this result by ensuring that businesses that benefit from recorded music paid a fair amount for that use. Over 50,000 businesses across the country currently hold a PPCA license to play recorded music in their business, and it is these businesses that ensure Australian artists are rewarded for their years of hard work. And for this we say ‘thank you’, on behalf of all of our registered artists.
Music will continue to be at the core of all we do here at PPCA and I look forward to working with our Registered Artists and Licensors as well as our trusted Licensees, so that we can continue to share and enjoy music together.
Cheers,
Dan
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