OneMusic
I have been working with the Australian Hospitality, Retail and Fitness Industries since 1992. By that “working with” I mean on their behalf when I am meeting with executives at APRA/AMCOS and PPCA/ARIA to raise awareness around the confusion of how and who to pay Public Performance fees.
While we are on the subject, when meeting with record company executives I have always supported music artists (great and small) for receiving real royalty payments for the Public Performance use of their music and the Reproduction rights they deserve and should be paid.
It almost seems as though the music industry is trying to confuse everyone with different licenses for the simple act of playing music but there actually is some form of logic to it.
When a company that is a music provider copies music they pay a Reproduction fee to do so and they make money from copying the music as they provide this music for a subscription fee to other companies that want to play the music. Companies that want to play the music pay Public Performance fees to do so and make money because the music they are playing make people feel good and want to stay longer in their establishment spending more money…and so it goes!
The companies I am talking about that want to play music are the Hospitality, Retail and Fitness industries. They pay a Public Performance fee to APRA (to pay writers/composers) and another one to PPCA (to pay the artists/record companies). Both of these fees are calculated very differently and weirdly. They are calculated by how many TVs you have, the size of the screens, the cost of meals, the size of the establishment…etc!
Thankfully APRA and PPCA have realised how confusing this might be and have come together as a joint venture called OneMusic Australia – due to launch late this year.
This will mean just ONE streamlined Public Performance fee to pay and they claim will save money and confusion!
Anyone can give their input before implementation of the new scheme goes ahead by going to their web site to download the consultation document for your relevant industry type.
I would also suggest signing up to their updates to stay informed about the changes ahead.
LINK > http://apraamcos.us8.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=a2970fd6a91f272ac173b5b92&id=5e7fd3adee
On a side note, If you don’t have an APRA and PPCA licence and you play music in your business and commercial environment, you may be fined. For each offence, individuals can legally be fined up to $60,500 and given up to five years’ imprisonment. Companies playing recorded music without the requisite licences can face fines of more than $300,000.