APRA pushes back royalty payment change

Australian collection society APRA is to delay the implementation of its new royalty rate.

The proposed change to the distribution practice was announced in May, whereby songs performed by a support act at major concerts in Australia and New Zealand will be allocated a fixed 20% of APRA royalties from the concert, compared to the headliner’s 80%.

The plans were originally due to be brought into play in November, but have now been pushed back to next June as they had not taken into account “negotiations on guaranteed fees for support acts that were underway prior to the announcement”.

Currently, the split is roughly 66/33 in favour of the headliner, although that can shift in certain situations such as when there are multiple support acts. While the move will bring the territory into alignment with other countries and collecting societies, one artist manager told The Music Network that the changes would mean a “massive difference” in the performance royalties generated by Aussie support acts.

An amendment was approved for a new start date for the changes to the distribution practice for major concerts to be effective for all setlists provided after 1 June 2024

TMN understands that one of the sticking points was Australian pop star’s Tones and I’s upcoming support slot for Pink, produced by Live Nation. Since the activation date for the new split has now been deferred, APRA will apply equal weighting to the tour.

“Following the announcement, discussions continued with members and managers to further understand the implications of the proposed changes,” says an APRA statement. “We’ve taken this feedback on board and acknowledge the proposed November 2023 rollout did not take into consideration negotiations on guaranteed fees for support acts that were underway prior to the announcement.

“At the August APRA board meeting, an amendment was approved for a new start date for the changes to the distribution practice for major concerts to be effective for all setlists provided after 1 June 2024.”

The proposed changes do not apply to music festivals licensed by APRA.

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