APRA AMCOS has called out the Morrison Government for its latest round of proposed copyright reforms, stating that the rights of Australian songwriters, composers and publishers have been “ignored”.
The planned changes announced yesterday are intended to “provide a more flexible and adaptable framework that will better support the needs of Australians to access content in an increasingly digital environment”.
APRA AMCO CEO Dean Ormston has hit back at the Federal Government since the announcement.
“It always seems like music creators and performing artists are the ones continually asked to make concessions to those that use their content, even during the worst crisis to ever hit the music industry,” Ormston said.
“While we will reserve judgment until we have seen the detail of the proposed reforms, we are concerned that they fail to recognise the significant impact COVID-19 has had on local songwriters, composers, music publishers and artists.
"Since 2013, APRA AMCOS has been asking the Government to clarify that the authorisation (secondary liability) provisions of the Copyright Act apply in the online environment just as they do in the physical world, a reform which would allow creators to license the use of their music on emerging digital platforms at fair commercial rates. This reform is a vital next step since the site-blocking legislation of 2015.
“Local songwriters, composers, publishers and artists will continue to have one armed tied behind their back licensing their content until meaningful reform for creators occurs. This request for help has never been more urgent given the influx of multi-territory social media video services, and the overnight move from physical venue music performances to online.
“The last six months have been devastating for local creators, who are all sole traders or small businesses. But despite this, we have led the way in providing significant music users, including the education sector, with permission to use music in new online contexts, while licence fees have been either deferred, discounted or waived entirely.
“The recent announcement by the government fails to recognise these concessions and pursues an argument that users of creators’ content have been denied access to that content over the last six months. We challenge that proposition.
“We agree there are important steps to modernise copyright in Australia, but it really is past time for music creators to be better supported by any proposed reforms.”
It's expected that the Government will release more details of the proposed changes for public consultation later this year.
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