How do I search for a work?
In Search, choose the 'works only' option.
Enter the title of the song or composition in the 'Title' field.
If you know who the writer is, enter the writer's surname only (not their first name) in the 'Writer' field. If you don't know who the writer is, leave it blank.
If you know who the performer is, enter the performer's name in the 'Performer' field. If you don't know who performs the work, leave it blank.
You can't search by writer alone. Performer or title is required.
I have purchased a ticket but unfortunately can no longer attend. Can I get a refund?
Refunds will be issued until 17 February 2023. Any cancellations after this date will not be issued a refund. Please see the Event Details page for info about tickets & refunds.
Can you accommodate my dietary requirements?
Yes! You will have the opportunity to indicate dietary requirements or allergies when you purchase your ticket.
Can I bring my own instruments/equipment?
Yes! We encourage attendees to bring their own instruments or equipment so they can make the most of their songwriting sessions.
A band is performing my songs. Can they do this without my permission?
Yes, in most cases they can.
The venue in which the band plays must hold a OneMusic licence if they will be playing our members' music. It's not the band's responsibility to obtain a licence to play. A OneMusic licence gives the venue a blanket licence to authorise the performance of all OneMusic Australia’s music (which is the vast majority of commercially available music from around the world).
How do I copyright and register my works?
Copyright and registration are two separate things.
Copyright is free and automatic.
That's right—you don’t have to do anything to ‘get’ copyright; it's there from the moment you write down or record the song. So as soon as you create a new song or piece of music, you have copyright in it.
Register works with APRA AMCOS.
To ensure you receive royalties when your work is played or performed, you must register your songs and compositions through the Writer Portal or App.
How do I copyright my songs?
Good news! Copyright for your original music is free and automatic as soon as it's written down or recorded in some way. APRA AMCOS acts as a link between those who create and own this copyright material, and those who want to use it.
How do I join my band up to APRA AMCOS?
The copyright in a song is owned by the individual who wrote the song. For this reason, only individual songwriters can join APRA AMCOS. A band cannot sign up as a single entity. If all of your band members write songs or collaborate to write songs, then all band members can individually join APRA AMCOS as members.
If you are in a band, when you complete your APRA AMCOS membership application, make sure you tell us your band/performer name.
When registering works that have been co-written, you'll need to tell us the names of the other writers and the ownership percentage splits for each of the writers. It's important that all songwriters within the band agree on the percentage splits for each work before registering the work with APRA AMCOS, otherwise this can lead to problems down the track when royalties may become payable for that work.
Each song co-written by the band only needs to be registered with APRA AMCOS once. The band should agree on who will take responsibility for registering each work and providing the songwriter and ownership split details. If more than one writer registers the song and there are differences in the details provided, this can make it harder for us to track the use your music and pay royalties correctly.
Only the musical work copyright owners (ie the songwriters and the music publisher if applicable) should be credited in the APRA AMCOS registration.
How do I update my membership details?
Head to the Writer Portal or access the APRA AMCOS for Music Creators app to update personal information like bank account, email, or phone number. Alternatively, you can email [email protected] with your new details.
Some details, such as a change of legal name, can only be amended via email.
I have a dispute with a co-writer over a work. Can APRA AMCOS help me resolve this?
We have a process for handling disputes between members, for example, if you and another writer disagree on the ownership percentage of a work that has been registered with APRA AMCOS. Please contact [email protected] in the first instance.
Our writer services team will contact the member and see if the dispute can be resolved between the parties. In some instances, we might recommend the dispute be referred to the independent third party alternative dispute resolution facilitator, Resolution Pathways. You can find out more about this process on the Resolution Pathways website.
When working with co-writers, it is best to have a clear written agreement that states the nature of your collaboration.
I want to make a CD that includes covers of other people's songs. Do I need a licence? What about if I want to make it available on a digital service?
Yes. You may need to obtain an AMCOS licence if you want to make a recording of a song composed by another writer. Find out more about our Audio Manufacture Licence.
Uploading cover versions to digital service providers like iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify
USA
If you are recording a cover version of a work and wish to make it available on iTunes in the US, you are required to take out a licence with the Harry Fox Agency (AMCOS equivalent in the USA). Go to https://www.harryfox.com/#/license-music and head to their Songfile Mechanical Licensing tool. In cases where the Harry Fox Agency do not represent the work, you may be able to obtain a compulsory licence via RightsFlow – see www.rightsflow.com and head to the Limelight licensing area.
Major digital service providers, including Spotify and Apple Music, are responsible for obtaining licenses directly for the content on their service, so you do not need to obtain a licence in these instances.
Australia
As long as you've first obtained a manufacturing licence from AMCOS, you can supply your recording to a digital service provider (DSP) such as iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify etc. APRA AMCOS licenses DSPs directly, and so royalties for downloads will be collected by APRA AMCOS on behalf of the rights holders.
I'm in a band. How do we split royalties?
Ideally you work it out song by song, as it probably won’t be the same for all songs. You'll need to do this before you register the song with APRA AMCOS.
This is easy, for example, if one person wrote 100% of the lyrics and the other wrote 100% of the music. When you’ve written a song with others, it’s a good idea to have a written agreement that talks about the share of copyright you each take.
Publisher vs AMCOS
AMCOS has reciprocal agreements with other affiliated societies around the globe – meaning you reproduction royalties are collected worldwide.
Some territories overseas require individuals to set themselves up as a Publisher or use a third-party music service to collect 100% of reproduction royalties, but as an AMCOS member you do not need to do this.
If all your songs or compositions are published, your music publisher will collect your reproduction royalties, and there's no reason to join AMCOS. AMCOS is primarily a royalty collection service and does not play the role of a music publisher. Find out what a music publisher does.
What are Performance Reports?
If you play live at pubs, clubs, cafes, or other live music venues in Australia and New Zealand, you can get royalties for these performances by submitting a Performance Report.
Just tell us what songs you've performed in which venues, and you could be paid for playing your original music live. Please make sure you also tell us about any covers you perform so the original songwriters can get paid too.
You can submit your Performance Reports on-the-go via the APRA AMCOS for Music Creators App or in the Writer Portal. Download the app for free from the Apple App store, or from GooglePlay for Android.
What does a Publisher do?
Music publishers nurture and develop songwriters and composers, and take care of the business aspects of their career. Music publishers make an investment - in terms of money, time and experience - in their writers. They exploit the copyright in the music and songs created by their writers in order to make a return on that investment, and to reward the writers for their creative work.
Find out more about music publishing.
What does APRA AMCOS do?
APRA AMCOS grants licences for the live performance, broadcast, communication, public playing or reproduction of its members’ musical works. APRA AMCOS then distributes the licence fees to its 119,000+ songwriter, composer and music publisher members and affiliated societies worldwide.
APRA AMCOS is the trading name of Australasian Performing Right Association Limited (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS).
What is an ISRC and where can I get one?
The International Standard Recording Code (ISRC) is how your sound recordings and music video recordings are recognised wherever and whenever they're played. Adding your ISRCs to your work's registration details makes it easier for us to get you royalties quickly and accurately. However, an ISRC is not a compulsory requirement for an APRA work registration.
APRA AMCOS does not issue ISRCs, ARIA does. To find out more or apply for an ISRC, please email [email protected] or visit the ARIA website.
What's OneMusic?
OneMusic Australia is an APRA AMCOS and Phonographic Performance Company of Australia Ltd (PPCA) joint licensing initiative launched 1 July 2019.
In Australia music creators generally authorise two organisations to administer their rights. APRA AMCOS (composers and music publishers) and PPCA (recording artists and record labels).
OneMusic Australia offers joint public performance licences so there's no longer any need for separate licence agreements and invoices from PPCA and APRA AMCOS. OneMusic Australia allows businesses to meet copyright obligations for the public performance of musical works and sound recordings more seamlessly.
When do I get paid royalties?
APRA pays domestic royalties every three months and processes overseas royalties monthly.
AMCOS processes royalties quarterly—within 60 days of the end of each calendar quarter, usually just before the 60th day. All amounts over $10 are paid.
Where does the money from licences go?
For every dollar we collect, about 85 cents goes straight back to songwriters, composers and publishers as royalties. The remainder is used to administer these royalties.
As a music rights management organisation, after costs are covered the rest of the money is distributed (paid) to music creators. Our expense-to-revenue ratio compares very favourably to affiliated organisations providing the same service overseas.
Who can join AMCOS?
Joining AMCOS is separate from joining APRA. You may want to join AMCOS if you have unpublished works released on a recording for sale to the public or reproduced in a production music recording. You can join AMCOS if:
Who can join APRA?
If you write or compose your own songs, you may be eligible to join APRA. You'll also need to match one or more of the following criteria:
You can't join if you're a member of an overseas Performing Rights Organisation. If you're in a band, only the members who write or compose music need to join.
Who can join as a publisher?
If you're a music publishing company who represents other writers’ catalogues, you can apply to be a publisher member.
Who runs APRA AMCOS?
APRA AMCOS isn't a government body. We're a music rights management organisation run by an executive management team in liaison with a non-exective board of directors. Individual writer members and representatives of publisher members are elected to the board by their respective memberships for renewable three-year terms.