Reform APRA                  

I'm a novice when it comes to the rights of music, so don't act on any of this information. I urge you to check things out for yourself and learn about your rights with your music.

What is APRA ?Australian copyright law makes the composer of a song the exclusive owner of that song and APRA collects royalties on behalf of that owner. APRA is a non-profit organization that has a monopoly on royalty collection in Australia and New Zealand.

What is Creative Commons ? Creative Commons helps you publish your work online while letting others know exactly what they can and can't do with your work. Many free hosting services are available to artists that use a creative commons license. CC Australia link cc Australia mysapce link , creative commons explanation video. link

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What is a direct license. a relatively new model in which the publisher/artist represents their own interests and/or those of writers under contract to them.

Thoughts.

Both the use of creative commons and the possibility of direct licensing are not possible as an APRA member. As a member of ASCAP (rights organisation in the US) both these possibilities are available, if the rights have not been assigned elsewhere exclusively. This puts major limitations on APRA members and increases costs to Australian consumers & venues. Putting your contents price at the same price as Bob Dylans work, does not make much sense for the self publishing artist, not performing content owned by major publishers in her/his repertoire.

From a competitive point of view, the APRA business model puts the power of your music in the traditional form of publishing. In recent years the two largest publishers in the world have become one. The effect of this is that in some countries more than 80 percent of the popular music charts are controlled by Sony.

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What is the problem ? Currently as a member of APRA your unable to use a Creative Commons "cc" license or license your works and remain within the terms and conditions that you agree to when you join. APRA define the conditions for use of its members rights. If your works are with the equivalent organisation in the US, you can put a cc license on your works. 

How can the APRA constitution be changed ? The Association's constitution can be changed by the membership in a vote on a special resolution if it is passed by 75% of the voting members. APRA constitution

Other thoughts. APRA has had the same system in place since 1926, but in 1926 the internet was not here and it was not possible for people to publish music without a publisher; it is even possible that at that time most of APRA's artist members were signed with publishers. If APRA had a one-member one-vote system in place, independent artists would be better represented. APRA does not have one independent/self publishing artist on the board. Well over 75 percent of APRA members are totally independent/self publishing artists, this means that they don't have their own publishing company nor are they signed with any other publishing company.