Download - APRA

Meet the PDA winners for 2009
page 14
Redefinition
+
Transformation:
Securing the future
of Australian
Classical Music
page 4
APRA
stomps boots
in Tamworth
page 12
Newsletter of the
Australasian Performing Right
Association
www.apra–amcos.com.au
issue
01
2009

Cover
PDA Winners for 2009
04
Redefinition + Transformation
To the point
Back
Daniel Baker, David Leha,
Melody Eötvös, Laura Jean Englert
and Wally De Backer
Meet the PDA winner’s for 2009
page 20
06
Corporate update
Rock the vote
Front
Abbe May, Katrina Burgoyne
and Paris Wells
Absent
Sean Foran
Redefinition
+
Transformation:
Securing the future
of Australian
Classical Music
page 5
APRA
stomps boots
in Tamworth
page 20
08
10
Your music online: aggregators
Song Stories: “Dream out Loud”
Going Global
Newsletter of the
Australasian Performing Right
Association
www.apra–amcos.com.au
issue
01
2009
12
Apra stomps boots in Tamworth
> Photo: Blue Murder Studios
In the immortal words
of Messers Farriss
and Hutchence,
“are you ready for
a new sensation?”
Matthew is one of Australia’s most prominent
classical composers; often experimenting
with popular music in his orchestral works he
has extended classical repertoire to suit the
modern world. Throughout his career he has
been attached to some of Australia’s most
prestigious ensembles including The Sydney
Symphony, The Sydney Youth Orchestra and
the Queensland Orchestra. In 2002 he was a
featured composer with Musica Viva Australia.
www.hindson.com.au
?What is it you most value about music?
Its mysterious nature - why is it that sound waves
editor’swrap
travelling through the air can move us to tears?
What are you currently working on?
A new ballet for the Birmingham Royal Ballet.
What are you listening to?
Only my ballet at this point in time.
In the great words of Messrs Farriss and Hutchence, “are you ready for a
new sensation?” The first issue of Aprap for 2009, comes to you out of the
What is your favourite film that is about music or is
new APRA|AMCOS offices in Ultimo (p5), featuring a fresh new look, new
it a musical?
features and a new staff writer.
Does Team America count as a musical?
Our newest team member (and roving reporter) Allison Gumbleton made
the trek to Tamworth for this year’s Country Music Festival (p11). Allison
also caught up with Millie Millgate – our Export Music Services Producer
– fresh off the plane from MIDEM, and found out more about the Sounds
Australia initiative and its goal to advance Aussie music product overseas
(p21).
Emerging Australian and New Zealand songwriting sensations - the 2009
Professional Development Award winners are profiled on pages 13 & 24;
jazz artists Aaron Choulai and Way Out West feature in “Going Global”
(p10); and composer Matthew Hindson rounds out the songwriter profiles
in “What’s My Scene” on page 2.
Also in this issue, we explore the world of music in games (p17); find out more about
working with aggregators (p7); and hear from the 2006 Churchill Fellowship recipient,
Genevieve Lacey about the future of Australian classical music (p3).
We really hope you like the new design and, as always, welcome your feedback and
suggestions for content – just send us a note at comms@apra.com.au … we’d love to
hear from you.
Anthea Sarris
>
contents
issue 01
2009
14
16
18
20
22
24
26
Creating opportunities for emerging songwriters
Member News
Screenrap
Game On
Publisher News
A word to the stealing generation
On tour with Millie Millgate
International Notes
NZ News
What’s Happening
what’smyscene?
What is your favourite book/website about music?
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin is an amazing book
whose musical premise binds the whole thing
together.
What is the best live performance you’ve ever been
to, whether you were performing or not?
One of the best recent ones was a performance
by pianist Bernadette Balkus in the 2008 Aurora
Festival. Simply astounding.
What is the quickest piece you have written and
which piece took the longest to write?
I wrote a solo violin piece in two hours once - it
turned out OK. My flute concerto went on over
four years.
Who have been your greatest musical influences?
Inspirational composers who are/were not afraid
to make big, honest statements- Olivier Messiaen,
Ludwig van Beethoven, Peter Sculthorpe, Ross
Edwards, Iannis Xenakis.
What is your most marked characteristic as a
composer?
Using influences and/or techniques of popular
music within a classical context.
Who would you most like to collaborate with and
why?
It would be good to collaborate on a concerto
for the phenomenal Australian beatboxer, Joel
Turner. He is astonishing in both technique and
musicality.
What’s your favourite piece (that you’ve written)?
I’m quite fond of “In Memoriam” as it also has
extra-musical resonances to do with deaths of
family members.
What piece written by another writer do you wish
you had written, and why?
Brahms Symphony No. 3 - because it’s so strong,
individual and yet technically brilliant.
What is the quality you most admire in a composer?
Honesty in approach and delivery - no mucking
around - “this is me”.
What is the best career advice you were ever
given?
“Don’t knock back an opportunity because
you don’t know where it will lead.” Brenton
Broadstock
If you were not a composer, what might you have
ended up doing?
Probably a computer-related job or graphic design
if I was more talented.
Matthew Hindson
APRA member since 1993. Photography by Bridget Elliot.
aprap
02

Redefinition +
Transformation
Securing the future
of Australian classical music
By Genevieve Lacey,
Recipient of the
2006 Churchill Fellowship
> Photo: Blue Murder Studios
The impetus for me to submit my
application for a Churchill Fellowship
came from my sense that the world of
classical music 1 in Australia was in a tight
corner. I wanted to find out whether this
was similar in other parts of the world,
and if so, to learn how this challenge was
being addressed.
‘The death of classical music’ has been a
perennial topic in the arts community in
Australia over the last five to ten years.
Facing the challenges of a rapidly changing
world has left many of my colleagues with
a sense of bewilderment and despair. As
the sustainability and relevance of the
artform have been called into question
over the last years, people have leapt to
defend the fortress.
Separatist politics can be a shrewd way
of defining and strengthening the identity
of a group. But separation also breeds
isolation.
1 I define classical music loosely as notated western
art music.
Preservation
In its current form, the industry of
classical music is best called a heritage
enterprise. Most music schools and
tertiary institutions with courses that are
repertoire based are training classical
musicians to faithfully re-present the
past. The ethos is not primarily about the
creation of new music now, or the future
of the artform, but the perpetuation of a
historical canon and a particular set of
performance traditions.
General standards of basic music
education and literacy in Australia have
been subject to constant attrition over
at least a generation. On one hand,
small numbers of students in privileged
environments are developing exceptional
musical skills from an early age. On the
other hand, huge numbers of students do
not know how to sing, read or play even the
simplest of tunes. I see a direct corollary
between the deterioration of our music
education system and the tiny percentage
of our population engaging with classical
music. We have lost track of the roots and
sources of our audiences.
By losing the participatory nature of music
making, we have lost an essential part
of the ecosystem. Knowing what it feels
like to participate makes listening much
more active and engaging. Links between
concert platforms and ‘normal people’
have been eroded, and what’s happening
on concert platforms is becoming
increasingly alien and irrelevant.
Australian musicians working
internationally in the field of classical
music are prized. We are valued for our
high level of skills, our commitment, our
work ethic, and our fresh, bright approach.
In many ways, for a country with a small
population and a young western culture,
we are punching above our weight.
Nonetheless, many of our finest musicians
leave Australia. Most see it as a choice
between living at home and pursuing a
career. It is imperative that we address
what is keeping many of our most talented
artists from living here, and contributing
to this culture.
Looking forward
When I applied for a Churchill fellowship,
I was concerned at my sense that I was
working in an ever-shrinking realm in
Australia. During my Churchill journey,
my thinking and perspective shifted
radically. When I left, I imagined that my
task was to try to find a way to expand the
province for classical music in Australia,
or at least, to ensure that its ground was
held. As a result of this trip, I am much
less interested in concepts of territory or
preservation.
I don’t think that classical music is dead,
or even in its death throes. Within the
privileged spheres that have housed and
fed it for centuries, it is still an honoured
guest. Both abroad and at home, I have
met many inspiring, highly intelligent and
articulate people working to preserve its
heritage and safeguard its continuation. I
have no doubt they will succeed.
I don’t think that classical music is
outdated or irrelevant. Many of the sounds
of classical music are still as profoundly
illuminating and moving as they were
when they were first created.
The arts sit uncomfortably in a consumerist
world. It is not possible to count the
emotional, intellectual and cultural values
and effects of art in the same way that it is
possible to count the box office takings.
We have been seduced by the idea that
success = growth. In fact, success and
growth are very different. Lack of growth
(economic turnover, audience numbers
etc) need not be failure. Less quantifiable
concepts of beauty, pleasure, adventure,
dreaming time, challenge and learning
are essential in the arts. Our role as artists
is as urgent as it has ever been.
I do think that what faces classical music
currently is a period of redefinition, and
potentially one of transformation. It
strikes me that many of the decisions that
have been made about classical music
as a result of the apparent threats to it
over the last generation have been made
out of fear and anger. They have been
about guarding terrain, reinforcing, or
preserving barriers. But it seems to me
that we are guarding the wrong things.
Commissioning and performing more
works in a concert hall tradition adds to
the museum. But it does not address any
of the fundamental schisms between the
presentation of the work and the general
population. We need to think about
removing the obstacles between the art
and people engaging with it. We need
to think about collaborations that take
our music into different spheres, and hence, to
different listeners. It was not always the case
that classical music was heard and played
almost exclusively by a privileged minority.
My wish is that all of us who are connected to
classical music think deeply about what it is we
seek to hold dear. I would like us to think equally
profoundly about how we might embrace change.
I would like us to respond to the current cultural
climate with hope, great creativity and openness.
I would like us to think about creating ways for
people to participate in music at every level, to
consider making relationships and creating
communities around our work, rather than
selling tickets and expanding concert series. I
would like us to turn our gaze to the world and
walk into it with open arms, rather than turning
our backs and shielding what we have. We have
so much to gain.
Genevieve Lacey is a freelance recorder player.
She is a serial collaborator and is passionate
about commissioning new works and creating new
contexts for her instrument. Her current major
project, in partnership with the UK filmmaker
Marc Silver, is the creation of an installation and
performance artwork commissioned for Adelaide
Festival 2010.
to
the
point
“...we are entering the next
phase of music distribution, and
a phase that might revolutionise
the music business.”
With the launch of Nokia’s Comes With Music
service in coming months, we are entering the next
phase of music distribution, and a phase that might
revolutionise the music business.
The service will launch in Australia shortly, having
launched in the UK late last year. An unlimited
and free download (to phone or computer) service
is bundled with the price of the phone. Unlike the ISP
industry, Nokia – in seeking to make access to music
as wide and as easy as possible – thinks writers and
copyright owners should be paid when their works are
used in this way. And accordingly Nokia has signed a significant
licence agreement with APRA and AMCOS in advance of the
service’s launch.
If the business model works, and becomes an industry
standard, mobile phone sellers may become the gatekeepers
to (at least music) content on the internet. If that occurs, we
should be thankful that we will be dealing with people like
Nokia who, like Apple before them, value those who create the
content that drives their business.
Brett Cottle
APRA|AMCOS CEO
aprap
04

you decide
the winner!
CORPORATE UPDATE
By Dean Ormston, Director Corporate Services APRA|AMCOS
> Photo: Blue Murder Studios
APRA and AMCOS AGMs
Constitutional Amendments
Maintaining a high level of service
The APRA and AMCOS Annual General Meetingss (AGMs) were
held 28 November 2008. Leading screen and classical composer
Nigel Westlake was elected as a writer director to the APRA Board.
With a career spanning three decades, Mr Westlake has composed
works for the screen (Miss Potter, Babe) and the concert hall; and
has received many awards for his work including 14 APRA Awards
in both Classical and Screen categories.
Two retiring* APRA Board directors John Anderson (EMI Music
Publishing Group) and Eric McCusker (Writer Director) decided
to stand for re-election and were returned. Classical composer
Dr Richard Meale MBE AM retired from the Board after 22
years of service.
Iconic Australian music publisher, J. Albert & Son has continued
its long tradition of representation on the AMCOS Board with the
election of Tim Prescott. Mr Prescott was elected as Corporate
Representative of J. Albert & Son, replacing Fifa Riccobono
who has served on the AMCOS Board for thirteen years. Also
retiring* from the AMCOS Board were Bob Aird (Universal Music
Publishing), Matthew Capper (Warner/Chappell Music Australia)
and Damian Trotter (Sony/ATV Music Publishing) who decided to
stand for re-election and were returned.
(*Both APRA and AMCOS Board Directors serve three successive
annual year terms in office.)
Both the APRA and AMCOS Boards proposed and carried a
number of constitutional amendments at the November 2008
AGMs. The amendments dealt largely with providing procedural
efficiencies, including a streamlined process for voting for
directors at the AGMs.
Voting will now take place before the APRA and AMCOS AGMs,
with voting conducted electronically except where expressly
requested by a member. There will be no voting at the actual
AGMs. The results of the election for directors will be verified
by APRA and AMCOS’ auditors prior to the meetings, and will
be announced at the meeting. The new process will provide
increased transparency in relation to the results of elections.
These changes will also continue our efforts to reduce costs and
environmental impact by minimising paper use and postage.
In addition to procedural improvements, the APRA Board
proposed and passed amendments relating to members’ rights
to opt out and license back their rights otherwise assigned to
APRA. The changes simplify the opt out categories and enable
members to license their own works for online distribution for
non-commercial purposes. Further information is available
from our Writer Services department.
APRA and AMCOS subscribe to a voluntary Code of
Conduct for Copyright Collecting Societies. The 2008
report from the independent Code Reviewer, former
Federal Court judge, Mr James Burchett QC, is available
on the APRA|AMCOS website [www.apra-amcos.com.
au then navigate to About>Corporate Documents].The
results were very pleasing and reflect the continued
commitment to improving our practices and services. As
always, we welcome the feedback of both our members
and licensees in ensuring the level of service provided.
Building X – our new Sydney home!
On the 16 December 2008 APRA|AMCOS closed the door on
our St Leonards home of 11 years to relocate to refurbished
digs in Ultimo. Our new home, originally built as a wool-store
circa 1900 and most recently tenanted by TAFE NSW, was
renovated to provide a modern office space with facilities
to better service the needs of our members. The building
fit-out maintains the heritage of the original building and
incorporates environmentaly friendly design, including;
capturing stormwater for reuse in toilets, energy efficient
lighting and passive air-conditioning. We look forward to
hosting on-site member functions and events and generally
welcoming members to our new home.You’ll find us at 16
Mountain Street, Ultimo, Sydney.
You’ve heard the songs, now it’s time to decide what
you think should be APRA Song of the Year. Teaming up
with Gibson Guitars, APRA will play host to the most
hotly contested award in the music industry. Decided
exclusively by 45,000+ APRA members, the award is the
only peer voted music award in the country. The winner
will be announced on the 23rd of June at the 2009 APRA
Music Awards to be held at Peninsula in Melbourne.
For the past 18 years, APRA Song of the Year has
acknowledged the outstanding work of Australian
songwriters, with past winners including Powderfinger
‘My Happiness’; Kasey Chambers ‘Not Pretty Enough’;
Missy Higgins ‘Scar’; Ben Lee ‘Catch My Disease’ and
Daniel Johns and Julian Hamilton ‘Straight Lines’.
Boasting a long list of Australia’s most iconic songwriters,
the award is a showcase of homegrown songwriting
talents. APRA members have the chance to
decide and recognise the hard work and talent of their
creative colleagues.
The voting lines are now open, so it’s
time to decide on the hottest song of the
past year. Not only will you be barracking
for your favourite song, but thanks to
Gibson Guitars you will be in the running
for a Gibson Les Paul Studio Guitar,
worth $2,499.
Head to the website,
www.apra-amcos.com.au, and cast your
vote now. Need a refresher of the songs
past? We’ve provided links next to the
song list that will redirect you for a quick
listen! Hop to it, voting closes on the
21st of April 2009.
aprap
06

Search Music
Download Music My Music Music Blog
By Anthea Sarris
If you’re an independent
songwriter and you’re
keen to get your music
online, you should
consider working with an
aggregator. Aggregators
supply Digital Service
Providers - DSPs -
(like iTunes and Amazon)
with music content.
They collect (or
‘aggregate’) works
from many sources
then provide them to
DSPs for distribution.
On behalf of the music
creator, they prepare the
content (music files, CD
artwork) according to the
requirements of each
DSP, and report back
on sales of the works
from the online services.
For the DSPs, they make
the process of sourcing
content so much easier
by centralising the supply.
You may want to get your music
online for a variety of reasons –
to increase your revenue streams
or to raise your profile. Whatever
your reason, it’s important to think
carefully about what you want to
achieve and find the aggregator
service that suits you best.
Things to keep in mind:
• Exclusivity: will this help
or hinder your work?
• Contract term: how long will
you be locked in?
• Fee structure: pay now
(up front) or pay later
(% of sales to aggregator)?
• Provide ISRC numbers with
any works you submit to an
aggregator. It makes it easier
to find you to pay any royalties
• If there is more than one
performer of your work, make
sure you let us know so we can
update our records. Once again,
it makes it easier to find you to
pay any royalties.
• Aggregators aren’t there to
market your work, just collect
it and pass it on. Marketing and
promotion are still your gig.
• Aggregators will report to
you, but not to APRA|AMCOS –
the DSPs report to us. Follow
your product, keep an eye on
which DSPs your aggregator
supplies to.
Where to begin?
In the past few years, a range of
aggregator and online distribution
services have emerged including
Amphead, The CAN, CDBaby, IODA
and Musicadium. Aprap spoke with
two of these aggregator services to
find out more about how they work
and what they are looking for*.
* APRA|AMCOS does not recommend
Musicadium or Amphead over similar
service providers and strongly recommends
you research and select the aggregator
based on your personal circumstances.
Musicadium
Musicadium is an Australian-based
company that helps self-released artists
and independent labels to digitally distribute
and market their music across the globe.
Musicadium is focused on digital distribution
and have rapidly built a local profile and
customer base, as well as servicing
customers worldwide. Aprap spoke with
Tim Price, Musicadium’s Promotions and
Development Manager.
What sort of music content
are you looking for?
Everyone, basically! We have a very large
indie and rock base, as well as a lot of
singer/songwriters. We are beginning to see
jazz and dance music coming in and there is
always room for any genre imaginable. We
take all comers; we do not reject content,
so we really are in the business of allowing
any artist to have their music online and
for distribution. We want to allow anyone
to generate new revenue streams for
themselves.
Which DSPs do you supply?
Currently, we supply iTunes, Emusic and
Amazon. We are in the final phases of testing
with Nokia and that should be live very soon.
We have a view to expand this list to cover all
of the major outlets.
How do you charge for your service?
We believe our fee model is the most artistfriendly.
We charge up-front and don’t take
a percentage of royalties earned. We charge
on the basis of the number of outlets you
wish to distribute to. You can distribute your
albums to iTunes, emusic or Amazon mp3.
What is the best way for a music creator
to get your attention?
We don’t make judgment calls on bands’
content; therefore the best way to get our
attention is simply to sign up! Though, there
are ways of making us work for you! When
you sign up, make sure you are organised
and have your artwork (high res files), track
details and PayPal account info ready to enter
into our system. Also, send through press
releases when you have something exciting
come up: whilst we can’t promote every
release we get, we love to blog about it and
put it in our e-mail marketing campaigns.
We love it when one of our artists has some
success! www.musicadium.com
AmpHead
AmpHead Music is the Australasian branch of The Orchard –
the world’s largest distributor of independent music. Since
commencing operations in 2003, they have gained substantial
growth and have had their Orchard agreement extended to
cover all aggregation and catalogue placements throughout
South East Asia. Aprap spoke with AmpHead’s Australasian
Manager, Rick Butterworth
What sort of music content are you looking for?
We have no agenda in the type of content we are looking for; we
are more concerned with providing the best service so that all our
clients can achieve the best possible profiling and income results.
Which DSPs do you supply?
We supply over 400 stores worldwide, including over 150
internet stores, 250 telecommunication carriers, as well retail
brands such as iTunes, Napster, Myspace, Verizon etc.
How do you charge for your service?
In some cases we charge a nominal one off account set up fee to
activate your account, and then charge a standard distribution
fee of 30%. Our fees are to cover the initial ingestion and
delivery and the ongoing management of the account. We also
supply non-exclusive synchronization, branding opportunities
and online reporting.
What is the best way for a music creator to get your
attention?
We will look at all products that we are presented and will
give them the opportunity to be distributed in the world digital
market. The key to actually selling your music is being noticed
and to be visually present on key retail sites, the best way of
achieving this is to have a story (ie: you are touring in that
territory, you have radio play in that territory etc.) Make sure
you’re continually providing this information to the sales and
marketing people of the distributor that you are with.
www.amphead.com.au
Your Music Online
Australia, New Zealand
and rest of world except USA
APRA|AMCOS
Case study:
Army Ant’s quest for an aggregator
Sydney indie/rock group Army Ant, started searching for an
aggregator late last year following the release of their debut
EP. With their first LP in the works, they decided to wait until
Paid Presentations for International Cola was ready to launch
in February before sending both recordings to an aggregator.
After a substantial review process, the band decided that CD
Baby was the aggregator that best suited their needs.
“The main thing we wanted was non-exclusive. We also didn’t want
anything to be for too long. We wanted to have the option to get out
if it wasn’t working,” said Army Ant’s Adam Simpson.
The band researched several aggregators and reviewed
agreements from three. Simpson emphasised the need to
understand the fine print of the agreements before signing. “If
there is anything you don’t understand, write back to aggregator
and get them to explain exactly what it means. “
“You need to be so much more business savvy these days, than
when I started playing in bands at 17. Back then you made a
CD, sold copies at gigs or via mailorder, and maybe got it into
a store. Now, you have so many options, but you’ve also got
responsibilities that come with these options. You don’t need
a manager or a lawyer involved to get your stuff into the global
market, but you need to have a thorough understanding of how
each service works, and what you’re signing up for, so that you
don’t find yourself in hot water!”
Army Ant’s debut LP, Paid
Presentations for International Cola
is available on iTunes. For more info:
www.myspace.com/armyantband
Distributes Royalties
(inc via publisher)
Sales report and licence
fees generated and sent
to APRA|AMCOS
Registers work and
provides title,
performer & ISRC.
Provides licence
for repertoire.
Composer
Consumer
Downloads
music.
DSP
(e.g. iTunes, Nokia)
> Army Ant
Creates a Song
(and provides to
aggregator for a fee)
Provides reports on sales
activity and accounts
on master recording right.
Accounts on master
recording right only.
Distributes recordings
to Digital Service Providers
Aggregator
(e.g. Musicadium,
CDA)
aprap
08

In the early 90s, Troy Cassar-Daley burst on to the Australian Country Music Scene:
his 1994 debut album EP garnered him his first Golden Guitar nomination; and in 1995
his debut album delivered him his first ARIA Award for Best Country Album. The album,
Beyond the Dancing, catapulted the young singer/songwriter into the mainstream music
consciousness, and the first single “Dream Out Loud” - a song with equality and reconciliation
at its heart – went to #1 on the Australian Country Music Charts.
“As a young person starting to write music and using music as a tool; all
I ever wanted for Australia, was to bring everyone together. Equality was
one of those burning issues which it still is, whether it’s male or female,
black or white; everyone deserves to have an equal go. And that’s where
“Dream Out Loud” sort of came together: it’s a ‘meet in the middle’ song
and I am continuing to write stuff like that today, because I think it’s an
important message for everyone to learn.”
The song came to life in a suburban home in Brisbane in the early nineties.
Cassar-Daley was visiting his then girlfriend (now wife), Laurel Edwards,
when inspiration struck. The demo was recorded on a suitcase sized
Tascam 4 track cassette recorder – his travelling companion on the long
drives in his trusty EH Holden – and got Edwards’s seal of approval.
“I remember very vividly sitting under Laurel’s house with the 4-track
and a microphone that I had loaned from someone, and putting a little
demo down with the acoustic guitar and the vocal. It really started to
stick to me as a tune, and I knew it was going to be a contender for the
record, but I didn’t realise it would be one of those career songs that
will be around until the day I die.”
The song features on the 2007 release, “Born to Survive: The Best of Troy
Cassar-Daley”. According to Cassar-Daley, it wouldn’t have been a best of
album without “Dream out Loud”. He says: “I still feel the same excitement
today as I felt when I heard it on the airwaves for the first time. It all began
with that song for me; and even thought it mightn’t have been the most
commercial thing I’ve ever written, its definitely number
one on my ‘heart chart’.”
By Anthea Sarris
Cassar-Daley grew up in NSW with two distinct ethnic and musical
influences that left him with no option but to play music for a living. “I never
found anything else that made me pay attention as much. It had me pretty
well at the get-go. My mother played a lot of quality country music around
our house - Slim Dusty, Merle Haggard, George Jones and Willie Nelson.”
Cassar-Daley’s Maltese-Australian father and uncles all played guitar and
performed regularly. His Aboriginal cousins from his mum’s side not only
all played guitar but were taught by the same guitar teacher. “There was
music going on everywhere. I don’t really think I had a choice at the end
of the day.” This cross-cultural upbringing, infused with music at every
turn, paved the way for Troy’s evolution as a songwriter and performer,
culminating in his breakthrough single, “Dream Out Loud.”
The song is also responsible for one of Cassar-Daley’s most life
changing experiences: performing at the Reconciliation Australia event
at Old Parliament House to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the 1967
referendum: the most successful and defining referendum in Australian
history.
“It was just me and the guitar. The organisers saw it as being a pivotal song
to feature on the day, addressing the relationship between black and white;
two cultures meeting in the middle, regardless of what had happened in
the past. The referendum gave Aboriginal people the right to vote, and that
was a pretty special thing in my book. I was nearly bawling. I just didn’t
realise this song would come full circle and reintroduce itself into my life
and my career again. Things do come full circle.”
DreamOut
Loud
Troy Cassar-Daley’s highly anticipated new album, I Love This Place, will
be released in April. For more info go to: www.troycassardaley.com.au
> Aaron Choulai
Collaborative by nature, Jazz is a
truly international music form that
knows no boundaries. Drawing
inspiration from other cultures and
genres Way Out West and Aaron
Choulai are each going global with
their spin on Jazz!
Way Out West
Fuse Vietnamese, African and Middle Eastern influences with
contemporary Jazz and you get the innovative Melbourne
sextet Way Out West. Founded in 2001 by composer/
trumpeter Peter Knight, the band’s exotic sound is due
in no small part to Dung Nguyen’s mastery of traditional
Vietnamese instrument – the mono string and 16 string
zithers. Add in West African percussionist Ray Pereira plus
saxophone, acoustic bass and firebrand drumming, and the
mysterious alchemy is complete.
In 2003, the debut album Footscray Station put Way Out West
on the map. The release got widespread national airplay and
scored Way Out West numerous festival invitations around
Australia. But it’s the band’s latest album New Grooves for
Old Streets, that’s really opening new doors! Released on
Jazzhead in late 2007, the album has scored rave reviews,
and the track “Postcard from Footscray” was nominated for
2008 APRA Jazz Work of the Year.
2008 was a huge touring year for Way Out West. They
played played the massive 2008 Montreal Jazz Festival,
where New Grooves for Old Streets topped the CISM-Fm
Jazz chart for the last week of July. Performances at the
Vancouver International Jazz Festival also drew critical
acclaim: the influential Jazz Times describing Way Out West
as an “international revelation”. The tour continued with
performances at the Veneto Festival in Italy and a sold out
show in Japan.
And there’s more globe-trotting in store for 2009. Way Out
West are the recipients of arts funding from the Australia
Council and the Federal Government. Plans are already
underway for a tour of South Korea, Indonesia and Japan
including the famous Takatsuki Jazz Street
Festival!
> Way Out West
Aaron Choulai
By Kathy Grant,
Manager International Distribution
APRA|AMCOS
Possessing extraordinary talent as a composer and jazz
pianist, 27 year old Aaron Choulai took to the world stage
early in life. Born in Papua New Guinea, Aaron moved to
Melbourne in his early teens and was accepted into the
Victorian College of the Arts Secondary school, a selective
high school for talented young dancers and musicians.
Soon after, a family member introduced him to the
legendary Paul Grabowsky, who took Aaron under his
wing, becoming his piano tutor and mentor.
Forming the band VADA with a group of fellow students,
Aaron began playing his compositions around Melbourne’s
clubs. A gig at the Bennetts Lane Jazz Club in February 2003
proved to be a turning point. Amongst the crowd was New
York saxophonist Tim Ries, in Melbourne for the Rolling
Stones 40 Licks tour.
Impressed with Aaron’s work, Tim invited him to New York,
for guest appearances and to record. The result was Aaron’s
debut album Place and a three disc deal with the prestigious
Sunnyside Records. As soon as the deal was inked Aaron
headed back to Melbourne, finishing his last year of school,
then returning to New York to live and work.
Coaxed back home early 2005 for a stint as Kate Ceberano’s
Musical Director, Aaron travels frequently to Australia and
the festivals of Europe. Recent tours include gigs along the
east coast of America with his trio, a European tour with his
sextet including performances in the UK and at the Antibes
Jazz Festival (France), plus duo performances in Japan and
Israel, to name a few.
Amid all the international commitments, Aaron works on
an ongoing basis with the Tatana Village Choir a 16 voice
collective from his ancestral home in Papua New Guinea.
Appearing at 2009 Womadelaide, their traditional choral
music was performed in combination with the VADA jazz
ensemble – an inspirational mix of cultures and
genres if ever there was one!
> Troy Cassar-Daley. Photo by Justin Walpole.
aprap
10

APRA stomps boots in
By
TAMWORTH
Allison Gumbleton
All roads lead to Tamworth as the APRA team arrives for
the annual 2009 Country Music Festival. Slung guitars
and shiny boots fill the streets as buskers, songwriters
and party goers endure the biggest festival on the
country music calendar. Every step through Tamworth
whistles a different tune- there’s no escaping the buzzing
atmosphere, chatty locals and buskers. If it’s great music,
a decent chin-wag and a rum and coke you’re after,
Tamworth Country Music Festival is where it’s at.
APRA hosted numerous events over the festival period,
including two Songwriter Speaks and an APRA Connect.
Over the two nights, 500 patrons heard from guest
speakers Sara Storer, Karl Broadie, Lianna Rose, Travis
Collins, Felicity Urquhart and Mick Thomas. James
Blundell moderated the evenings, querying the stars on
their personal experiences as songwriters.
In conjunction with Tamworth Regional Council and the
Country Music Association of Australia, APRA presented
APRA: Connect. This informal cocktail party provided
a unique opportunity for the 300 APRA members
who attended to socialise and network with industry
colleagues.
The pinnacle of the festival is the annual Australian
Country Music Awards, a gathering of the biggest names
and faces in the industry. This year the evening was
hosted by country stars, Troy Cassar-Daley and Felicity
Urquhart. Congratulations to Kasey Chambers and
Shane Nicholson – the pair dominated the night bagging
five Golden Guitars, including Album of the Year; Video
Clip of the Year; Single of the Year, Top Selling Album of
the Year and APRA Song of the Year for “Rattlin’ Bones”.
For the full list of winners please visit our website
www.apra-amcos.com.au.
Songs on the street
< Shane Nicholson and Kasey Chambers.
Photo courtesy John Elliott CMAA
APRAP chatted with four buskers in town for the festival,
about their greatest Tamworth moment.
From l-r clockwise >
Doug Alexander, Rodger Bradshaw, Jo Caseley, Dean Dee
APRA Songwriters Speak
By James Blundell
The success of the APRA Songwriter
Speaks country music series has taken
all involved by surprise. Tamworth ’08 and
’09 saw strong attendance at these events;
with the program expanded this year to two
songwriting sessions and a cocktail party
networking event. This year’s sessions at
The Pub and The Family Hotel effectively
illustrated APRA’s Songwriter Speaks ideal
at work, with some genuinely interesting
observations and queries being put
forward to the panel, by APRA members
and the country music loving public.
On Wednesday 21 January, it was my
pleasure to moderate a panel discussion
at The Family Hotel featuring Sara Storer,
Karl Broadie and Lianna Rose. The second
Songwriter Speaks event took place the
foillowing evening at The Pub. I moderated
a panel featuring songwriters Travis
Collins, Karl Broadie, Felicity Urquhart
and Mick Thomas.
Over the two evenings, we were confronted
with some profound questions and comments.
There seemed to be three main themes that
drew interest from the audiences:
°
°
°
How much of your personal life is
reflected in your writing? The panel
all agreed that they divulge much
of their lives in their songs, leaving
themselves open and vulnerable,
but often resulting in some of their
best songs.
When do you know a song is finished?
Most of the panelists agreed that they
will revisit a song a few times and felt
that a song could remain unfinished
forever if they don’t use their family
and sometimes co-writers in
consultation to determine that the
message is clear and the structure
of the song complete.
Do you write songs to appease public
taste or to satisfy your own criteria of
quality? Unanimously the panel
agreed, they write for themselves
and hope that the audience and public
appreciate its worth and message.
An inspired initiative, the APRA Songwriter
Speaks concept encapsulates both live
performance and dialogue on the craft
of songwriting, in a publicly accessible
forum. Primarily for APRA writer
members to attend free of charge, these
sessions are also open to the public. It has
been my pleasure to moderate at several
of these events. In addition to the the
queries and comments from the writers
in the audience, it’s always great to hear
the volume of questions from the general
public.
APRA’s Deputy Director of Member
Services, Milly Petriella, has coordinated
APRA’s presence at Tamworth for many
years. I was compelled to ask Milly why she
thought public interest in the Songwriter
Speaks concept was growing, and I think
her response was extremely astute.
“It’s an unusually intimate interaction
between the creative mind
and the music consumer. The
audience actually see more of
the artist’s persona in this format
than they do at a commercial
performance.”
I fully agree with this, as the questions put
to the panel open up areas of discussion
that don’t fall within performance only. The
breadth of artists invited to participate are
unique in their own right, with markedly
different musical identities though
possessing a common thread, the craft of
songwriting.
Best to all,
James Blundell
>
Photos by John Elliott (top-bottom):
Bill Page (Mushroom Music), Lianna Rose,
Karl Broadie, James Blundell
Karl Broadie and Felicity Urquhart
Sara Storer, Karl Broadie, Milly Petriella,
Lianna Rose, James Blundell
Mick Thomas and Travis Collins
Geoff Parmenter(Events NSW), Brett Cottle (APRA
AMCOS), James Treloar (Tamworth Mayor)
Doug Alexander, Harvey Bay, QLD
About thirty years ago I walked into a pub with my guitar.
There was a guy playing snare drum on stage and he asked
me if I could play the guitar. I said yes and joined in, next
thing I know I was a surrounded by a band that had jumped
in through a window out the back.
Jo Caseley, Penrose, NSW
Playing at the Longyard with Sam Buckingham and Renny
Field and also performing my original song “Sorry the
Stolen Generation” at the Aboriginal Cultural Showcase.
Dean Dee (The Plastic Spurs), Hunter Valley, NSW
Busking every year is a great way to give back to the public,
because that’s how I started. You tend to get honest results
from people, it gives people an opportunity to see real live
entertainment. It’s keeping music live and that’s what it’s
all about really.
Rodger Bradshaw (Jabaru), Darwin, NT / Noosa, QLD
I like going down to the pubs. We saw Paul Greene and some
Hillbilly Rockabilly stuff. I’m into the tribal country music.
aprap
12

Creating Opportunities For Emerging Songwriters
“This year’s winners are of the highest calibre, all very much deserving of the award.
The standard is as much a testament of their hard work as it is to the songwriting talent in Australia,”
said Brett Cottle, APRA|AMCOS CEO, at a ceremony to announce the Australian winners
of the 2009 APRA Professional Development Awards.
Eight Australian songwriters are now on a career fast-track thanks to the cash, travel and recognition
provided by the APRA Professional Development Awards. Check out page 24 for the three NZ PDA winners.
APRA thanks the judges, the 27 partner organisations who processed hundreds of applications
and our generous sponsors. With your support, APRA can continue to give emerging
songwriters and composers the helping hand they need to kick start their careers.
> Melody Eötvös
> Daniel Baker > Laura Jean Englert
> Katrina Burgoyne
> Paris Wells performs (with guitarist Ryan)
> Sean Foran
> David Leha
> Sally Howland and George Michalik (top)
> Wally De Backer and Eric McCusker
> Abbe May
Melody Eötvös
Classical
Melody holds a Bachelor
of Music (Hons) from
the Queensland
Conservatorium and is
currently enrolled in a
Master of Arts Philosophy
at the Royal Academy
of Music. Melody has
composed music for
the computer console
game “Avatar: the Last
Air Bender”, several
animation film/music
projects, commissions
for the Ulysses
Ensemble (Australia)
and a commission
for the Queensland
Conservatorium Wind
Orchestra. In 2008,
her composition “Attic
Tragedy” was performed
by the Tasmanian
Symphony Orchestra. In
2009 Melody attend the
Kuringgai Philharmonic
Orchestra Composers
Workshop and the Modart
Professional Development
Project with the Sydeny
Song Company, directed
by Roland Peelman. With
the PDA she plans to go to
the USA or Canada in
pursuit of a Doctorate
of Musical Arts. www.
melodyeotvos.com
Sean Foran Jazz
Graduating from
the Queensland
Conservatorium of Music
with a Bachelor Music and
recently completing his
Masters with Distinction
at the Leeds College of
Music, his success as a
musician has taken him
onto the global stage. One
third of renowned jazz trio
Misinterprotato, Sean has
performed at major jazz
festivals throughout Japan,
Canada and the UK as well
as regular performances
on the local jazz scene.
The talented musician has
claimed a bag of accolades,
including QSong Jazz
Awards for the Best Jazz
Song in 2006 and 2008.
Sean was also the recipient
of the Brisbane City
Council’s Emerging Artist
Fellowship in 2007. With the
PDA, Sean intends to travel
to Sweden/ Norway and
learn from Lars Jansson,
an experienced and
prominent musician on the
Scandinavian jazz scene.
www.myspace.com/
seanforan
Katrina Burgoyne
Country
A graduate of CMAA
College of Country Music,
Katrina is active on the
country music circuit,
having performed over
100 shows in 2008.
Katrina won the 2005
Maton Muster Talent
Search; performed on the
Main Stage at the Gympie
Muster in 2005/2006; she
is a Toyota Star Maker
Grand Finalist and has
played the main arena at
the Sydney Royal Easter
Show in 2004 and 2005.
On the road to releasing
a debut album, she
has already co-written
two songs, “Outlaw”
with Dan Murphy and
“Too Late for Sorry”
featured on Chasing
Bailey’s debut album.
She has performed and
supported industry icons
Bill Chambers, Felicity
Urquhart, Beccy Cole and
The McClymonts just to
name a few. Katrina plans
to use the PDA toward
her short term goal of
travelling to Nashville
and recording her original
songs.
www.myspace.com/
katrinaburgoynemusic
Daniel Baker
Film & TV
Daniel is one of Australia’s
leading up and coming film
and TV composers.
A graduate of the
Australian Film, Television
and Radio School, Daniel
has a Master of Arts:
Screen Composition. His
AFTRS film, Pleasance,
was the runner-up in the
best student film category
at the Palm Springs
International Film Festival.
In addition, Daniel was
co-composer for Channel
Nine’s “The Strip” and
worked as orchestrator
on the films, “Jumper”,
“Disgrace” and “Australia”.
Daniel plans to use
his PDA to develop
his songwriting skills,
beginning with a
mentoring program
with David Hirschfelder
later this year. He plans
to use his PDA prize
money to attend SPAA in
Queensland and other
international events such
as ASCAP’s ‘I Create
Music’ Expo.
www.studioripple.com.
au/Daniel Baker.html
David Leha
Indigenous
David is a talented
songwriter and performer
with the band Radical
Son, and has two Deadly
Award nominations under
his belt. He is a featured
artist on the latest Urthboy
and The Last Kinection
albums, and also features
on Gadigal Music’s Making
Waves compilation. David
also performed and wrote
for the Get Up Mob’s 2008
release, From Little Things
Big Things Grow. Drawing
inspiration from personal
experiences, David’s
songwriting provides
powerful social statements,
which can be seen in his
debut self titled EP and his
follow up EP Black Stones.
The PDA will enable David,
and Radical Son, to expand
their audience. It will allow
David to focus on producing
music and touring, and
will also contribute to
equipment, production of a
video clip and participation
in international festivals
and conferences.
www.myspace.com/
radicalson
Wally De Backer
Popular and
Contemporary
Performing under the
name Gotye, Wally has
had many successes as
an independent artist.
As Gotye he wrote and
produced two albums,
Boardface (2004) and Like
Drawing Blood (2006).
His hit song “Heart’s a
Mess” gained first place
in the 2008 International
Songwriting Competition’s
folk singer songwriter
category. Like Drawing
Blood was voted as triple j
listeners’ favourite album
of 2006, was nominated
for that year’s J Award and
the ARIA award for Best
Independent Release. In
2006 Wally was awarded
the 2006 AIR Award for
Best New Independent
Artist. Having already
made connections with
UK industry people, Wally
plans to use his PDA to
travel to London and work
with Hugh Padgham and
Flood on new material.
www.gotye.com
Laura Jean
Englert
Popular and
Contemporary
Laura is an extremely
active songwriter and
performer. In 2007 she
toured nationally with UK
band, Snow Patrol. She
also took part in an APRA
song writer workshop
at The Age Melbourne
Writer’s Festival 2007 and
the Queenscliff Music
Festival. Last year, Laura
Jean joined the “Broad”
festival on their national
tour. With the PDA,
Laura will further her
ambitions as a songwriter,
through overseas travel.
She is hoping to attend
the international music
conference, North by
North East in Canada and
the Berklee songwriting
workshops in Spain.
The prize money will also
assist in the purchasing
of new equipment to
enhance the recording of
her compositions.
www.myspace.com/
edenland
Abbe May
Popular and
Contemporary
Since the release of her
2008 album, Howl and
Moan, Abbe has won
several WAMI awards,
including Best Female
Vocalist, Most Promising
New Band and Song of the
Year, and was nominated
for an AIR award for the
Best New Independent
Artist. A member of the
2007 “Broad” national
tour, Abbe has performed
at many major festivals
throughout her career,
including W.A Cultural
Festival Artist, West
Coast Blue and Roots,
Southbound and Wave
Rock Weekender.
Receiving the PDA will
enable Abbe to continue
touring nationally and
allow for her to begin
touring abroad.
www.myspace.com/
abbefuzz
The Australian winners
of the 2009 PDAs
receive $12,000 cash to
advance their careers
through study or travel,
PLUS: a Gibson guitar
courtesy of long-time
APRA Awards partner
Gibson Guitars, studio
time at Trackdown
Recording Studio and
access to an online
course provided by
the award-winning
Berklee College of
Music.
Paris Wells
Jessica Michalik
Contemporary
Endowment
Songwriter Paris Wells
has been awarded the
2009 Jessica Michalik
Contemporary Music
Endowment. APRA also
administers this award as
part of the PDA program.
The Endowment gives
a $10,000 development
grant to a promising
Australian songwriter or
band, nominated by the producers
of The Big Day Out.
Melbourne’s Paris
Wells built up an
incredible street-level
buzz throughout the
underground circuit
and then took a break
to jet off around the
country supporting Justin
Timberlake. In late 2007,
Paris released her debut
EP, Mum Hasn’t Slept Yet,
and suddenly St. Jerome’s
favourite resident became
a household name. Her
long awaited album, Keep
It was released in July 2008.
www.myspace.com/
pariswells
aprap
14

Welcome to the first issue of Aprap for 2009. By now, you would know that we have a new address
– 16 Mountain Street, Ultimo. For those members close by or for those who’d like to make the trip
to Ultimo, we would love to see you. Our Member Services team, led by Milly Petriella, can assist
with all your APRA|AMCOS and industry related matters. Please call your APRA rep. to make an
appointment – 02 9935 7900.
Export Music Services
APRA|AMCOS and the Australia
Council for the Arts have agreed
to jointly fund a two year contract
position from January 2009 to
December 2010. The Music Export
Producer role is to be wholly managed
by APRA|AMCOS with the Australia
Council providing input in the
development of initiatives and other
partnership arrangements.
2008 Member Survey Results
A sincere and heartfelt thank you to those members
who took the time to complete our recent survey. It
goes without saying that your views and opinions are
highly valued and contribute to the overall direction
of the organisation. The full results along with our
strategic plan in response will be published in the
July issue of Aprap and posted on the APRA|AMCOS
website.
Congratulations to APRA member Ross Johnston -
winner of the Member Survey Competition. Ross
has won a double pass to this year’s APRA Music
Awards, to be held in Melbourne in June.
Song Registrations:
Save a tree, check your emails!
Previously, if your songs or compositions were
registered with APRA by your publisher or a co-writer,
you would have received letters in the post advising
you of the titles and shares registered on your behalf.
As we now move into a more environmentally friendly
world, we will now email these title registrations
notices to you, in turn reducing the amount of paper
we send out by 10,000 pages per year!
The subject heading of these emails will be Apra
- Advice Of Title Registrations and will be sent by
our friendly staff in the Writer Registrations and
Publisher Services sections of Member Services.
These emails are important as they will advise you of
the shares of any performing right royalties you will
be paid by APRA. On account of this, please file and
keep for your own personal record.
We are thrilled to announce that Millie
Millgate (ex MusicNSW and AAM) took
up the position in early January.
The role has as its twin aims;
• To centralise efforts in relation to the
coordination, support and production
of Australia’s presence on behalf of the
Australian contemporary music sector
across national, state and territory
funding agencies and other operators
at key music markets and,
• Raising the profile and visibility of the
Australian contemporary music sector
within key international music markets.
By Sally Howland
Director Member Services
APRA|AMCOS
member news
APRA Music Grants
We have a lot of work ahead of us
but our immediate priorities are to
focus on key international markets,
including SXSW (Austin, Texas),
The Great Escape (London, UK) and
Womex (Copenhagen, Denmark).
If you have any questions in relation
to your overseas activities, be it as
a performing artist or your business,
I would urge you to contact Millie at
mmillgate@apra.com.au or
02 9935 7831 to discuss your plans.
In the meantime, checkout her
report on MIDEM 2009 on pages 21-22.
For further Sounds Australia updates keep your eye on the APRA|AMCOS website and Bytes newsletter.
The next round of grants funding for the 2009/10 financial year
closes on 30 April 2009. APRA’s funding program is designed
to support organisations, events, projects and initiatives that
have as their broad aim to develop, acknowledge, promote or
recognise Australian compositions. In that context, preference
is given to programs that broadly benefit the interests of
Australian composers, as opposed to those which benefit an
individual or small number of writers.
A list of last year’s ecipients and the grant application form can
be downloaded from the APRA|AMCOS website: go to www.
apra-amcos.com.au then navigate to music creators> grants
and competitions > music grants. For further information
contact Lucia Doll on ldoll@apra.com.au or 02 9935 7788.
Good news for members
independently releasing their
own records
It is a fact of the times that more of our members are writing,
recording and independently releasing their own records. In
the current music landscape it is likely that this development
will continue further. The AMCOS Board, acknowledging this
trend, has approved a 12-month trial reduction of the AMCOS
commission rate for self-released, self-licensed records. This
move by the AMCOS Board will ultimately put more dollars
in songwriters’ pockets. From 1 March 2009, the AMCOS
commission rate will generally be halved from 10% to 5%, for
published songwriters who submit audio manufacturing licence
applications where all (or the majority of) the songs on the
recording, are written by them.
> Photo: Blue Murder Studios
By Michelle O’Donnell
Film & TV Writers APRA|AMCOS
Australian film Mary and Max opened the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.
Melbourne-based DALE CORNELIUS composed the score. He says: “Working
on the claymation Mary & Max was one of the most unusual film projects
I’ve been involved in. Initially Melanie Coombs (producer) and Adam Elliot
(director) asked me to come on board as a music editor. They had oodles of
licensed music, most of which Adam had been living with in his head for the
past 10 years whilst developing his idea, then script, then storyboarding and
then during the 57 week shoot! When they showed me the film for the first
time I discussed with Adam that there was a potentially big problem with
the repetitive nature of the licensed music - it was a little like wallpaper
and became very tiresome against his beautifully crafted visuals. So over a
period of time it was recognised that the film needed an original score for
most of the dramatic and emotional sections of the film, re-arrangements
of licensed material to vary some of the key themes, and a heap of music
editing and even re-mixing the licensed tracks. The job was huge and it was
very challenging to make all the different music elements cohesive as one
music score.
“The pay-off was, of course, seeing the film have its world premiere at the
Sundance Film Festival’s Opening Night. The film was introduced by Robert
Redford and Festival Director, Geoffrey Gilmore, who praised the film highly
for its originality and storytelling. Mary & Max had six public screenings,
all of which were sold out. I had a great time doing interviews and meeting
lots of interesting film makers, composers, and all sorts of characters that
make Sundance a film festival like no other.”
> Photo: Blue Murder Studios
The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) has announced
composer CEZARY SKUBISZWESKI as a 2008 nominee for scoring excellence
for the Documentary Feature Night by Lawrence Johnston. Cezary says,
“The nomination for Night is very special as the other nominees across
all the categories represent the biggest names in film music. As the only
Australian composer to get a nod from the international critics, I feel very
honoured.”
The annual IFMCA Awards are the only awards given to composers by film
music journalists. The IFMCA is an association of online, print and radio
journalists comprising members from all around the world, who specialise
in writing about original film and television music. The international
organisation makes conscious efforts to celebrate the best film music, not
just from mainstream Hollywood productions, but worldwide, wherever it
may originate.
Cezary won the APRA Screen Music Award for Best Music for a Documentary
and Night has been nominated for an ARIA award. Last month Cezary
also received a nomination for Death Defying Acts in the Best Music Score
category of the Film Critics Circle of Australia (FCCA) Annual Awards for
Australians.
Dale Cornelius <
BURKHARD DALLWITZ was kept extremely busy over the Christmas /New
Year period composing the music for the hugely successful Underbelly: A
Tale of Two Cities, which went to air on Channel 9 last month.
NEIL SUTHERLAND is working on a three part series for Beyond about
building weapon vehicles. Neil says it’s a real ‘Boys show’, as they use real
ammunition. The series is set to screen on the Discovery Channel (US) mid
2009. Neil is also busy with new themes for Getaway and Australia’s Funniest
Home Videos, the music for Bondi Vet and his latest series Real Prison Break
for Southern Star, which has already screened in the UK and is set for a
Channel 7 broadcast later this year.
aprap
16

John Guscott
Writing for
games
Imagine entering a bleak world of no
colour nor music. You launch a blob of red
onto the cityscape, and with that splash
comes a saxophone solo. Gradually layers
of colour and music pour through the
drab city, creating the critically acclaimed
game, de Blob.
For almost eight years John Guscott has
been composing music for computer
based video games. With his latest
endeavour, de Blob, music plays an
inextricable, interactive role.
“The thing that interests me about video
game music is the concept of interactive
music, where music would respond/
adapt to how the game is actually
going. Although I have done things like
that in the past, de Blob has pushed the
boundary as to what is possible both
technically and creatively.”
As Senior Audio Designer at Melbourne
based game developers, Blue Tongue,
John has seen the gaming industry
mature, “in the late 90s I noticed that
video games started going on to CD discs,
what that meant was suddenly you could
have full CD quality music in a game”.
However the key to creating a successful
gaming track is the implementation:
From Pac Man to Guitar Hero – the history of music in games
has been an artistic, technological and social evolution. Today,
88% of Australian homes have a gaming device; 70% of parents
in these homes play computer games, and almost all of them
play with their children (according to Interactive Australia
Key Findings 2009). The Australian video game industry is
now double the size of the movie box office and still rapidly
growing in popularity. For some games, music provides aural
landscape for the action, for others, music is the beating
heart driving all activity. APRAP takes a closer look at this
genre to find out more about what it takes to write music for
games, songs being licensed into games and how copyright is
administered for these uses.
“you could have the most amazing piece
of music in a video game, on its own it
might be absolutely incredible, but if you
implement it incorrectly, when it’s played
over and over it can drive people crazy, and
it will lose its quality and effectiveness”.
Composing for games is vastly different
to composing for other genres; Guscott
describes the process as, “a more vertical
approach as opposed to thinking in terms
of a traditional horizontal timeline”.
Structurally it also differs, “you don’t
have to follow traditional structures, but
often the music needs to loop smoothly,
so, as composers we tend to focus on that
moment where the track re-starts and try
to disguise the loop point”.
Working out of his own company, Big
Boot Productions, Laurence Maddy has
similar views on the complexity of writing
for games, “one of the challenging
things in game composition is achieving
elasticity and interest (structurally), as
this elasticity and interest is constructed
in a very unorthodox way. You might
have 6-7 levels in a game, so you’d
write a theme for each level, and inside
that theme you might write 5 separate
levels of intensity. With all these levels of
intensity streaming simultaneously, it’s
> Laurence Maddy
the interactive nature of the technology
that selects the appropriate intensity of
music to be played”.
Maddy has written for numerous games,
with his biggest success coming from the
2005 release, Heroes of the Pacific. After
composing for feature films, stage shows
and producing records for the better part
of 20 years, Maddy is well aware of the
current boom of the gaming industry, “I
think there is an incredible technology
that is advancing at a rapid rate, and at
the moment it seems to be more focused
on games I think the future of this
technology will reach far beyond gaming,
such as educational/training tools
without doubt. This is an industry that is
going to grow enormously in the future,
and I see so many other applications for
the technology than just games”.
> Frank Roveta
Photo: Blue Murder Studios
By Allison Gumbleton and Anthea Sarris
Collecting on copyright
from games
As the gaming industry extends itself further, it is difficult to pin point the exact direction
it will head, “Faster networks and cheaper plans combined with improved user interfaces
has been the key to the boom and will continue to be a driving factor in the growth of the
online gaming market”, says Frank Roveta, APRA|AMCOS’s Digital Recordings Manager.
Roveta acknowledges the unique nature of this genre and so the process of collecting
royalties, “The reproduction and synchronisation rights are usually cleared at source,
so an AMCOS licence is not required. There is, however, a communication right
exercised when these works are made available online. APRA is active in licensing
these services for making the works available for download. As such, gaming services
such as SingStar, are licensed in much the same way other download services are
licensed, minus the AMCOS component”.
The success of application stores- such as the iTunes store for the iPhone and
iTouch- and particularly the success of music applications opens other new revenue
possibilities for members.
Lurking beneath the rise of any new technological medium is the potential for advertising, branding and music
synchronisation. Games are no exception. Music companies are generating links between their artists and the
potential to gain a slice of the US$48.3 billion dollar global gaming industry. Music games were responsible for
15% of all games sales in the first half of 2008, and with their increasing popularity across all demographics; it
seems to be a sure way to expand musical exposure.
In 2008 Metallica released their latest album Death Magnetic as a game premium download on the same day as
the general release of the album. Motley Crue released the single “Saints of Los Angeles” through Rock Band
as a download on the same day as its commercial release. The single generated 50,000 sales through the game,
compared to 14,000 downloads from iTunes its first week of release.
In 1985 Mark Callaghan of GANGgajang, penned the song “Sounds of Then (This is Australia)”. The song went on
to become one of the band’s most recognised works. More than twenty years later, Callaghan was surprised to find
that the makers of SingStar wanted to incorporate the song into the hit karaoke-style game.
Callaghan says, “It’s interesting ‘cause the song itself was technically not a hit when it was released. The single
was released at the same time as the album, so most people bought the album, not the single. The wonderful thing
is that it has continued to grow in popularity, to the point where even if people don’t know the band, they instantly
recognise the song. It has really gone out there and embedded itself in the public consciousness”.
Funnily enough, when Callaghan played SingStar and sang his own song, he did not go so well, “I got a pass. I
guess as you sing a song over the years it evolves a bit, so you don’t sing it exactly the same”.
Licensing to
games
> Mark Callaghan
aprap
18

Duran Duran
Leader Cheetah
> Chris Bolton
> Oh Mercy
> Music Sales and
ABC Licensing sign agreement
> The Presets
> True Live
NATIVE TONGUE
> Natalie Bassingthwaighte
EMI MUSIC PUBLISHING
AUSTRALIA PTY LTD
Natalie Bassingthwaighte’s song
“Catch Me If You Can”, from her
forthcoming debut solo album
‘1000 Lies’, has been licensed
to Channel 10 for their new
TV programme Lie To Me, a
crime series about a ‘human lie
detector’ based on a real-life
specialist you can read clues in
the human face, body and voice
to expose the truth in criminal
investigations.
The Preset’s song “Talk Like That”
from their multi-Award winning
album Apocalypso has been
licensed for branding promos to
pay-TV channel Fox 8 whose lineup
of shows include Australia’s
& America’s Next Top Model,
American Idol, The Contender,
Futurama and The Simpsons.
FINTAGE
Duran Duran’s most recent studio
album Red Carpet Massacre as
well as a significant part of the
band’s back catalogue have
been added to the works already
under Fintage’s control from
the Astronaut album cycle. New
worldwide agreements were
recently signed with the band’s
publishing entities Skin Divers
and Skintrade Music Limited.
The stats on Duran Duran are
remarkable: a total of over 70
million records sold, 18 American
hit singles, 30 UK top 20 tunes
and a global presence which
guarantees them huge concert
audiences on five continents.
MUSIC SALES
Larrikin Music has signed writer
and pianist Fiona Joy Hawkins
to a worldwide publishing deal.
Fiona, winner of the 2008 MusicOz
Classical and Jazz Award, has
just finished recording her fourth
album Blue Dream. Blue Dream
which will be released on the ABC
label in the first half of 2009.
Music Sales and ABC Licensing
have signed a new licensing
agreement for Music Sales
to produce songbooks for the
Playschool series and the hugely
popular Spicks & Specks.
Brendan Gallagher, Karma
County’s frontman and songwriter
has signed a worldwide deal with
Music Sales for his book: The Open
Tuning Chord Book For Guitar. A
new edition of the book, which
Brendan has self-published,
will now be released worldwide
through the Music Sales group of
companies in 2009.
The Music Sales Group has now
released the fourth in their Music
Business Education Supplements
with the launch of: Establishing
a Music, Entertainment and Arts
Business, by Ben O’Hara and
Mark Beard. It covers all aspects
of establishing a business as well
as an overview of the Australian
legal system.
Music Sales (through Campbell
Connelly) is pleased to announce
it has signed a long-term
publishing deal with Barry
Adamson (Magazine, Nick Cave
and the Bad Seeds).
MUSHROOM MUSIC
Recent inductees to our catalogue
include Western Australian independent
rock giants Birds of
Tokyo, Adelaide based Americana
outfit Leader Cheetah, much
loved hip hop act True Live,
emerging indigenous artist Dan
Sultan and his co-writer Scott
Wilson.
Congratulations to Kasey
Chambers whose collaborative
album of last year - Rattlin’
Bones recently went Platinum;
also to Cut Copy and Birds of
Tokyo, both earning Gold records
for their 2008 releases In Ghost
Colours and Universes.
Kobalt Music has extended
its long standing relationship
with Mushroom Music. We will
continue to exploit the catalogue
in Australia and New Zealand.
Kobalt’s roster boasts Gwen
Stefani, The Offspring, The Hives,
Nine Inch Nails, Gomez and as
well as songwriters Ryan Tedder
(Leona Lewis, Beyonce) Max Martin
/Lukas Gottwald (Pink, Britney)
and Max Martin (Katy Perry).
Our TV department has also
found multiple placements in
domestic series Underbelly 2,
The Cut, The Strip, East of
Everything, City Homicide and
Packed to the Rafters. Our film
department recently supervised
the Australian feature Two Fists
One Heart and has also licensed
music into the new feature My Year
Without Sex.
Meanwhile, our US partners
Chrysalis secured some significant
international action including
The Panics on Ugly Betty, Youth
Group on Gossip Girl, Snowman
on CSI and Magic Dirt on the
latest Grand Theft Auto series.
Native Tongue welcomes
Alexander Gow and Thom
Savage from Melbourne band,
Oh Mercy. The band are currently
on a national tour with End Of
Fashion. Their debut album,
Privileged Woes is due for release
late 2009.
Welcome to new signing
Christopher Bolton (Seagull).
Chris is a classically trained
guitarist influenced as much
by the sonic adventuring of
minimalist music as he is by
the rustic traditions of folk and
blues. Seagull’s debut album
Goodbye Weather is out now on
Two Bright Lakes.
Native Tongue is pleased to
announce it has taken over representation
of the Roy Orbison
catalogue, which includes publishing
and masters of all of the
Big O’s major hits.
Native Tongue writer T-Jay
co-wrote the Australian Idol
winning, now platinum selling,
single You, performed by Wes
Carr. T-Jay is currently in Sydney
writing and producing Wes’s
debut album.
In licensing news we recently
signed Delta Goodrem’s “Believe
Again” as the promo music
for Nine Network’s Domestic
Blitz. We also secured James
Yorkston’s “Woozy With Cider”
as the music for Strongbow
Cider’s summer TV campaign.
Songs by Plastic Palace Alice,
The Getaway Plan, Cut Off
Your Hands, Goldenhorse and
Black Mustang were featured
in Network Ten’s Out of the
Question. Fur Patrol’s Someone
You Really Want was featured in
City Homicide. A number of Native
Tongue artists were also placed
into Network Ten‘s hit show Bondi
Rescue. “So Alive” by The Bads,
has been licensed into Australian
feature film My Year Without Sex.
ROUGH CUT
> Birds of Tokyo
2008 was another busy year
for Rough Cut writers with new
releases from Darren Hayes,
Trial Kennedy, Small Mercies
and In Fiction. Rudy Sandapa
(Midnight Music Catalogue) is
currently in the US completing
production on the late Stephen
‘Static’ Garrett upcoming album.
Kisschasy enjoyed an incredible
amount of radio support and
completed two sold out national
tours. They head to the US shortly
to tour and commence recording
their third album.
2009 is also off to an amazing
start for our two newest signings.
Singer / songwriter Maxine
Kauter just keeps going from
strength to strength over the last
six months with her debut EP
being released to critical acclaim,
reviewers singing her praises as
an amazing new talent to watch
out for, and the year ending with
her securing a spot at the recent
Peats Ridge Festival.
Late last year Rough Cut signed
a young singer/songwriter, Thom
Crawford. Thom’s distinctive
voice and emotive writing
attracted the attention of several
songwriters in the US and UK.
He is now travelling through LA,
Nashville, New York and London
for six weeks of writing and
recording. Expect a first release
mid-2009.
SHOCK MUSIC
PUBLISHING NEWS
SMP & Music Sales have recently
renewed their agreement for
exclusive representation of all
Shock Music Publishing’s print
music. The first under the new deal
is a folio of Kings of Leon songs
from the Multi Platinum ARIA #1
album Only by the Night. KOL also
scored top spot in Triple J’s #1
Hottest 100 listener poll (‘Sex on
Fire’). The folio will be produced in
time for the March tour.
Newest signings, of both global
and local calibre, to the SMP stable
are former Starky frontman,
guitarist and songwriter Beau
Cassidy; Sydney based pop
institution The Camels; Cleopatra
Wong, legendary early 90’s band
featuring the female half of the
Go-Betweens Amanda Brown and
lovely Lindy Morrison; funk based
Sydney collective, Confection,
featuring Josh Beagley (ex
Swoop) and Juanita Tippins;
David Lyndon, Rees Smart and
Chris Paver of Ripping Dylans,
who are currently working on
a new album for release early
2009; one of Australia’s hardest
working Rock’n’Roll bands, Hell
City Glamours; singer/writer/
performer Andy Walton with
his own band Andy Walton Band;
Detonators, Australia’s Rockabilly
institution boasting over 1200
gigs; local goth/retro Sydney
band, Graphics; the masters of
Aussie chill, OKA; and talented
singer/ songwriter Paul Taylor.
WIRRIPANG NEWS
During 2008 Betty Beath has
had yet another International
broadcast of her work for string
orchestra Lament for Kosovo.
It was performed at the United
Nations headquarters in Vienna,
honouring the Declaration of
Human Rights. Earlier in the year,
Ann Carr-Boyd’s composition for
mandolin ensemble Fandango
rated 55 of the top 100 works in
the ABC Classic FM survey of
chamber music.
Wirripang has launched a
number of CDs: including the
works of Bruce Crossman on
his CD Double Resonances which
includes “Daragang Magayon
Cantata”. Also released were
Nine Elemental Songs featuring
the works of the composer
Michael Atherton together with
Jim Franklin and Tony Wheeler.
Women composers were the
theme of Katie Zhukov’s CD
Ragtime Dreams and Visions, including
the Wirripang composers
Ann Carr-Boyd, May Howlett
and Betty Beath. Flute Odyssey
is made up of the works of a
number of Wirripang composers
performed by Emma Knott and
David Miller.
Finally oboist Rachel Tolmie
combined with the Bourbaki
Ensemble produced Mozart
in Love, the title of its centrepiece
work by the composer
Phillip Wilcher.
> Dan Sultan Band
Compiled
by Mark Eades
and Allison
Gumbleton.
Contributions are welcome
and should be emailed
to comms@apra.com.au.
Deadline for the July 2009
issue is Friday 8th May 2009.
aprap
20

A word to the
stealing
generations
By Michael Coulter, Courtesy of The Age
RECENT reports suggested about 400,000 people downloaded AC/DC’s new
album in the week before it was released. In many instances, these people
were described as “fans”.
This is puzzling, because the word “fan” is a contraction of “fanatic”, someone
with an excessive enthusiasm for a particular subject. If you accept that
terminology, it’s basically saying the best way of showing your appreciation for
something is to steal it. A few better words for those downloaders would be
“parasites”, “deadbeats” or “thieves”.
Chances are not many of the file-sharers who are plundering the intellectual
property of the world think of themselves in those terms. Leaving aside the
whole “everyone does it” and “why pay if you don’t have to” arguments, there
seems to be a fundamental belief, or at least common rationalisation, that if
you’re not stealing a physical object, then you’re not stealing. But just because
what you’ve taken is a specific sequence of ones and zeros doesn’t make it any
less a crime.
Anyone who’s hired a DVD in the past few years will be familiar with the
industry ads pushing the same line. In the case of music downloads, it is on a
breathtaking scale: not only is electronic piracy wrong, but practised on a large
enough scale it will eventually make the entertainment industry unviable.
Like everyone else, all a musician truly owns is their talent and the hours
of their life. We don’t ask doctors or carpenters to trade those hours in for
nothing, so why should we expect musicians to?
In the case of AC/DC, it’s hard to argue that nicking a half-million or so of their
CDs is going to put them in the poorhouse any time soon. There’s still enough
people out there prepared to actually pay for their product to keep them in
short pants and Learjets for the foreseeable future. But what about the great
band of 2012, or 2015? And the music label that will sign them?
One of the dangers is that music will go the same way as cinema and publishing
- the financial risk becomes so great that companies only back material
considered to be an iron-clad commercial proposition. So along with Shrek VII
and the Harry Potter Almanac, we’ll be on a drip feed of Beatles re-releases,
the latest Madonna offering and the first single from the winner of Australian
Idol. All fine things in their way, but not exactly a balanced diet.
It’s sad to think that in an age where technology has made music better
sounding, simpler to record and cheaper to buy, technology also appears to
have made music irresistibly easy to steal. What might be most galling is that
in value-for-money terms, there’s not much less expensive than an album.
As universal languages go, the best we’ve found so far is music. And what a
language it is; a highway to a world of emotion and memory. You can measure
out your life by songs: the song that was playing the first time you danced with
a girl/boy, the songs listened to with friends, the songs that consoled after
the end of a relationship, the songs played at weddings and funerals. And,
amazingly, you can own those songs and moments, and relive them whenever
you want.
I can vividly remember playing one of my favourite albums for the first time,
in a sunny room on the second floor of a Kew apartment in 1991. There was
that perfect instant, the one of hearing the first few notes and knowing that
this was music I’d waited my whole life to hear. From pristine vinyl LP through
two compact discs (one stolen in the conventional fashion), I have listened to it
hundreds of times since, and, what’s more, relished it every single time. If $40
for 17 years of enjoyment isn’t a good investment, I don’t know what is.
In the case of the AC/DC download, you have five men who have made more
money than even a hedge fund could lose by writing loud, simple songs in 4/4
time. Compared with the skills and responsibilities of, say, a registered nurse,
what they do isn’t that amazing, but they’ve still managed to be a part of the
lives of hundreds of millions of people. If you love their music and own their
entire catalogue, you might have contributed somewhere around $400 to their
upkeep. Considering what you’ll have received in return, though, you’ve got
much the better half of the bargain.
Michael Coulter is The Sunday Age’s production editor.
> Photo: Blue Murder Studios
As the newly appointed Producer - Export
Music Services, a position co-funded by
APRA|AMCOS and the Australia Council for the
Arts, it’s my job to promote Australian music
overseas. I am working closely with anyone who
has an interest in exporting music; including
Government agencies, industry bodies, artists,
labels and the list goes on.
In a nutshell, I act as the glue between the Australian
music industry and the world! Basically my job is to:
> Co-ordinate agencies and other key operators of
the Australian music industry in the global market.
> Provide support to the Australian music industry as
they move into the global market
> Increase our presence within key international
music markets, for example South by South West
(Austin, Texas, USA), The Great Escape (London,
UK) and Womex (Copenhagen, Denmark)
This is very exciting for me as I get to represent the
Australian music industry on a global scale, establishing
international networks that will ultimately increase our
overseas export.
My first gig as Export Music Services was to attend the
MIDEM Music Conference in Cannes, France, in January.
MIDEM -the world’s largest international music fair -
brings together musicians and business people where
they can discuss political issues and upcoming trends
within the industry.
Here are some excerpts from my MIDEM “Tour Diary”
featuring details of the people I met with and the issues
we covered. Although these excerpts are just the tip of
the iceberg that was MIDEM 09, I hope they give you an
insight to how my role will assist our music industry
in promoting Australian songwriters and music to the
overseas market.
Millie
TO DO... Before MIDEM
- Review MidemWorld online
registrant database
- Create list of key contacts
- Create conference schedule:
Set-up meetings with key
contacts (allow for
spontaneous hook-ups)
- Find passport/check expiry date
- Learn basic French phrases
Day One: Saturday 17 January 2009
Morning : MidemNet Opening Debate
- Discussions centre on the Trent Reznor/
NIN case study. Particular focus
on fan survey, and implications for artists
and impact on sales.
Afternoon: Roundtable session with the
Ontario Media Development Corporation.
- Initiative by the Canadians bringing
together local industry VIPs
and key industry people abroad.
- Interesting to see what other countries
were up to … great potential
to replicate this type of roundtable session
back home.
Evening : Welcome drinks and catch up with
the Aussie contingent at Midem.
- It’s nice to see some familiar faces, am
settling in nicely!
Day Two: Sunday 18 January 2009
Morning: MidemNet- The Big issue:
How can music and ISPs work together?
- Very topical issue in the present
technological climate. Informative
session.
Afternoon: General Assembly of
International Music Managers Forum
- Meeting with IMMF executives to
discuss Australia as a possible host for
future key IMMF meetings.
Evening: Cocktail function hosted by UK
music copyright collecting society, PRS, to
launch their new brand ‘PRS FOR MUSIC’.
Day Three: Monday 19 January, 2009
Morning: Meeting with NZ’s, Gary Fortune,
International Manager of New Zealand
Music commission (my NZ counterpart).
- picked his brain about this type of role for
advice, war-stories, pitfalls, success etc.
Afternoon: In conversation
session with Brain Message.
- co-manager of Radiohead,
Kate Nash... Focus on
online distribution
including case study
on Radiohead’s latest
album and its online
distribution method.
Evening: Live performance showcases
- Included an acoustic performance
by The Mercury Men (UK),
Australian jazz ensemble
Misinterprotato and Canadian Blast
Showcase, featuring numerous artists.
Day Four: Tuesday 20 January 2009
Morning: Meeting with directors of the
major international music conferences:
- Representatives from South by South
West (USA), The Great Escape (UK),
WOMEX, Canadian Music Week, North by
North East (Canada), Liverpool Sound City
(UK), New Skool Rules (The Netherlands).
- Introduced myself and my role as Export
Music Services. Spoke to them in regards
to initial planning for a Sounds Australia
presence at their respective events.
Afternoon: Meeting with Phillipa McEvoy,
International Strategy Manager, Music &
Publishing Creative & Media Export Unit,
UK Trade & Investment.
- My UK counterpart: spoke to her on
how to best approach
my role. The Brits are
renowned for their
cohesiveness as
exporters – great to get
advice from her on
the ways the Australia
industry can be
more successful in an
international music
market.
Evening: Thought
provoking dinner meeting
with researcher Robert
Singerman.
By Millie Millgate
and Allison Gumbleton
- Robert is doing ground
breaking research,
attempting to break down
language barriers between
global musicians and
their potential audiences
who speak different languages.
He is also working on a world
music lyric translation for both
live and recorded music.
Day Five: Wednesday 21 January 2009
Morning: Meeting with Myles Keller,
Membership Development Director,
PRS for Music
- Discussed suggestions and ideas for our
next Song Summit music conference in 2010.
Afternoon: Meeting with key executives
from Sonicbids: Panos Panay (Founder
& CEO), Andy Kingston (VP, Business
Development) and Ford Englander (VP,
Operations).
- Furthering relations between our
two organisations: explored future
opportunities including possible benefits
for Australians exporting their music.
Evening: Meeting with Danny Yau,
International Digital Sales and
Marketing Manager, UK.
- Australian expat living in the UK. He wants
to help Australians get in touch with the
right people whilst overseas. Very well
connected in the music industry. We
discussed setting up an expat network
to help Australians connect with
overseas contacts.
TO DO... After MIDEM
- Send follow-up emails to all the people
I met.
- Meet with senior staff at
APRAlAMCOS to share key issues that
emerged from MIDEM, share information
and contacts made.
- Unpack then repack for East Coast
Music Awards, Festival and Conference,
Canadian Music Week and SXSW.
- Research natural jet lag remedies
aprap
22

International
notes
> Photo: Blue Murder Studios
By Scot Morris, Director International
Relations APRA|AMCOS
New Standards
for the Digital Age
In the last edition of APRAP, I wrote about
international developments in licensing in the digital
age. In this context, one of the most important roles
of CISAC and the international collecting society
network is the development and use of standard
international identifiers or metadata.
CISAC has been working with societies and the
industry to create international standard numbering
systems which will allow societies, publishers
and users to identify composers, publishers, song
and audiovisual titles. These numbering systems,
certified by the International Standards Organisation
(ISO), are linked to all underlying information held on
our databases and allow us to meet the challenges
of automating the identification and payment of
royalties in the digital age. The identifiers are the
foundations of rights management information
which is used in CISAC tools and formats to allow the
electronic exchange and processing of vast amounts
of data around the world - quickly and accurately.
You are probably already familiar with some ISO numbering
systems such as ISRCs for sound recordings or ISBNs for
books. In addition, CISAC has developed the International
Standard Work Code (ISWC). APRA attributes ISWCs to all
works registered on our CMS database by members and is used
to identify works by societies throughout the world. ISWCs also
appear on a worldwide database at www.iswc.org.
The other number you may be familiar with is the Interested Party
Identifier (IPI); the number formerly known as the CAE. The IPI
identifies creative right holders in all repertoires and links to their
names, nationality, place of birth and agreements with copyright
societies. For further information go to www.IPIsystem.org
ISAN (International Standard Audio-visual Number) identify
all types and versions of films, television shows, ads, video
games, music videos etc. ISANs are attached to cue sheet
information held in the APRA|AMCOS CMS database. These cues
include information on the underlying musical works (+ISWCs),
rightsowners (+IPIs), durations and the usage of music (featured/
background/theme) in these productions. APRA|AMCOS and
Screenrights have established a regional agency to issue ISANs
- go to www.australasia-isan.org for more information.
The above CISAC rights management information is used in CISAC
tools, databases and standard formats as part of the Common
Information Systems (CIS) Project, launched in 1994. CIS aims to
develop systems to allow seamless and accurate digital exchange
of data between societies and their members. Examples of the
databases are the Musical Works Information Database (WID)
that contains nearly 8 million works with information about titles,
ISWCs and performing and mechanical rights shares. There
is also the AVIndex – a database of the world’s audio-visual
productions automating requests for distribution data from the
society which holds the authoritative cue sheet. These are linked
through CIS Net – a network of local, regional and international
society nodes – that give societies access to work information,
relevant IPIs, publishing agreement and AVIndex information.
APRA|AMCOS uses CISNet in its distribution processes and
supplies information on our repertoire via the WID Database.
The other important part of the CIS project is the international
standard formats for electronic data exchanges between
members and societies. These include Common Works
Registration (CWR) providing a standard format for publishers
to register works with societies; the Unidentified Performances
(UP) Format for societies to circulate data about unidentified
works and to perform batch inquiries against CISNet; and the
Audio-Visual Request (AVR) to automate queries of the AVIndex
and to supply cue data in a format that can be entered directly
into our database. APRA|AMCOS is also very involved in the
elaboration by CISAC of a new electronic data exchange of
distribution data between societies, which will provide much
more detail on how works are used - called the Common Royalty
Distribution Format (CRD).
The way the CISAC standards, tool and rules are engaged in the
very core of societies business can be represented thus:
> Samuel Holloway. Photo by Michael Norris > Grayson Gilmour. Photo by Ian Jorgensen
The APRA NZ
Professional
Development Awards
have grown this year
from one scholarship
to three; recognising
excellence in three
composition genres:
Classical, Pop
Contemporary and
Film & TV. Each
recipient receives
NZ$12,000 towards
their professional
development and
a brand new Gibson
guitar (cheers
Gibson!).
By Abbie Rutledge, Communications and Events APRA NZ
Film & TV: Grayson Gilmour
www.graysongilmour.com
“...Grayson has extreme potential with a big career in
the making. He is an exciting talent and one to watch
as he moves into the area of composing for film and
television...”
Grayson Gilmour has made quite an impact for someone
who is yet to turn 25. Hailing from Palmerston North,
Grayson began his solo recordings at age 16 and hasn’t
stopped since. By 2005 album #3 Phantom Limbs was so
well received throughout Australasia - Grayson had to say
goodbye to his signature self-assembled CDs and had the
album re-mastered and pressed. By now Grayson has more
than one project on the go, most notably as the lead singer
for So So Modern – an eclectic 4-piece whose sound NME
describes as “puzzle pop”. Known for his compositional
electro-acoustic studies creating textures, arrangements
and interludes, he has already received a nod from the
NZ Film Commission to compose for a new feature film.
Grayson intends to focus his passion for different types of
music and forms of composition into the specific field of
scoring for film and television. With his PDA, Grayson will be
able to attend the Nordic Youth Film Festival and the Sound
Design & Music course at Media Lab Helsinki.
Classical: Samuel Holloway
www.myspace.com/samuelholloway
“... Samuel’s strength is his creativity. He is a creative
spark and a free thinker, who has an absolute
commitment to classical music...”
Samuel Holloway is an Auckland-based composer and
teacher, lecturing at both the University of Auckland and
Unitec. His musical work has been performed by prominent
artists and ensembles, including the NZ Trio, 175 East, the
Luxembourg Sinfonietta and the NZ Symphony Orchestra.
Samuel has also received numerous awards highlighting
his outstanding work, most notably in Hong Kong where he
was awarded first prize in the 2007 ACL Young Composer
Competition for his work Stapes. From July 2007-July 2008
he was the Composer in Residence at the Lilburn Residence
in Wellington. With several works in the pipeline for 2009
premieres, Samuel intends to use his PDA towards overseas
trips: the first being the Asian Contemporary Music Festival
in Korea. The second will include attendance at festivals
and workshops such as Ostrava Days and Royaumont’s Voix
Nouvelles; collaborative work with performers in Luxembourg
and Los Angeles and to Huddersfield to discuss the possibility
of further study.
Pop Contemporary: Jessica Hansell
www.cocosolid.com
“...Jessica is a great talent with incredible motivation.
She is a masterful lyricist with a great insight into
everyday life. Jessica is a force of nature...”
> Jessica Hansell
Coco Solid is producer, rapper and musician Jessica Hansell.
The Auckland-raised Maori/German/Samoan femcee has
produced five critically acclaimed albums since 2004. Coco
Solid’s infamous sound, as her bio states: “is a mix of
psychedelic raps, 80’s electro, booty-bass, dancehall, grime,
punk and experimental noize. Mix this with slow-burn politics,
cut-throat jokes and a trademark monotone wit... well you
have yourself a cult following, an internationally innovative
band and a dense band bio.” When Coco Solid toured their
2005 album Denim & Leather in Europe and the US; London’s
Time Out likened them to MIA, while German crowds packed
out super clubs and the LA art scene applauded their “droll”
lyrics. With more accolades from her peers that you can poke
a stick at – including having her work covered by Princess
Superstar – Jessica plans to use her PDA by basing herself in
Berlin for two months to collaborate with renowned hip-hop
producer Robin Hannibal. Jessica will also collaborate with
Portuguese rapper MC Violet and work on further tracks with
Princess Superstar in New York later in the year.
aprap
24

Music to Dine For
> Truth Corroded
< Bombazine Black
Compiled by Chris Moller
Contributions should be emailed to
whatshappening@apra.com.au
Deadline for the June 2009 issue is
Friday 8 May 2009
> Anthony Snape
Local SA thrash metal band TRUTH
CORRODED had a huge year in
2008, releasing their album Upon
The Warlords Crawl in Australia
and Singapore, and touring both
territories to a huge response. The
band plan to capitalise on their
success in these territories with
extensive touring in both Asia and
Australia throughout 2009, while
also looking to expand its reach
to the US and Europe. They will
also begin writing and recording
the follow up to Upon the Warlords
Crawl. www.truthcorroded.com
CLARE REYNOLDS is soon to head
overseas for 6 months to capitalise
on the recent success of her song
“Don’t Give Up”, featured on the
US TV series Private Practice. The
show is now set to air on primetime
television in over 50 countries.
Clare is the only Australianbased
artist to be featured in the
season and also one of the few
independent artists, and features
alongside the Foo Fighters, Amiee
Mann, Wilco, James Blunt and
SIA (another APRA member!).
Since the program aired Clare
has been inundated with hits on
her myspace, youtube and iTunes.
www.clarereynolds.net
The SUNWRAE ENSEMBLE launch
their third full-length album this
year Autumn Never Fall, composed
by Artistic Director RAE HOWELL.
Touring throughout VIC, NSW,
QLD & SA in April/May this year,
Sunwrae will perform as a 9-piece
ensemble, and perform new
music and live performance to the
new animated film The Machine.
www.sunwrae.com
Indigenous artist BLAKE RALPH
was recently awarded Artist of the
Year (2009) by the Gadigal council
in association with Yabun and Koori
Radio. Blake was presented with
the award by the Hon. Minister
for Aboriginal Affairs Paul Lynch
on Australia Day at Victoria Park
> Blake Ralph
and Paul Lynch
Sydney and was recognised for
his service in community projects
in the Liverpool area. His debut
self-titled EP features the single
“Falling for You”, which received
rotation on over thirty commercial
and community radio stations
nationally. Look out for Blake’s
debut album this year, due to be
released on the VMUSIC label.
www.blakeralph.com
Announced as the overall Grand
Prize Winner in the Nashville
based SongDoor International
Songwriting Competition in
January this year, ANTHONY
SNAPE landed first place in the
Pop, Rock and Singer-Songwriter
categories. Rising to the top of
thousands of entries from over 14
different countries, the Australian
born artist has been writing in
Nashville after touring the US in
2008 with guitar virtuoso Tommy
Emmanuel. Anthony is set to
showcase at the SXSW Music
Festival in Austin, Texas in March.
www.anthonysnape.com
Melbourne singer/songwriter RON
KINGSTON recently performed
in Bahrain for the US, British
and Australian soldiers serving
in neighbouring Iraq and Kuwait.
Ron was the only Australian
performer in Bahrain during the
summer period from April unitl
September 2008. Ron is currently
in Melbourne recording his third
album and gearing up for his
> Sunwrae Ensemble
Alive & Unplugged national tour.
For more details visit:
www.myspace.com/ronkingston
Wollongong band LEADFINGER
started as a solo project
for songwriter STEWART
CUNNINGHAM and has built up a
solid reputation in the indie rock
scene, playing loads of awesome
gigs, and recently releasing the
well received Through the Cracks
EP on local Wollongong label
Music Farmers. February 2009
saw their third release, an album
called Rich Kids on European record
label - Bang! Records. The album
is distributed in Australia by Fuse
Music and will also be released
on limited edition gatefold vinyl.
www.myspace.com/leadfinger
After receiving an artistic residency
at the Cité Internationale des
Récollets in Paris, MATTHEW DAVIS,
founding member of indie rock
act GERSEY, went about creating
an entirely new international
project BOMBAZINE BLACK and
debut album, Here their Dreams.
A predominately instrumental
collection of cinematic and evocative
music, the album features guest
appearances from Toby Martin
(Youth Group), Miles Browne (Art Of
Fighting), Martin Cooke (Gaslight
Radio) and Daryl Bradie and Danny
Tulen (Gersey), Here their Dreams
is available through Inertia. www.
myspace.com/bombazineblack
Legendary Melbourne songwriter /
musician and performer CHARLES
JENKINS recently released his
new solo album The Blue Atlas
featuring his talented cohorts THE
ZHIVAGOS, plus a 16-piece string
section. Starting out with the
Adelaide rockabilly/punk outfit the
Mad Turks from Istanbul through
to the twice ARIA Award-nominated
power-pop band the Icecream
Hands, Charles has recorded and
released nine albums, both locally
and internationally, and has toured
Europe and America as a solo artist.
www.charlesjenkins.com.au
Adelaide based singer/songwriter
JADE AMBROZE was named
the winner of Contemporary
Christian Song category in the
8th Annual Independent Music
Awards (IMA) program with her
song “More”. This year’s IMA
winners and finalists were culled
from thousands of submissions
worldwide. Jade worked with
producers Andy Sorenson and
David Holmes on her latest album
Meant to Fly which contains this
award winning song “More”.
www.jadeambroze.com
It has been a solid year for NEIL
MURRAY, a member of the
pioneering indigenous rock group
the Warumpi Band. The next couple
of months will see him gathering
songs for a new album plannned
for next year, along with releasing a
book of song lyrics, to be published
by One Day Hill early 2009. Neil is
currently helping to promote the
Salvation Army’s Braver, Stronger,
Wiser initiative which is targeting
depression in rural and regional
Australia. There is also talk of ABC
music releasing a special boxed
set of his back catalogue albums.
www.neilmurray.com.au
Local Byron artist Cheynne
Murphy has just released his
new EP Firesongs for the Soul
and will play the 2009 Blues and
Roots Festival and shows along
the east coast to support the
release. Already garnering critical
industry acclaim, Cheynne’s
new songs effortlessly traverse
the alternative acoustic folk pop
terrain, ending up somewhere
in the misty hills of Byron Bay,
the inspiration and location for
most of the song writing. www.
myspace.com/cheynnemurphy
> Cheynne Murphy
Newcastle’s independent punkinfused
rock group HEARTBREAK
CLUB are taking a break from
their live shows, heading into
Melbourne’s Sing Sing Studios
to record a new album with US
Producer Ed Rose (Motion City
Soundtrack, The Get Up Kids) and
engineer Matt Voigt (The Killers,
Midnight Oil, The Living End). These
new recording sessions will be the
first since their EP O Tempora!
O Mores!, which received great
reviews and radio play nationally.
www.heartbreakclub.org
JAMES GREHAN’s last nine
months have seen the Queensland
songwriter recording and releasing
a 7 track mini album Space
Between the Silence which went on
to receive five nominations at the
Q-Song Awards. Winning three
categories for Best Alternative
Song, Best Regional and the
Courier Mails People’s Choice
Award resulted in Triple J placing
a third track from the release on
Charles Jenkins <
their Hit List. With these accolades
under his belt James is heading
back into the studio to write and
record his next release for 2009
www.jamesgrehan.com
Melbourne pianist GALLIANO
SOMMAVILLA, released his first
cookbook Playing with Food in 2006
with an accompanying 11 track CD
of his original compositions. To
follow up the success of the first
release Galliano has just released
his second book Music to Dine For,
this time with an accompanying 17
track CD, recorded by Chris Wilson
at his studio. For more information
on this unique release go to www.
galliano.com.au
After years of touring, collaborations,
and awards, including
a duo with Jenny Balmer - Country
Album of the Year winner, well
known keyboardist and composer
ROBERT STEVENSON has finally
felt it time to release his own album
Simple Little Miracles. Robert
has played with the who’s who
of Australian touring musicians
(John Swan, The Chantoozies, Scott
Carne, Brian Mannix, Jean Stafford,
Johnny Chester, Judy Stone, Little
Patti etc). For more information see
www.robstevensonmusic.com
Aztec Music are proud to present
the long overdue reissue of X’s
legendary Australian album
X-Aspirations. Produced by
Australian rock legend LOBBY
LOYDE, the album was recorded
at Trafalgar Studios and features
one of the great singles of the
punk era “I Don’t Wanna Go Out”.
Available now from Aztec Music
www.aztecmusic.net
Making waves –Singer Songwriters
is the powerful debut from Gadigal
Music, a label developed by
Indigenous music professionals
for Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander singers, musicians,
writers, producers and sound
engineers to reach as wide an
audience as possible. Released
in partnership with ABC
Music, Making waves - Singer
Songwriters opens the way for
further collaborative releases of
Indigenous music across a range
of genres, from Country to Hip Hop
and Rap. The compilation features
singer songwriters Glenn Casey
Donovan; Adam James; Radical
Son; Sharon Lane; Dewayne
Everettsmith; L.J. Hill; Krista
Pav; Dan Sultan; Leah Flanagan
and Sharnee Fenwick.
aprap
26

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
at All Tomorrow’s Parties, Cockatoo Island
It’s not often that a festival “curator” runs out on stage throwing karate-style kicks into the air. But that’s how Nick
Cave made his entrance as leader of the band headlining the first All Tomorrow’s Parties Festival on Cockatoo
Island in Sydney Harbour.
His burst of exuberance made all the photographers jump and recoil slightly from the pit in front of the stage.
There was no slow introductory song for the crowd. His first two numbers had the feel of a performer already
warmed up and at his energised peak.
As a rule, photographers always shoot the first two or three songs, but I think it would be better if we shot the last
two or three as there is usually more emotion to capture. This photo makes me smile because I think Nick Cave
might have had a laugh out of scaring the photographers - or at least me, anyway - and catching us all unprepared
for his wild-man kicks and erratic body movements. I wasn’t sure if I’d captured this kick successfully and only
on downloading it to my laptop did I know this was the shot.
Everyone left the concert raving to each other about Cave’s performance while motoring across the harbour
back home.
By Edwina Pickles,
photographer for The Sydney Morning Herald.
epickles@smh.com.au
APRA is an association of composers, authors and publishers of music in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific having affiliations with similarly constituted
organisations around the world. Writer directors: Arthur Baysting [New Zealand], Eric McCusker, Nigel Westlake, Jenny Morris, Chris Neal, Michael Perjanik
[Chairman] Publisher directors: Robert Aird Universal Music Publishing Group Pty Ltd, John Anderson EMI Music Publishing Australia Pty Ltd, Ian James Mushroom
Music Pty Ltd, Matthew Capper Warner/Chappell Music Australia Pty Ltd, Fifa Riccobono J Albert & Son, Damian Trotter Sony/ATV Music Publishing Chief Executive:
Brett Cottle LLB Director of NZ Operations: Anthony Healey Registered Office: 16 Mountain Street Ultimo NSW 2007 Telephone: (02) 9935 7900 Facsimile: (02) 9935
7999 Email: apra@apra.com.au Internet: www.apra-amcos.com.au
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The opinions expressed in articles in Aprap are not necessarily those of the Australasian Performing Right Association. Editor: Anthea Sarris asarris@apra.com.au
Design: Elastik Printing: No Time To Lose ©2008 Australasian Performing Right Association Ltd, Sydney, Australia. Print Post No: 255003/02262 ISSN: 1441-4910.
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