FAQs

If you play music protected by copyright out loud in a public place for a commercial purpose such as a shop, a gym or a bar you need permission or you need to purchase a music licence. Legally this music use is different to playing music at home or in your car. This is called public performance of music.

Music licence costs depend on your business type, music devices and whether the music is protected by copyright. If you use the radio and you are a small shop the cost will be much, much smaller than if you are running a multi-purpose theatre. 

Your business can legally play music protected by Copyright by getting permission first. Permission can be from OneMusic Australia in the form of a licence for millions of songs in its catalogue, from the artists themselves for every song, through a background music supplier or other means. You need permission or a licence when your stream music in your business.

If you want to play and enjoy the use of virtually any commercially released music from anywhere around the world, you should immediately enter into a OneMusic Australia licence, because using OneMusic Australia’s music without a OneMusic Australia licence can constitute an infringement of our copyright which, if not rectified, may ultimately lead to legal action.

Of course, we will happily talk with you about your music licensing and certainly provide a reasonable time frame for you to take out a licence before escalating the matter any further.

But, if our music continues to be used without permission, then we will be left with no option but to enforce our rights on behalf of our members and affiliates, which could involve court proceedings. Such action may result in the business having to pay the licence fees as well as other damages and legal costs.

Over 95% of businesses and organisations that we deal with are readily compliant.

To purchase a music licence you select only the cover you need for your music devices. Music licence fees start $100 a year. Fees differ by industry, a shop pays a licence fee on its floor space, a nightclub on attendance and a café on seating capacity.

OneMusic does not generally licence individual or group live performers such as bands and DJ's. It is the venue or the event organiser who needs to obtain a licence for public performance.

Performers may still need permission for copying

A performer may require licensing for any reproductions they are considering such as photocopying sheet music, videoing their performance, copying CDs onto a laptop. 

DJ Alliance have signed an agreement with ARIA and AMCOS to cover their physical and digital copies of music. This agreement covers their members starting from 1 July 2019.

Outside this arrangement:

• Reproduction, Domestic Video Licence & Online queries
• ARIA Reproduction Licence queries
• PPCA Webcast licensing queries 
  
  

OneMusic licenses performers who are part of a Community Music Group.

Royalty-Free and PPCA-free

The terms ‘royalty-free’ music and ‘PPCA-free’ music can mean lots of different things and they don’t always mean that you don’t need a OneMusic Australia licence. You might also have heard the term ‘Public Domain’ – we’ll cover this in this article too.

We’ve provided more details below, but you can always chat to us on the phone on 1300 162 162, through live chat or by email.

The low-down on royalty-free music and PPCA-free music

When OneMusic Australia licenses a business to play our music, we send almost all the money we collect for that licence back to music creators, including the songwriters and recording artists. These are called “royalties”.

Unlike OneMusic Australia’s music, royalty-free music is music where ongoing “royalties” are not being paid out to music creators even when someone pays to use that music in their business. The vast majority of the world’s commercially released music is not “royalty-free”.

Not all royalty-free is really royalty-free

Not all music that is called ‘royalty-free’ music is the same. Sometimes it could mean that just the recording is ‘royalty free’ and that the underlying written songs still require an ongoing payment to the creators.

A recording may be ‘royalty-free’ because the supplier already has the permission from the record label that owns the recording, or it could be that the supplier has themselves arranged for a ‘sound-a-like’ recording to be made (sometimes this is called ‘PPCA-free’).

Unfortunately, in our experience, often what is sometimes called ‘royalty-free’ music is in fact not entirely ‘free’ from the payment of ongoing royalties and that you may still require a licence from OneMusic Australia.

If you are not sure if the music you want to use will require a OneMusic Australia licence, please feel free to contact us.

Download our information sheet Royalty-free music - What you need to know

You need a OneMusic licence as long as you continue to use our music. The licence will renew automatically each year, and we may ask you for updated music use details to ensure you are appropriately covered. The only exception is our range of event licences, which are issued on a case-by-case basis for the performance.

If your annual licence fee is more than $500 you have the choice to pay on a quarterly basis (with no interest) or you can choose to pay annually.

If you no longer need our licence (that is if you cease to use our music), you can terminate with two months' notice to us. OneMusic licences are not transferrable, so, if you have taken over a business or changed your ABN/ACN then a new OneMusic licence is required.

In most cases a OneMusic licence is required, however, if they want to deal with you directly you may be able to negotiate a licence with the performers, assuming there are no sound recordings used in the performance and they have written all the music they perform. They will also need to ensure that they get the consent of any co-writers, or music publishers who may have an interest in any of the works they will be performing. Your annual licence fee will simply be adjusted accordingly if you let OneMusic know of your arrangements.

Whether or not the live performer performs for free or not does not change you are required to have the performance properly licensed. We suggest that the easiest way to do this is through a OneMusic licence. However, there are options available to enable you to deal with the relevant copyright owners of the music that OneMusic represents. For the songs performed, if the songwriter wants to license their rights to you directly, they can access the APRA AMCOS licence-back process. 

It is important that you are aware that the live artist performer is often not the composer so you would need to ensure the act is able to provide you with all the necessary permissions for the music they are performing including co-writers and music publishers. If there is a recording used in the performance (for example, if the performer is a hip-hop artist) then you are able to directly-license with the relevant copyright owner, generally a record label (there may be more than one you need to deal with). You do need not pay OneMusic for performances directly-licensed.

Each location needs to be licensed by OneMusic. You can do this in one of two ways. 

• 1. Take out an individual licence per location.
• 2. Take out a ‘head office’ licence (providing all your locations are trading under the same ABN) and license them all under the one account. 

Anyone starting a new business should contact OneMusic if their intention is to play our music to customers. Your OneMusic licence will commence from when your business starts using our music and we can backdate or post-date as required. If you have only recently been made aware that your business requires a licence to use our music you should apply for a OneMusic licence immediately.

in Australia if your organisation wants to publicly perform Bruce Rowland’s works you will need to obtain clearances direct from Bruce Rowland’s representatives by emailing bruce@rowland.net to seek a licence directly. This applies to any context of the use of his works other than showing films.

A full list of Bruce Rowland's works.

OneMusic Australia (through APRA AMCOS and PPCA) has shared (in other words, reciprocal) agreements with overseas music rights management organisations just like us.

Under the OneMusic brand, APRA AMCOS collects public performance licence fees in Australia for songwriters, composers and publishers who are members over 70 affiliated music rights management organisations worldwide. The fees (performance royalties) are transferred when the song owned by member of another organisations like us is played here in Australia.

It does not matter whether the music you play in your business is composed by an Australian, an American, a member of APRA AMCOS or a member of (the Swedish version of APRA AMCOS) STIM. If the music is protected by Copyright and is being publicly performed, a OneMusic licence or other permissions are needed.

PPCA too has reciprocal arrangements for sound recordings and music videos. You can read more about what the PPCA blanket licence covers.

A OneMusic licence does not cover you if you want to record a video for your business, set this to music from our repertoire (or have music audible in the background) and then post that video online.

Other licences and permissions are needed.

In order to create a video containing commercial released music, and then post it online, there are three areas of copyright which must be cleared.

1. Synchronisation (Sync)

Whenever music is included in any type of video (an audio/visual production), this is referred to as a synchronisation. You must get synchronisation rights cleared to create any video, usually through the publisher of the song. 

2. Master Rights

If you are using any recording of a song you have not created yourself, you must obtain permission to use the recording (or “master rights”) from the record label or owner of the recording. If you are using your own recording (e.g. a cover version you have commissioned) then you do not need to seek master rights.

3. Communication Rights

To then make this video available online, the communication right to “broadcast” (i.e. stream) the video from a website must be cleared through APRA AMCOS, as they administer these rights on behalf of composers and music publishers.

For more information on communication licences, please email medialicensing@apra.com.au with the website where the video will be hosted, whether the video will be generating any revenue, and if the video is an advertisement. They may require more information depending on these answers.

YouTube & Facebook

APRA AMCOS licences YouTube and Facebook directly, but only for for the ‘streaming’ of videos.  This means no additional rights need to be cleared with APRA AMCOS to upload a video directly to YouTube.
You will still need to get/clear/arrange Sync and Master rights, as above.

The material and content from ABC Education such as ABC Kids Listen is within the repertoire (collection) of OneMusic Australia. OneMusic licenses the use of music - public performance, communication and reproduction - in all businesses and organisations including child care and early education services across Australia. You can contact ABC Legal to confirm this.

OneMusic Australia (since 2019) is an APRA AMCOS and PPCA joint licensing initiative.

OneMusic Australia offers joint music licences from PPCA and APRA AMCOS. The organisation allows music users to more seamlessly meet their copyright obligations for the commercial use of musical works, sound recordings and music videos. 

OneMusic is not a government body but it works within the federal Copyright Act (1968). OneMusic appears on the Australian Business Licence and Information Service (ABLIS) website along with other licences a business requires at start up.

OneMusic does not supply music. OneMusic licenses the rights to play music to the public, regardless of the source of your music. We license the right to play the vast majority of popular and well-recognised music from around the world – the music you likely play in your business or your organisation.

No. OneMusic is a joint initiative of APRA AMCOS and PPCA that collects royalties on behalf of those who create the music.

OneMusic cannot, and does not, issue fines. 

OneMusic provides the permission to play the vast majority of the world’s repertoire of commercial music in a business or other public setting.  

While playing music in a business without a licence may result in a legal action for infringement of copyright, the amount of damages that a court may impose for that infringement differs. Previously, the court has imposed damages costing 10 or 15 times the cost of the original licence fees.  

OneMusic provides the permission to play the vast majority of the world’s repertoire of commercial music in a business or other public setting.

APRA AMCOS is the trading name of APRA (Australasian Performing Right Association) and AMCOS (Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society). APRA AMCOS grants licences for the live performance, broadcast, communication, public playing and reproduction of its members’ musical works. APRA AMCOS then distributes the net licence fees collected to its 103,000+ songwriter, composer and music publisher members and affiliated societies worldwide.

PPCA (Phonographic Performance Company of Australia Ltd) grants licences for the broadcast, communication or public playing of recorded music (such as CDs, records and digital downloads or streams) and music videos. PPCA then distributes the net licence fees collected to its licensors (generally record labels) and registered recording artists.

ARIA means Australian Recording Industry Association Limited.

ARIA Sound Recordings means the sound recordings controlled by ARIA listed which are listed on the ARIA website, the rights for which ARIA has authorised OneMusic Australia to administer.

OneMusic Australia is a joint licensing initiative between APRA AMCOS Australia and the Phonographic Performance Company of Australia (PPCA). OneMusic NZ is a joint licensing initiative between APRA AMCOS NZ and Recorded Music NZ. RMNZ represent record labels and recording artists for the public performance of sound recordings. 

We care about ensuring that the licence fees you pay are distributed (paid out) to the rights holders in the most accurate and cost effective way possible.

OneMusic distributes the fees it collects to APRA AMCOS and PPCA, the bodies behind the licensing initiative. Both entities are the same in that, after the deduction of administration and operational costs, all fees collected are distributed to members or licensors.

Although separate companies, in the financial year 2018/2019 APRA AMCOS’ and PPCA’s costs to revenue ratio was similar at approximately 14%. This means that around 86 cents in the dollar earned in licence fees collected by APRA AMCOS and PPCA is being paid to each organisation’s rights holders. Those costs compare very favourably to organisations providing the same service overseas. 

Under OneMusic APRA AMCOS and PPCA maintain their own distribution practices and policies and are available online. 

Both APRA AMCOS and PPCA are always seeking to achieve a delicate balance in their distribution practices - a balance between accuracy on the one hand and minimising the administration that would be required in track by track music use reports that businesses would have to submit.

The following represent the main sources of music data the two organisations use to make their distributions to music creators:

• Individual commercial radio and television stations reporting the music they broadcast;
• Digital download services and record labels reporting the tracks or CDs they sell and their sales volumes;
• Services using Music Recognition Technology like digital fingerprinting and audio-recognition to match performances/broadcasts to their databases;
• Data from music providers who supply programmed curated music for specific industries, such as fitness;
• Background music suppliers who provide us with music reports from their clients’ playlists; and
• Set lists of musical works performed by artists and musicians at live/dance events and festivals supplied to APRA by event promoters.

Music licence fees from OneMusic Australia start at under $100 a year. Music licence fees are user-pays and are different for each industry, so a shop will pay a licence fee on its floor space and a cafe will pay a music licence fee on the number of people it can seat. Fees also differ on the music device you use.

A OneMusic licence covers the use of APRA AMCOS musical works and sound recordings and PPCA sound recordings and music videos according to the type of cover you require. While the repertoire of OneMusic is vast and extensive, the use of some music does not require our licence:

• Music not represented by OneMusic, commonly called royalty free (we note that royalty free music when compared to the OneMusic repertoire is a mere fraction of size and of course will not include the popular music that your customers, clients or patrons know and love).
• Music in the public domain – that is the music is out of copyright protections because the composers died AND the recording was first released more than 70 years ago.

Some other music sources may only require partial cover, and for most of our rates, we offer a partial reduction deduction. This may occur when ALL:

• the sound recordings you use are unprotected sound recordings
• the music you use is in the public domain for all composers or all sound recordings

although we note that in our experience these scenarios are rare, and

• all music you play comes through a radio or television set playing traditional terrestrial channels
• all the recordings are re-records of songs by a company not a member of PPCA
• all the music is source licensed for one of APRA AMCOS’ or PPCA’s rights

OneMusic licences also have certain restrictions on them including for example, limited use under the Website cover, and not including the performance of musicals, operettas and ballets (also known as Grand Right works). To use this type of music, you need to get permission DIRECT from the rights holder and we can assist in researching who you need to liaise with.

If you believe you may not require a licence from OneMusic or are entitled to a partial rights deduction please contact us via hello@onemusic.com.au so we can confirm.

According to their Terms of Use, the digital music services that most of us use at home, may only be used for personal and domestic purposes.

You can verify this by reading Spotify's Terms and Conditions of Use 'Your rights to use the Spotify Service' under clause 3. Other services have their own Terms and Conditions you can research. 

However, whatever the source of the music used at your organisation, if you use OneMusic Australia’s music then you’ll still need a licence from OneMusic to play it in your business.

In addition, if you copy OneMusic Australia’s music, for instance from one CD to another, or you stream it from a personal digital music service, then you’ll also need coverage called “Digital Copy/Delivery”.

You should be aware that a OneMusic Australia licence, even when it includes Digital Copy/Delivery only gives you permission to use our music in your business (or event); it does not override the Terms of Use for the personal digital music service you are using, nor does it give you permission to use that particular digital music service for a commercial purpose – that permission can only come from the owners of that digital music service.

Even with our licence, the use of digital music streaming services by you in your business may be in breach of the terms and conditions of your end user agreement with that service. You should check with your service provider.

You may be better to consider a commercially licensed digital music service. We have compiled a list of these music services in the Background Music Guide.

Buying music, subscribing to music services, or turning on a radio or TV does not provide the rights to use this music in a commercial or public setting. You have paid for the ‘hardware,’ not the performance of what is on/in that hardware to the public.

A public performance is deemed to be a performance outside the private or domestic domain (i.e. home, private car, hotel room or hospital room). Playing music on the beach is categorised as a private eventfor instance, but a centenary parade in a regional town is a public event under our definition. A 21^st birthday held at a nightclub or a hall, and where the party goers dance to the music played by DJs is also a public event. 

Music is sold for private/domestic use, so any use of this music by a business or organisation is a public performance that requires licensing. The same rule applies whether you have purchased a physical CD, bought a digital download or stream music through a subscription service.

OneMusic obtains performance information where it is reasonable to do so. It would be unreasonable for us to require a small business like a fitness centre to report every song they play. Where we don’t ask for music use information, we distribute licence fees to proxy (representative) sources such as radio airplay, personal digital music services, television broadcast logs, ARIA chart data and from music recognition technology. 

PPCA’s repertoire is made up of all of the sound recordings and/or music videos owned or controlled in Australia by its licensors and the labels they control. As at July 2019 the number of labels registered with PPCA exceeds 55,000. The repertoire expands to cover new sound recordings as they are released by PPCA’s licensors. Given the sheer volume of sound recordings controlled by its licensors it is impractical to publish a list of tracks included in the repertoire. However a list of PPCA’s licensors and the labels they control are available here http://www.ppca.com.au/labels/list-of-current-licensors/. The licensors and labels are made up of thousands of Australian recording artists and labels, both local and international, majors and independents. These licensors have granted PPCA a non-exclusive right to license businesses to play protected sound recordings and music videos.  

The Copyright Act protects certain sound recordings for public performance. PPCA’s public performance licence covers all ‘protected recordings’ within its repertoire. Some recordings released in Australia (and within PPCA’s repertoire) are not protected and a licence is not required to publicly perform those sound recordings. Working out whether or not a recording is protected may require the application of complex provisions of the Copyright Act to determine and require an understanding of:

1. the country where the recording was made;
2. the nationality and residence of everyone performing on the recording (including all session musicians);
3. the country where the recording was first released;
4. the date of the first release; and
5. the age of the recording.

A list of ‘protected countries’ can be found here http://www.ppca.com.au/IgnitionSuite/uploads/docs/Schedule%203%20Countries[2].pdf. The United States is not a ‘protected country’. However recordings made in the United States (or by US citizens) can still be considered ‘protected’ under the Copyright Act if one of the criteria above is met.  Eg: a track recorded by an Australian or British artist in the United States for release in Australia and elsewhere is likely to be protected and a public performance licence required.

As a general statement, recordings made in territories such as Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Europe and Canada are usually protected and a licence is required to play these recordings in public. All music videos are protected recordings and all sound recordings used as telephone on hold music are protected.

If you have any questions regarding the scope of PPCA repertoire, please contact PPCA  http://www.ppca.com.au/Contact/

Yes. Music on free-to-air TV or radio played in your business is a public performance of that music and protected under the Copyright Act. This needs permission from the copyright owners of the music and a OneMusic licence provides this permission. The performance of sound recordings from traditional radio or TV broadcasts is not subject to copyright protection** and accordingly we either have separate rates or there are deductions available to our standard rates in many cases if that is the only music source you use at your business.

The separate broadcast licences held by radio and TV stations cover their broadcast of that music, but not your public performance of the music they broadcast.

** This doesn’t apply if for example you’re playing a traditional station like Triple J from an online source like Tune-in, Sonos or one of the ABC’s own apps.

All businesses that use our music should be licensed. If you believe that a business is using music illegally, please let us know and we will follow it up. If you wish to remain anonymous, you can call 1300 162 162 and advise details without your caller ID being recorded.

We love it when our Australian songs are performed at the Wembley stadium in London, or in the music halls of Nashville; in fact APRA AMCOS and PPCA, the bodies behind OneMusic, are part of initiatives to boost the export of Australian music to the world and improve our balance of trade.

You will be glad to know that you can still obtain a licence from OneMusic if you only play overseas music because OneMusic represents a worldwide catalogue of music on behalf of APRA AMCOS and PPCA via their membership or rights input agreements and their agreements with collecting societies worldwide.

For example, The Music Licence (an operation similar to OneMusic Australia) administers Courtney Barnett’s rights in the UK, which means that royalties for performances of her music in that territory are appropriately licensed and paid back to the relevant rights holders, just as OneMusic administers Ed Sheeran’s rights in Australia for distribution to his relevant rights holders.

The list is available here and identifies those promoters who have Promoted Music Event blanket licences and account directly to OneMusic for all shows in their tours.

Music licence fees for retail and service business start at under $100 a year for a business that measures 50 square metres or less that is just playing the radio or TV. Licence fees are user-pays so if this business owner instead chose to stream their music which requires more music rights, they would pay over $500 a year.

Existing work: If you are seeking to create an arrangement and sheet music for an existing work, then you need direct permission from the music publisher. 

Existing work, live performance: If you wish to arrange an existing work for the purpose of a live performance and you will not be creating sheet music, then only the performance will require the licence from OneMusic. In most cases, this will be the responsibility of the venue or the event organiser.

Events & concerts: If you are putting on the event or concert complete our online application form.

Community Groups: The OneMusic Community Music Group Licence DOES NOT provide the authorisation to create an arrangement of a work. If you are a Community Band, Choir or Performance Group you may need a licence that will cover you for free performances and rehearsals. 

Existing work, audio recording: For an existing work within APRA’s repertoire for the purpose of an audio recording, then you may need to arrange an audio manufacture licence.

The OneMusic Council licence scheme covers any public performances of music as long as the street performers or buskers hold a permit with that Council.

If you wish to photocopy or print the words or the print music of a Christmas carol, you need to consider two things, is it in copyright or out of copyright?

Out of copyright

• If the carol is traditional or in the public domain (out of Copyright), you are allowed to write out the words (melody line) and photocopy without seeking any permission.
• If you want to photocopy the print music of a carol that is traditional or in the public domain, you will need permission from the carols book publisher.
• If you are only singing out-of-copyright material, you don't need permission to perform the carol in public.

In copyright

• If the carol is in copyright, you must contact the copyright owner of the work (usually a music publisher), for permission.
• If you want to make your own arrangement of a piece that is in copyright, you must contact the publisher for permission.
• If you want a licence to perform the carol in public, complete the events information form. 

For further information please contact our Customer Support Team on 1300 852 388 or email our Educational Licensing Consultants.

We have an online data base that may help to find a copyright owner’s details.

You can also search our online data base to track down details of a song.

Online streaming of a concert or performance

We have created a handy summary of the rules around live streaming.

• Dance and performance Schools and Instructors. You can add a concert tariff to your Dance School licence.
• Non-dance schools. An event licence is needed if the performance will be in front of an audience.

PLUS

• All businesses.You will need a Live Streaming Licence from APRA AMCOS.
• All businesses. You will need permission from the Record Labels themselves to use the Sound Recordings. 

Live stream on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube

Facebook and Instagram are licensed by APRA AMCOS for synchronisation for personal, non-commercial use only, i.e. a video or live stream on someone’s personal page. This does not cover commercial or potentially commercial use, including videos hosted on groups, business pages or fan pages.

You should be aware that there are existing content-ID algorithms and procedures in place on these platforms are outside of our direct control.

This may cause your video to be blocked or taken down by Facebook, Instagram, YouTube by them (not by APRA AMCOS) as you would have had to sought publisher and label permission to clear the synch and master rights.

APRA AMCOS currently licenses Facebook, Instagram and YouTube directly for the communication of musical works only, so further permissions are required for the use of sound recordings.

How do I avoid my video being taken down?

To prevent receiving take down notices for the use of commercial sound recordings on these platforms, one option is to purchase Production Music. Production Music comes with the synchronisation rights included which means you can use it for pre-recorded content.

Production Music provides a high quality and cost effective solution for music use in productions. APRA AMCOS offers licensing for Australia and New Zealand for over 800,000 tracks across all styles and genres.

All rights are covered when using production music, as licences issued by APRA AMCOS cover the right to reproduce the musical work and sound recording. 

Our Agreements give customers the choice of selecting a Partial Rights Deduction.

In our experience, very few customers are eligible for a Partial Rights Deduction and select this in error.

You can only select 'Partial Rights Deduction' for one of two reasons:

1. You honestly do not use PPCA Sound Recordings in your business, ever OR
2. You honestly do not use APRA & AMCOS musical works (songs) in your business, ever. 

The overwhelming majority of businesses we liaise with need a licence for both of the above when they play commercially-released recorded music.

To select 'Partial Rights Deduction' you are stating that you either have a specific arrangement/permission in place for all your music or you only have a specific, narrow type of music.

It pays to double check

Make sure you are properly licensed for your music use and reduce risk of infringing copyright by closely reading the above.

If you have a licence in place and your coverage needs to be updated in any way, including revising your licence to include the use of both musical works and sound recordings, just let us know.

Yes. We should speak with your accountant.

Music licence fees from OneMusic Australia vary widely, from a few hundred to tens of thousands a year for big concerts. Music licence fees are user-pays and are different for each industry, so a shop will pay a licence fee on its floor space and a cafe will pay a music licence fee on the number of people it can seat. Fees also differ on the music device you use.

In May 2022 we rolled out our new look Customer Portal. As a result, every OneMusic customer is required to create a new password. Rest assured, none of your licence details will be changed. Once you have updated your password you can then:

• Edit the current contact’s name, phone number and address
• Add a new primary contact or invoice recipient
• Easily switch between multiple accounts
• Update your Business Name (only if there has been no change to your ABN). If there has been a change to your ABN, please complete this form: https://form.jotform.co/ONEMUSIC/COO

We have a YouTube video which may help.

Please check your email inbox. If you can't see an email from OneMusic, check your spam and junk folders. 

Depending on your email provider's security measures, it might take up to 24 hours for the email to be delivered. 

If you do not receive a password reset email after 24 hours, please contact Customer Support on 1300 162 162 during business hours, via Live Chat, or via hello@onemusic.com.au

To change your music use, simply email the details to review@onemusic.com.au

Log into your online account.

Once you're logged in you can:

• Edit the current contact’s name, phone number and address
• Add a new primary contact or invoice recipient
• Easily switch between multiple accounts
• Update your Business Name (only if there has been no change to your ABN). If there has been a change to your ABN, please complete this form: https://form.jotform.co/ONEMUSIC/COO

Please email hello@onemusic.com.au or call 1300 162 162 if you need assistance.

We have a YouTube video which may help.

If your business has been affected by a disaster such as fire, flood, storm or drought, or if you wish to request extended payment terms due to hardship, please contact our Customer Support team on 1300 162 162 or email hello@onemusic.com.au.

If you have sold your business or are in the process of selling, please complete this form: https://form.jotform.co/ONEMUSIC/COO

Log into your online account

Once you're logged in you can:

• Edit the current contact’s name, phone number and address
• Add a new primary contact or invoice recipient
• Easily switch between multiple accounts
• Update your Business Name (only if there has been no change to your ABN). If there has been a change to your ABN, please complete this form: https://form.jotform.co/ONEMUSIC/COO

Please email hello@onemusic.com.au or call 1300 162 162 if you need assistance.

If there has been a change to your ABN, please complete this form: https://form.jotform.co/ONEMUSIC/COO

Email the details to review@onemusic.com.au, ensuring to include the location name and address and music use details.

Our invoices are typically issued overnight once your licence has been completed online. If you qualify and have opted for your licence fees to be paid in quarterly instalments, the first invoice will be for your first quarterly total.

Please email hello@onemusic.com.au, join LiveChat or call 1300 162 162 to request a certificate. Please note that you are not legally required to display your licence certificate, however it does show that you support the Australian music industry. This is also applicable with the OneMusic Australia stickers that are sent to you.

When you hold a licence with OneMusic Australia, we automatically create a secure online account for you and your business. Once activated, you can review your licence details, amend contact and business information, generate statements, as well as download and pay invoices.

We believe having 24/7 online access to your account will be beneficial but don’t worry, even if you decide not to activate your online access and prefer dealing direct with one of our representatives, you’ll still be licensed for the use of our music according to the level of cover you requested.

Yes, after reading and understanding the Terms & Conditions you will be presented with an option to ‘Register Now and Pay Later’. If you select “Pay Later”, an invoice will be issued overnight to be paid within 30 days. Keep in mind that your licence to use our music will not be effective until you pay your licence fee in full, or, if paid in instalments, the first instalment.

Use of the Proud to Play artwork is available to businesses that have a current licence Agreement with OneMusic Australia.

If you need the artwork urgently email your Account Number to comms@onemusic.com.au

Firstly, it shows that your organisation respects and supports songwriters and recording artists - creators of Australian culture.

Secondly, if you use music that is protected by copyright within your business, Commonwealth legislation requires permission (a licence) from the creators of that music.

And last but not least - you benefit by using music: keeping your patrons and staff entertained, engaged and creating a better atmosphere.

Music creators generally authorise two organisations to administer their rights - APRA AMCOS (composers and music publishers) and PPCA (recording artists and record labels) in Australia. A OneMusic licence bundles all those rights into one licence that simplifies the process of gaining the required permission to use our music. Without this licence you would, for example, need to deal directly with the composers, songwriters, music publishers, recording artists and record labels who own the rights in the music you wish to use.

You can get independent legal information at copyright.org.au.

BRUCE ROWLAND

If your organisation wishes to publicly perform Bruce Rowland’s works in Australia in any context whatsoever (other than by showing films) you will need to seek the appropriate clearances directly from Mr Rowland’s representatives (as of 1 January 2017). For a full list of Mr Rowland's works, click here.

Email: bruce@rowland.net

Copyright is a federal law governed by the Copyright Act (1968). The Act exists to ensure that people who make creative content (musical, literary or dramatic works, and sound recordings and films) are able to protect their content.

It grants creators and copyright owners a number of exclusive rights. When a work is committed to a physical form, or a recording or film is made you need permission from the creators and/or copyright owners in the content to perform in public, adapt, communicate, publish or reproduce it. If someone uses copyright protected content without permission or a licence they are infringing the owner’s rights.

The combined OneMusic Australia licence simplifies the process of gaining the required permission to use music.

APRA AMCOS represents the rights in the song and PPCA represents the rights in the sound recording and music video when it comes to a business performing, communicating or reproducing music. When a song is written, the composer is the copyright owner of the work. The life of copyright in Australian territories is 70 years, which means that the composer, their publisher or their estate is entitled to receive royalties for their work for up to 70 years from the date of their death (or in the case of a co-written work, 70 years from the death of the last surviving writer). Once the 70 years has passed, the work is then in the Public Domain which means it can be used without a fee and without requiring permission from the composer or their estate. However, if someone makes an arrangement of a work in the public domain (e.g. a version of the 1812 Overture for the ukulele) then that arrangement of the work is protected. If you would like to check the status of any work please enquire via the APRA AMCOS Research Form.

For the recording, it remains in copyright for 70 years from the date it was first released in Australia. For subsequent newly made recordings (e.g. an older recording that is digitally re-recorded), the period starts again.

This means that a piece of music may be out of copyright for the work (because the composer’s death occurred more than 70 years ago) but in copyright for the recording because a new version, recorded by a different musician, was made more recently. Just as there may be a recording from more than 70 years ago that is out of copyright but because the composer lived for a further period, the work remains in copyright. In either case, the use of that music will require a licence directly from the copyright owner or a licence from APRA AMCOS or PPCA through OneMusic if it is represented by either organisation.

More information can be found here:

• OneMusic website onemusic.com.au
• The Arts Law Centre of Australia artslaw.com.au
• The Australian Copyright Council copyright.org.au

Some music customers are under the misunderstanding that all recordings by US artists are unprotected and can therefore be played without the need for a licence. This is not correct. Many sound recordings made by US artists are protected. Every performer contributing to a sound recording (including backing musicians and session musicians) is also considered a “maker” of that sound recording, and if any of them are residents or nationals of protected countries (e.g. the UK, Canada, Australia or any European territories), then the sound recording will be automatically protected. If all of the makers are US artists, but the recording was made outside the US, those recordings are also protected. 

Overseas recordings may attract a period of interim protection following release, and may be protected wherever they were made from the date of first commercial release until the earlier of seven weeks after release (or the date of release in Australia).

You can use a copyright work, as long as you obtain PERMISSION from the owner, or a rights management organisation like OneMusic and come to an agreement on remuneration. You CANNOT simply credit them.

Musicians' wages are generated through ongoing payments for the use of their works – it’s their livelihood.  You wouldn’t accept payment by your employer through a weekly “thank you” in lieu of a pay cheque and neither should songwriters and recording artists.

When a songwriter or recording artist has passed away, arrangements are put in place so that their royalties are paid to a nominated “successor(s) in title” – generally a family member.  Royalties, according to use, are paid for 70 years from the death of the composer and/or 70 years from the date of release of the recording.

None. There are many myths relating to music copyright. The most common myth we hear is “as long as you only use a small portion of a song, you can use it for free”. The reality is that even the use of a small portion, especially if the playing of the excerpt is identifiable, requires a licence. It is not our experience that businesses want to use music in this way to serve their customers, they want access to as broad a catalogue of music as possible.

It is important that as a business owner or administrator of an organisation you understand and legally agree to new rates and new terms and conditions for the new entity that is OneMusic Australia. We are committed to being fully transparent.

By signing a new Agreement under OneMusic Australia both parties have the opportunity to look at these rates, terms and conditions for the use of our music and commercially transact.

To make income from your songs, make sure you register with a music rights management organisation like APRA AMCOS in Australia as soon as you have created and performed your work. That way wven when you perform your own songs, you are eligible for royalties.

To maximise the benefit of using music in your business we would recommend you first consider contacting a Background Music Supplier. In many cases we actually have data provided to us by the Background Music Supplier so we can distribute the licence fees exactly to the music creators of the songs played on their services. Check whether your supplier provides this data to us.

There are a range of Background Music Suppliers in Australia who offer music playlists that are targeted to the lifestyle and tastes of your customers. These services offer the most sophisticated option for business because the music is programmed by a professional who is able to match music with your customer base even down to parts of the day where your customers change (or their mood does). Background Music Supplied music isn’t interrupted by others’ advertisements and can carry your in-store messaging targeted at your own customers in a week-long cycle. The music these services deliver is regularly updated.

Costs range between around $35 and $200 a month, excluding music licensing fees, depending on the supplier and what other services and hardware are included. For retailers and dining businesses, your music licence fees can also be bundled into the overall fees charged by the supplier.

This is list of our approved suppliers.

A background music supplier (Supplier) is a company that creates and supplies curated playlists and tailors them to a business type and specific clientele. In the likely event that the music you use through your Supplier is represented by OneMusic you still require a licence from OneMusic. Although the OneMusic licence fee may be subject to a deduction if for example, all of the recordings are legitimately licensed by the supplier from another copyright owner (e.g. a record label).

However, if you are a retailer, service provider, café or restaurant, your Supplier may be able to cover your OneMusic licence fees within their contractual arrangements with you. This option is not available if you also use music not provided by your Supplier (e.g. live performances, karaoke, TV screens showing free or pay TV) and you will need a licence directly from OneMusic to cover all those uses including music from the Supplier.

If you are unsure of the option you have selected with your Supplier, please advise us of the Supplier details and we will be able to confirm this on your behalf. Alternatively, you may contact the Supplier yourself.

As a starting point, in our experience the person from who you have purchased the music would have advertised it as such.  You would know because you would have a contract or written agreement in place. Licensing music directly means that you would have this contract or written agreement with the creators of the songs for the type of use you are using those songs for in your business.

We have found most businesses do not have such contracts or written agreements. Please contact us to confirm if you believe this to be your situation.

Organisations that provide syllabus music where the work and/or the sound recording is protected by copyright pay a fee to reproduce the music onto a CD, digital file, or other media as part of their business.

As those organisations are the ones reproducing the music, the onus is on them to make sure the appropriate rights for that reproduction are cleared.

A separate right is the PUBLIC PERFORMANCE right, that is, the right to play that music as part of your business. For any business that plays music that is protected by copyright in a public performance – for example a dance school, a shop, a bar, a venue for hire, or a gym – the onus is on them to make sure the appropriate rights for that public performance are cleared.

According to their Terms of Use, the digital music services that most of us use at home may only be used for personal and domestic purposes. However, whatever the source of the music used at your dance business, if you use OneMusic Australia’s music then you’ll still need a licence from OneMusic to play it in your business.

In addition, if you copy OneMusic Australia’s music, for instance from one CD to another, or you stream it from a personal digital music service, then you’ll also need coverage called “Digital Copy/Delivery".

You should be aware that a OneMusic Australia licence, even when it includes Digital Copy/Delivery only gives you permission to use our music in your dance business (or dance event); it does not override the Terms of Use for the personal digital music service you are using, nor does it give you permission to use that particular digital music service for a commercial purpose – that permission can only come from the owners of that digital music service.

Even with our licence, the use of digital music streaming services by you in your dance business may be in breach of the terms and conditions of your end user agreement with that service. You should check with your service provider.

You may be better to consider a commercially licensed digital music service. We have compiled a list of these music services in the Background Music Guide.

You will require the Audio Recording/Digital Package if you download or access our music for your business from a non commercial digital music service.

You should be aware that a OneMusic Australia licence, even when it includes Audio Recording/Digital Package only gives you permission to use our music in your business; it does not override the Terms of Use for the personal digital music service you are using, nor does it give you permission to use that particular digital music service for a commercial purpose – that permission can only come from the owners of that digital music service.

Even with our licence, the use of digital music (streaming) services by you in your business may be in breach of the terms and conditions of your end user agreement with that service. You should check with your service provider.

You will also need a licence from us that includes Audio Recording/Digital Package if you make any physical or digital copies of our music (such as copying one CD to another, or copying a digital download file).

By choosing Audio Recording/Digital Package, you are entitled to copy up to 2,000 music tracks. You do not need to include Audio Recording/Digital Package in your licence if you are only playing our music from original CDs that you have bought (and not subsequently copied) or you’re playing our music from a commercial background music service (see a list of background music services is available here backgroundmusicguide.com.au).

Depending on your use of our music and the arrangements the background music service has with OneMusic Australia, you may not need to get a licence directly from OneMusic Australia. Your background music service provider may already include a OneMusic Australia licence as part of its service package. Check either with us or your commercial music supplier to confirm.

Under OneMusic Australia’s Dance and Performance Instructors and Dance Schools licence, we calculate fees for “Audio Recording/Digital Package” at per-student rate, using the average number of students you have enrolled in a year.

You do not need to include Audio Recording/Digital Package in your OneMusic Australia licence if you are only playing our music from original CDs that you have bought (and not subsequently copied) or you’re playing our music from a commercial background music service such as “Apple Music for Business” or another background music provider (a list of background music services is available here - backgroundmusicguide.com.au).

Depending on your use of our music and the arrangements your background music service has with OneMusic Australia (or music creators directly), you may not need to get a licence directly from OneMusic Australia. Check with us or your background music supplier to confirm which permissions are included in your service.

If you are recording routines or performances with commercial music and posting those videos on social media, then you’ll need to ensure you have a separate ‘synchronisation’ licence for the use of that music in your video.

A ‘synchronisation’ licence is needed whenever music is used within an audio-visual production, such as a film, TV show, advertisement, video game, social media video etc.

Social media platforms such as YouTube do have licences with rights holders, but those licences DO NOT cover “synchronisations” made for commercial purposes.

So, if you use commercial music (you know, the music you hear on the radio) in your video and that video is placed on social media, then it may be ‘taken down’ (that is removed) by the platform if it’s seen as being a video for commercial purposes, like promoting your dance school.

Getting a “synchronisation” licence for your video using commercial music is often expensive and difficult. However, you can “synchronise” music into your business videos with what’s known as “Production Music” or “Royalty Free” music. Production Music is a low-cost way to get music on your videos and when you play those videos on the vast majority of social media platforms the use is already covered by that platform’s licence, so you don’t need any additional licences (other than the initial “synchronisation” licence).

When a film producer is licensing music for their film, the copyright owner of the music (who could be the composer, songwriter, music publisher, record label, recording artist, or all of these people) usually will retain their performance and broadcast rights and instead assign or license these to a music rights management organisation. This means that when you show the film in Australia you will almost always need a performance licence from OneMusic for the music (or go direct to all of the copyright owners to seek permission). This is the same as when a film is shown on TV - the TV station will usually need a broadcast licence from a music rights management organisation like APRA AMCOS or PPCA or both.

The full list of National Event Promoters can be found here.

If you are using music in a Dramatic Context at your event, a blanket licence from APRA or PPCA is not available. Dramatic Context means a presentation on the live stage that has a storyline and one or more narrators or characters.

Please be aware that biographical or tribute type performances that tell the story of an artist’s life will commonly be deemed to have a storyline and be Dramatic Context. Please refer to APRA AMCOS Music in a Dramatic Context information guide for more information.

Previous classification for the same or a similar show does NOT guarantee that Dramatic Context does not apply. Accordingly, APRA AMCOS notes that any financial or other investment in your show, including the booking of venues, ahead of you obtaining a licence for all the works is entirely at your own risk.

If your organisation wishes to publicly perform Bruce Rowland’s works in Australia in any context (other than by showing films) you will need to seek the appropriate clearances directly from Bruce Rowland’s representatives.

You can email bruce@rowland.net to seek a licence directly.

A full list of Bruce Rowland's works.

A OneMusic Australia licence provides the easiest and most cost effective way to access the majority of the world’s repertoire of music. However, you don’t have to go through OneMusic Australia to legally play music – you also have the option to deal directly with the each of the individual copyright owners of the music you wish to use.

Usually it’s easier to go through OneMusic Australia - we represent the performing rights in all songs written or published by APRA AMCOS members and all sound recordings and music videos created or controlled by PPCA licensors. This means that OneMusic Australia can grant you a blanket licence to perform or play all the songs from this vast repertoire. If you want choice of music from the charts and back catalogues, the music you and your customers are familiar with, there’s no better place to come.

Under OneMusic, there are no changes to your options to deal directly with APRA AMCOS members or PPCA licensors directly. 

You may choose to deal directly with the individual rights holders as it suits you, for example if you want to use or commission a particular song as telephone on hold music or for live performances where the band plays all its own music.  

In some very limited instances, you will need to deal directly with the individual rights holders such as if the proposed music use is at a political event or in a context which might give the impression that the musicians and/or recording artists are affiliated with your brand or business.  

APRA AMCOS receives an exclusive assignment (APRA) or an exclusive licence (AMCOS) from its members, which means APRA AMCOS members gives APRA AMCOS the exclusive rights to collect royalties on their behalf. 

If you want to deal directly with an APRA AMCOS member, you will need to come to an agreement with the relevant music creators to use their works (songs) well in advance of the planned event/activity. There are often multiple contributors to a song and you must make sure that all parties with an interest in the song (such as any other writers or publishers) agree to the arrangement. 

The APRA AMCOS member will need to submit an application to APRA AMCOS to arrange for a licence back or opt out, as appropriate.  The financial arrangements are not relevant in this process and we will not ask you or the music creator to provide financial details of any direct licence.

Licence Back and Opt Out are explained in more detail in the Music Creators section of APRA AMCOS’ website under Managing your Rights.

Do you wish to publicly perform the works of Bruce Rowland?

If your organisation wishes to publicly perform Bruce Rowland’s works in Australia in any context (other than by showing films) you will need to seek the appropriate clearances directly from Bruce Rowland’s representatives.

You can email bruce@rowland.net to seek a licence directly.

A full list of Bruce Rowland's works.

If you want to deal directly with PPCA licensors, you can approach each of the individual rights holders directly to ask for their permission to use their sound recordings or music videos. PPCA receives a non-exclusive licence from its licensors and so there is no ‘licence back’ or ‘opt out’ process for sound recordings or music videos controlled by PPCA licensors.

Exactly as for musical works, this permission will need to be sought well in advance of the planned event/activity from all parties who control that sound recording or music video in Australia.  In PPCA’s experience, the relevant sound recording copyright owner is often the record label which released the sound recordings and/or it may be the artists themselves if they have released the sound recordings and/or if they have retained the public performance rights in the sound recordings.

Common sources of our music where you may be eligible for a reduction in your OneMusic Australia licence fee include the exclusive use of one or more of:

• products marketed as “PPCA-free”;
• classical music recordings (where the music has not been arranged);
• terrestrial radio (broadcast signal via aerial or DAB+ device)

If you are not using these above sources exclusively or are using our music from one or more common music sources such as those below, you will not be eligible for a deduction:

 
• recordings on CD, vinyl or tape purchased in music stores such as Sanity, JB Hi-Fi;
• non ‘PPCA-free’ curated music services from commercial background music providers (see list of suppliers here); or
• streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, YouTube.

If your music source isn’t listed above, or you use a combination of the examples we have provided, please contact us via LiveChat or email hello@onemusic.com.au so we can advise.

For more information about the music you can use under your OneMusic licence, see What music can I use under my OneMusic licence? in our General FAQs

Generally one of two ways - the music provider would have marketed the music to you this way (you'd still need to check their claims) or separately you would have signed a contract or written agreement with the music creators which would specify how their music could be played in your business. We have found most businesses do not have these contracts or written agreements in place. Please contact us to confirm your situation.

Depending on the arrangements you make if you choose to deal directly, you may not require a licence from OneMusic at all. Alternatively you may qualify for a reduction in your OneMusic blanket licence fees (we call this reduction a Partial Rights Deduction and these are explained, where applicable, in the OneMusic Information Guides and Licence Agreements).

It is important to note that the final decision on whether to issue you with direct permission to use music at your event lies with the relevant copyright owners (songwriter, composer, recording artist, music publisher, record label) and they are not compelled to deal direct if they do not wish to.

As noted above, the commercial terms of any direct licences are just between you and the relevant rights holders and we will never ask for details of how much you paid to the rights holders for the use of their music. However, we will need confirmation of what direct licences have been granted (including the contact details of the entities granting the licences to you) so we can confirm the scope of the licences and determine whether any reduction in your OneMusic Australia coverage is required.   

For more information about One Music Australia licences and dealing direct, please contact OneMusic Australia’s Customer Support Team:

Phone:  1300 162 162
Email: hello@onemusic.com.au

For assistance finding the relevant rights holder for a musical work, please contact APRA AMCOS’ Copyright Ownership Information Service

Website: www.apraamcos.com.au
Phone:  1300 852 388
Email: mechres@apra.com.au

Further information about PPCA and PPCA Sound Recordings, please contact PPCA:

Website: www.ppca.com.au
Phone: (02) 8569 1100
Email: ppca.mail@ppca.com.au

In any context other than by showing films, in Australia, if your organisation wants to publicly perform Bruce Rowland’s works you will need to obtain clearances direct from Bruce Rowland’s representatives by emailing bruce@rowland.net to seek a licence directly.

A full list of Bruce Rowland's works.

If you host multiple Eisteddfodau and/or Competitions under separate banners, at separate times, or in separate postcodes, we may ask you report for each of those separately using our multi-location spreadsheet.

Please contact eisteddfod@onemusic.com.au for assistance with licensing multiple Eisteddfodau and/or Competitions.

Prior to 2017, Eisteddfodau were required to take out separate licences with APRA AMCOS, ARIA and PPCA. With the aim to make things easier for Eisteddfod/Competition organisers, in 2017 we developed one central blanket licence, which became a OneMusic Australia licence in 2019.

To set the rates, we reviewed a range of entry fees and ticket prices at different Eisteddfodau/Competitions and compared that to their entry numbers. The ‘per entry’ model was decided on as the most appropriate way of measuring the scale of an Eisteddfod/Competition. At the time when the licence was being developed, the Association of Eisteddfod Societies of Australia (AESA) was the most prominent industry body, representing the largest number of Eisteddfodau in Australia. AESA and its board worked with APRA AMCOS, ARIA and PPCA to develop this licence and were consulted for feedback on the original proposal.

At the conclusion of 2017, APRA AMCOS, PPCA and ARIA conducted an in-depth assessment of data they had received from Eisteddfodau and Competitions and it was decided to reduce the fees. We also introduced a concession for regional-based eisteddfodau.

An Entry is defined as being each performer or group of performers who have been accepted to perform a Single Performance within an Eisteddfod/Competition Division. Multiple performances by the same entrant are considered multiple Entries, and performances of the same act over multiple Eisteddfodau, Divisions or days are considered multiple Entries.

OneMusic Australia partners with many associations in a number of different industries throughout Australia and New Zealand, from hotels and restaurants, to fitness, dance, education, and retail. By partnering with associations we are able to better ensure that association members receive accurate information and are being correctly licensed in the easiest possible way.

Our agreement with AESA means AESA’s members are offered a discounted rate when taking out the Eisteddfod/Competition licence. The lower rate for licence fees paid through AESA reflects the administrative work that AESA undertakes on behalf of OneMusic Australia. AESA has opted to pass on that discount to its members.

In determining the fee structure for the new licence, we took into consideration that Public Domain works (that is, works out of copyright) may feature in certain Eisteddfod and Competition events. Through consultation with AESA it was determined that it would be too burdensome for each Eisteddfod/Competition to report on whether each work was in or out of copyright. The Eisteddfod/Competition licence does not seek to license non-copyright works and recordings but rather apply a lower rate across all performances. The per entry rate was set, taking into account that the total entry number would include performances of Public Domain works. For example, if there are ten entries in a division, and one of the ten performances is of a Public Domain work, all entries must be counted. The entry number reported for that division is ten. Licence fees are based on a per entry rate in order to measure the scale of an Eisteddfod or Competition, rather than to reflect exactly how many times a piece of music gets performed. It is about gauging audience size.

However, a decision was made to exclude entire Divisions of Public Domain music from being counted. For example, if a Division within an Eisteddfod/Competition uses entirely Public Domain music (e.g. an under 18 Bach Sonata event) those entries do not need to be counted. However, if a Division contains both copyright-protected and Public Domain works, then all entries must be counted.

OneMusic pays out the fees it collects to APRA AMCOS, PPCA and ARIA, the bodies behind the licensing initiative. After the deduction of administration and operational costs, all fees collected are paid to members or licensors (according to a range of sample data and other data sources for other uses of music).

Rights management organisations have to balance out the desire for accurate royalty payments to copyright owners with the costs of administration and any over-burdensome obligations on Eisteddfodau/Competitions. So that we can distribute royalties to the right people, we ask specific events to provide us with a full list of what is performed. For those events, we are able to pay those licence fees directly to the songwriters and artists. We understand that providing detailed information is not always possible for a number of Eisteddfodau and Competitions so the licence fees we receive from these types of events go into royalty pools that are paid out based on different sources of data. Of course, we encourage music use reporting (setlists) on a voluntary basis from any event organiser.

In your first licence year, you need to estimate entry numbers for the year ahead. This is only an estimate. If you need to you can adjust these entry numbers at the end of the licence year.  

From the second licence year onwards, we will call for entry numbers from the previous year. 

See ‘What is an entry?’ for more information.

If your event meets the following definition of an Eisteddfod or a Competition (including a series of multiple Eisteddfod/Competition events) then it will be licensed under the OneMusic Australia Eisteddfod/Competition Licence.

Eisteddfod means a competitive arts festival which includes music that is organised and presented by You, where either the ticket price to attend or the fee for Entry into a single Division is $40 or less (including GST and booking and handling fee).

Competition means a competitive event involving dance, calisthenics, gymnastics, cheerleading or similar activities, that is organised by You and where participants are charged a fee to enter, but excludes any such events where either the ticket price to attend or the fee for an individual performer to enter a single Division is more than $40 (including GST and any booking and handling fee).

If you are unsure if this applies to your event, please contact eisteddfod@onemusic.com.au

Some venues hosting Eisteddfodau and Competitions already hold a OneMusic Australia licence that covers certain eligible events. If an Eisteddfod/Competition is being held in a venue that already has a licence, the venue simply excludes it from their reporting and pays no fee for that event.

Eisteddfodau and Competitions are not eligible to be covered by these venue licences because of their pricing structure and the additional rights an Eisteddfod or Competition needs - such as copying of backing tracks and making recordings of the events for entrants and adjudicators.

Political parties should be aware of the complexity and risks involved when using music for political purposes at events and in video, whether on social media or in advertising.

Our Political Parties Guide to Music Licensing sets out risk management factors that political parties and political parties and political organisations should consider before using music for political purposes.

See the Guide.

• the business employs fewer than 20 people;
• the means of performance is by terrestrial or digital broadcast via radio or television set (one device only) or via headphones from an employee’s personal device and
• not intended to be heard by customers of the business or by the general public.

What a study to be part of! Tasting chocolate and listening to nice music. A European study "evaluated the perceived creaminess of chocolate. Two contrasting soundtracks were produced... and validated by means of a pre-test. The participants tasted the same chocolate twice (without knowing that the chocolates were identical), each time listening to one of the soundtracks".

Guess what? The 'creamy' soundtrack enhanced the perceived creaminess and sweetness of the chocolates, as compared to the ratings given while listening to the 'rough' soundtrack.

You can digest the study in full.

Thousands of Australian businesses realise designing the right playlist and keeping on top of new album releases to suit changing tastes is best left to the experts!

A background music supplier is a company (separate to OneMusic Australia) that creates and supplies curated music playlists and tailors them to your business type and your specific venue.

OneMusic has agreements with all background music suppliers in the country.

Some suppliers provide music on fresh CDs each month, some of them supply fresh music digitally. There are many to choose from backgroundmusicguide.com.au

Desserts up by 15%. Researchers analysed close to two million purchases at a burger chain in Sweden. When the burger stores played bespoke playlists – in this case, aimed at younger eaters – burger sales increased by 8.6%, french fries were up 8.8% and dessert sales jumped by 15.6%. 

Read more about how music makes wine taste better, makes people drink beer quicker, make diners stay longer, buy a dessert and brings in 21% more at a pub's cash register.

Forget the crowds. If you know your store is going to be crowded (think Boxing Day Sales) play up-tempo music (music with more than 107 beats per minute) and you’ll see a lift of 8% more in sales. Generally feeling crowded dampens the spending habit, but a study found people ignore this negative aspect when up-tempo music is playing. This was part of a field experiment over many months across six European retail stores and 43,000 individual shopping baskets.

At Macy’s in New York, a DJ keeps the floor pulsing with hip-hop, R&B, and reggaeton doing the one thing a compilation cannot: reading the room, cranking the music when it gets more crowded. Macy's reward? It almost goes without saying: Free-spending, bopping shoppers who say with every purchase, "I'm with the brand.” 

Some 311 bank customers took part in research when exiting their local UK city branch. Classical music such as The Four Seasons (Spring) by Vivaldi were measured against easy listening music such as Smoke Gets In Your Eyes and against no music at all over three weeks. If the music was perceived as upbeat or dynamic so was the bank, if the music was perceived as aggressive or threatening, the bank was too. Finally if the background music was felt to be dignified and inspirational, then the bank fell under the same perception.

Invigorating bar. The same type of study was conducted on a different group of 328 patrons of a UK city bar over nine days, comparing classical, British pop and no music at all. The type of music as well as the volume of the music effected the bar’s rank in the minds of it’s patrons. The more that customers perceived the music as being invigorating, the more the bar was also perceived in this way.

Synchronised listening. According to The Guardian, “a team that regularly practises with synchronised music or other acoustic stimuli will develop an instinctive sense of the team's optimal rhythm...”

“Listening to joyful music for 30 minutes has been associated with improved endothelial function, possibly by endorphin mediated activation of endothelium derived nitric oxide. The vascular health benefits of music may be due to endorphins or endorphin like compounds released from the brain when we hear music we like."

Read more about how music makes wine taste better, makes people drink beer quicker, make diners stay longer, buy a dessert and brings in 21% more at a pub's cash register.

Collective effervescence is “that glowy, giddy feeling where your sense of self slackens, yielding to a connection with your fellow, synchronized humans… Think about why people go to concerts, for instance: The sound is loud, the drinks expensive, the people sweaty, and you can hear the same songs at home. People with high tendency for… (this collective effervescence)… had more collective experiences in their lives, had more fun at them, wanted more of them, and were more likely to say they’d had such an experience recently.” The basis of Fear of Missing Out (FOMO).

Read more about how to encourage customers to think your business is always new and interesting.

Ambient music at work. Research suggests that ambient music could be the best kind of music for work productivity. “In 2012, The Journal of Consumer Research published a study investigating the effects of ambient noise on creativity. The study suggested that creative processes improved when participants listened to ambient noise at a moderate volume — about 70 decibels, approximately the volume of a vacuum cleaner. The study also found that creativity suffered in the presence of high-volume ambient noise — about 85 decibels, slightly louder than a garbage disposal.”

Based on results from a 2016 study happy music significantly and positively influences cooperative behaviour and there is also positive association between mood and cooperative behaviour. This builds on research from the 1970s which looked at music as an effective to raise efficiency in repetitive factory work even when in competition with the noise of machines.

Have patience. A restaurant with long lines of customers waiting may benefit by playing nostalgia-inducing background music.

Music on Hold. “Not just any music will do… certain types of music calm a person while on hold, and other types cause them to react negatively. Justin Worland of Time magazine discovered from a study in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology that playing recognisable pop songs produced a more positive experience for callers than elevator music or bland, repeating melodies, which tends to frustrate callers.”

Relax, this won’t hurt a bit. With the right music patients can be more relaxed in the operating room, according to a Surgeon quoted in Time magazine. Less medication, quicker recovery times and shorter hospital stays all because music can decrease anxiety. Research in 2011 also concluded that adult dental patients may benefit from a procedural music-listening program.

Cheese that has been exposed to music for six months tastes different. In 2019 someone played music to giant rounds of cheese in Switzerland (where else?) and found that not only does music-exposed cheese taste different but the taste differs a much as the style of music.

WIRED's Peter Rubin looks at how music can change our moods, why we get the chills, and how it can actually change pathways in our brains. Watch now

90% of callers with silence on hold hang up within 40 seconds. Music on hold adds 30 seconds to the hold time.

• late.com/culture/2014/09/history-of-hold-music-how-did-we-end-up-with-handel-tinkling-through-the-telephone.html
• talkroute.com/on-hold-music-and-the-psychology-of-waiting/

APRA rights (that of the musical work) are administered by Christian Copyright Licensing International (CCLI) phone 1300 225 400. 

CCLI have 5 licences available:

1. Church Copyright licence. This permits Churches to project or print out the words and music to the world’s worship songs and hymns.
2. Music reproduction licence. This permits Churches to legally photocopy or scan typeset pages from many of the songbooks and music publications commonly used.
3. Church video licence. This provides the legal cover required to publicly show film scenes during services and full-length films during outreach and social activities.
4. Church streaming licence. This allows Churches to stream or podcast live-recorded worship service music on the Church’s website or other streaming services - to include music along with the Pastor’s message in a webcast of a Church service.
5. Public Performance Licence. This covers public performances of live music at non-worship service events such as youth groups, choir or band performances, social and Christmas Carol events. The licence only covers the works that are included in APRA’s vast repertoire. Playing recorded music from PPCA’s repertoire of recorded music, outside of the worship service requires additional licensing through OneMusic Australia.

Outside a service, APRA rights are covered only for the musical work, not the sound recording

The APRA right is covered under the CCLI Public Performance Licence. Sound recording rights will need an additional licence under OneMusic Australia.

This means that if a church were to use PPCA sound recordings or music videos during non-worship service events such as youth groups, choir or band performances, social and Christmas Carol events, then these will be licensed by OneMusic Australia under the Community Music Groups “PPCA Sound Recordings” licence.

The use of Sounds Recording during a worship service will not require a licence.

Charging admission fees? Paying a performer?

Neither the CCLI Public Performance licence nor the PPCA/OneMusic Community Music Groups licence covers performances outside of a typical worship ceremony or order of service where admission fees are charged or where professional musicians receive a form of payment.

In these cases and where OneMusic Australia’s repertoire is played, a OneMusic Australia event licence will need to be obtained.

The Church as a Venue for Hire

If the church regularly hires out its facilities to third party hirers, operates a café, function or conference centre, a child care facility or any other type of business which falls outside the general activities of a church and OneMusic's repertoire is played in these businesses, additional licensing may be needed. 

Wedding Ceremonies

The public performance of musical works (APRA) and/or sound recordings (PPCA) during a wedding ceremony is considered by OneMusic to be ‘domestic’ use of music.

You don't need a OneMusic licence if you only:

• Have recorded songs (via devices such as CDs, iPod etc.)
• Have DJ’s playing recorded music
• Have live performances (such as a band, string quartet etc.)

Wedding Receptions

Wedding reception events are licensed by the venue under the OneMusic Function, Convention and Conference Centres Licence. It is the responsibility of your wedding venue to hold a OneMusic licence. 

Wedding Videos

APRA AMCOS offers a low-cost solution for incorporating music into films of weddings and similar events where those films have been made by you solely for the purpose of domestic viewing.

This licence is event specific and is offered in conjunction with the Australia Recording Industry Association (ARIA) to provide a simple one-stop licence for the separate rights in the underlying works and associated sound recordings and gives you access to a world of music for your wedding and domestic video recordings.

The AMCOS/ARIA Domestic Use Video Licence gives you a simple and affordable way of complying with your copyright obligations.

(Normally, obtaining copyright clearances to synchronise and dub/reproduce recorded music onto a film or video would involve contacting each of the rights owners in each of the works and sound recordings that you want to use).

Lyrics in wedding booklets/order of services and re-arranging works

If you wish to reproduce copyright lyrics into a booklet or order of service or re-arrange any copyright works (e.g. arranging All You Need Is Love by Lennon/McCartney for a string quartet) you will almost always need to seek permission from the copyright owners direct.

Some exceptions apply but for more information on these and copyright owner contact details please contact education@apra.com.au.

OneMusic does not generally licence individual or group live performers such as bands and DJ's.

The need to have the appropriate public performance licence lies with the venue operator or event organiser, the entity authorising the performance.

Private functions

PPCA once offered DJs an agreement for public performance. Since OneMusic launched in 2019, this is no longer offered.

Copying music

For those DJ’s who create Reproductions or Digital Copies of their music (for example by placing tracks onto a USB or hard drive) you still require an APRA AMCOS Small Business Online licence.

Music therapy is exempt from public performance licensing under OneMusic.

This exemption is granted to practitioners who use music in one on one consultations which take place in private consulting rooms within health care facilities like hospitals, doctors surgeries etc. It also extends to group therapy where practitioners are members of the Australian Music Therapy Association.

This exemption does not extend to cover the public performance of OneMusic’s music in music therapy reception/waiting rooms or music on hold in these practices.

Where this exemption is applied to Music Therapy Instructors, AMCOS will also extend a Complimentary Licence to the reproduction of copyright musical works by the therapist where the reproduction is used exclusively for the purpose of conducting music therapy.

OneMusic is a major supporter of Nordoff-Robbins, a charitable organisation that promotes and develops the understanding, training and practice of creative music therapy. This therapy builds quality of life for those with intellectual and physical disabilities by giving an outlet of expression, improving speech and motor skills and offering social interaction.

OneMusic Australia grants an exemption for public performance in one-on-one music tuition, which includes singing lessons and instrument instruction. This exemption does not apply where more than one student is in attendance and where our music is used to teach other activities such as dance or personal fitness.

The exemption does not extend to concerts or end-of-term performance/recitals that are open to the general public, nor does it authorise creating copies of our music to provide to students.

To cover these specific music uses, the Dance Schools and Performance Instructors Licence applies. Dance Schools and Dance and Performance Instructors would need to add the Digital Copy/Delivery tariff and the Events tariff.

Any Public Performances of music within Nursing Homes, Aged Care or Retirement Villages require a licence from OneMusic. A partial rights discount may applicable under certain circumstances.

However, Section 46 of the Copyright Act (1968) is titled “Performance at premises where persons reside or sleep”. This section of the act outlines the following:

“Where a literary, dramatic or musical work, or an adaptation of such a work, is performed in public, by the operation of reception equipment or by the use of a record, at premises where persons reside or sleep, as part of the amenities provided exclusively for residents or inmates of the premises or for those residents or inmates and their guests, the performance does not constitute an infringement of the copyright in the work”

If the nursing home or retirement village is not accessible by the public and/or if friends and family are unable to visit in a public or communal area, then of course a OneMusic licence is not required.

Whenever music is performed in public the songwriter and their publisher may be entitled to a payment or royalty.  We need your setlist in order to pay the royalties to the rightsholders whose works were performed at this event. For certain events we collect setlists directly (rather than via a Performance Report) so that we can directly distribute the licence fees. These Directly Distributable Events are paid out at a different rate than other OneMusic licence payments and may attract higher licence fees.

Submitting a setlist directly to a Promoter or via the unique QR Code provided, is not the same as submitting a Performance Report (previously Live Performance Return or ‘LPR’). A Performance Report is an online form submitted to APRA AMCOS, which reports details of your live performances at venues in Australia and New Zealand. They generally cover ‘non-promoted’ shows such as a regular gig at a pub, bar or restaurant. Performance Reports must be submitted by logging into the member portal on the APRA AMCOS website or via the Member app. The events we are requesting your setlist for, however, fall under what we call a Distributable Event which are usually large-scale promoted concerts/festivals/events where APRA licenses the event directly with the Promoter.

The royalty due to the original songwriters from these events can often be higher than payments from submitting a Performance Report (previously Live Performance Return or ‘LPR’).

If a Promoter or event organiser requests that you provide a setlist, please do! They are requesting this so we can distribute the fee directly to the works that you performed. Otherwise, you should submit a Performance Report.

If in doubt, submit a Performance Report!

If you haven’t been asked to provide a setlist, by the Promoter or by an APRA staff member, please submit a Performance Report for these events. This ensures you are paid for all your performances in Australia and New Zealand.

Major Festivals, Tours Promoted by a National Event Promoter and other Promoted Events are directly distributed. Make sure you provide the Promoter with the setlist for the tour (this can be one setlist for the entire tour or can be a different setlist for each night). Other larger events and organisations also submit setlist for direct payments such as the State Symphony orchestras. If you are asked for a setlist by a promoter or event organiser, it probably means the event will be directly distributed.

‘Non-promoted’ shows such as a regular gig at a pub or a show booked directly by the artist.