Music has become a vital component of many businesses today. Research indicates that music can help to set the style and tone of an establishment, as well as influence customer behaviour and improve turnover. Whether you are a major corporation; a hospitality business such as a hotel, café or restaurant; a retail outlet; a fitness centre; a health care business or professional service, it is likely that you use and benefit from music. This can be by playing the radio, TV or CDs at your premises, having music performed live or by playing music via an on-hold system on your telephone.

Why you need an APRA licence

Composers, like other suppliers in the market place, deserve to be paid for the use of their work. They are also entitled to payment under the Australian Copyright Act. This is because copyright law gives composers the right to control and to negotiate a fee for certain uses of their music. These include the right to play or perform music outside the domestic environment (for example, playing music via a radio, TV, CDs, karaoke, live music or DJs in your business) and the right to communicate music to the public via a music on hold system. If your business uses music in any of these ways, you need permission from the copyright owners.

APRA makes this simple. We collectively administer the public performance and communication rights on behalf of the majority of the world’s composers, songwriters and music publishers. This means that rather than having to obtain permission from each and every copyright owner before you use music, you can usually take out an APRA licence to cover your business’ music needs. An APRA licence can give you access to music from around the world for as little as $1 per week, and the licence fee may be a tax deductible business expense.

In limited instances, the music you use may be entirely:

• By a composer or writer who is not a member of APRA or one of its affiliates; or
• No longer protected by copyright; or
• Subject to a contractual arrangement taking the music outside the APRA scheme.

How to get the right licence

1. First, you'll need to select the right APRA licence to match your business' music needs. All APRA licence application forms are available for downloading at www.apra.com.au/music-users. Alternatively, contact us and we can send you a hard copy for you to fill in and return to us. If you have any questions about which application is appropriate for your business contact our Client Services Department at licence@apra.com.au or 1300 852 388 and we can help you select the right one.
2. Complete the licence application form. If you have any questions about completing the application forms, please call us on 1300 852 388.
3. If you are using music on hold, or playing CDs, tapes or video clips in your business, you may also need a licence from the Phonographic Performance Company of Australia (PPCA). This is because APRA only licences the public performance and communication rights in a musical works. The PPCA represents the owners of copyright in sound recordings, namely record companies and recording artists. For more information about PPCA licences, go to www.ppca.com.au or phone 02 8569 1111.
4. You only need to apply for your APRA licence once. Once you have a licence, a renewal notice will automatically be sent to you each year for payment of your annual fee. This is when we'll let you know of any changes relating to your licence or use of music.