PUBLISHER INTERVIEWS: UPDATE

In December 2003, APRA completed the several one-on-one interviews with a selection of APRA publisher members. The findings from those interviews have been tabled and recommendations are now being developed.

As a start, we are pleased to announce the following changes:

• Antenna is now produced as an online bulletin, allowing us to target distribution more accurately. This reduces our print costs and also makes it easier for you to share the information with your teams and writers. A complete edition of each Antenna will be stored on the APRA website, under the Publisher Members section of the site (at www.apra.com.au/Member/MemPub.htm)
  
  
• There's a regular column in Antenna called "Recent Board Decisions" which will provide up-to-date information on decisions that may affect you that were made at APRA/AMCOS Board meetings. This section will also list dates for forthcoming board meetings
  
  
• The new-look APRA website (due to be launched in the third quarter of 2004) will feature a separate portal for APRA/AMCOS publisher members. This will feature information and online tools specifically designed for publisher members. In the meantime, APRA will be setting up a password protected section for publisher members on the existing website. This page will provide direct links to:
  
  • Warsaw works
    
  • foreign catalogues
    
  • unidentified lists
    
  • unregistered local works
    
  • public domain writers
    
  • CMS upgrades
    
    
• APRA will hold three Publisher Forums this year. The first one will be held on 22 April 2004, covering new media licensing, an IT update and the findings of our publisher surveys/interviews.
  
  
• Dates for the other two forums will be confirmed shortly. Topics could include issues for small/independent publishers and APRA's Clearance Facility. APRA will consult with publishers before refining the topics for each session.
  
  
• Each forum will include presentations by subject matter experts or appropriate APRA personnel and will allow sufficient time for discussion and questions. Where appropriate, a workshop format will be used so that members can discuss issues and possible solutions in small groups and then share those with all attendees.

There's more to come. Your participation and membership is important to APRA. Thank you to all those publishers who took the time to participate in our one-on-one interviews and shared their insights and suggestions.