December 2005 - Issue No. 31
KAYE HAWLEY'S (FINAL) UPDATE

by Kaye Hawley
Manager Publisher Services, APRA

Not a great deal to talk about in this, my last edition before I depart.  The dust has settled in regard to distribution 42B and we are now well into 43A.  Again I would like to thank the Publishers for their assistance and co-operation in meeting deadlines, providing cue sheets and settling any disputes possible in time for the cut off.

I imagine we are all looking forward to the Festive Season and spending time with our families and friends so I take this opportunity to wish everyone a very happy holiday and a prosperous New Year.
NEW FACES AT APRA
The Agreements Section has a new Publisher Representative Jeremy Craib who comes to us from APRA's Distribution Department and we welcome him to the department.
We are pleased to announce the appointment of Ebony Williams in the new role of Indigenous Project Officer (effective 2 November 2005). Ebony is responsible for bringing APRA’s expertise and services to the growing community of Indigenous composers and songwriters around Australia.  Read more
CIS UPDATE
More than 80 participants from 40 societies attended the 6th CIS Sessions which were held in Toronto in October. Central to the discussions were issues relating to the development of CISAC tools and in particular to their integration into CIS- Net. Read on for a summary of the key decisions...
LATEST NEWS: APRA AWARDS
APRA congratulates the publishers of the winners and nominees at the recent 2005 APRA-AGSC Screen Music Awards. Click here for a full list of the winners and their publishers.

APRA is also proud to announce a new Blues Category for the 2006 APRA Music Awards, to be held in Sydney on the 5th June next year.
APRA REPORTS SOLID REVENUE GROWTH IN 2004-05
The Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) delivered solid revenue growth and operational efficiency for its songwriter, composer and music publisher members over the 2004/05 financial year, said APRA CEO, Brett Cottle, at the APRA AGM held on 17 November 2005. Read more
TAMWORTH 2006: APRA SONGWRITER SESSIONS
APRA is proud to host a series of four Songwriter Sessions at the January 2006 Tamworth Country Music Festival. The Australian Songwriter Sessions will be lead by Beccy Cole, Mike Carr and Catherine Britt; and the International  Session by U.S songwriter, David Lee.

Seats are limited, book now to avoid disappointment. Don't forget to RSVP for the APRA/CCMC Tamworth Festival Cocktail Party and International Reception. Click here for further information and booking details.
INDUSTRY NEWS

Mushroom Music Purchases Festival Music Publishing
Mushroom Music Publishing has topped off a huge year with the purchase of Festival Music Publishing. Festival and Mushroom have always been synonymous with Australian music and the combined entity has the largest catalogue of Australian & New Zealand songwriters.

AIR, APRA and Austrade join forces to support Australian music
The growing number of Australian music businesses seeking export opportunities at MIDEM: International Music Market Cannes, France will receive extra support this January, when AIR, The Association of Independent Record Labels (Aust) Ltd, APRA and AUSTRADE (Paris) present 'The Australian Pavilion' at MIDEM. Read more >>  

ABC Music Publishing Re-Signs With Mushroom
ABC Music Publishing has announced that it will continue its association with Mushroom Music Publishing after re-signing their music publishing administration agreement with the company earlier this week.

NICK OFF: Farewell to Nick Hampton
Nick Off was held at the Basement on Tuesday 15 November to honour Nick Hampton's work within the Australian Music Industry over the past 20 years and to act as a fundraiser for Nordorf-Robbins Music Therapy and Support Act Limited.   Read more
REGULAR COLUMNS

Mechanical Licensing News
Richard Mallett reports... Now we’ve managed to get rid of that Broadcast crowd, the leaner, meaner department can focus on some good old mechanical issues – well actually some good, some old, but also some “bad” and some new. Read more >>

Mechanical Distribution News
In this month's column, David Bowden covers a variety of issues ranging from the first ever distribution of mechanical royalties from CMS through to EMI New Zealand’s progress onto CF, some changes to the ABC blanket licence distribution and the handling of administered publishers for mechanicals. Read more >>

General Licensing News
Jenny Gome reports on the latest agreements with the Restaurant sector; the timeframe for the relicensing; plus, a reminder to sign and return the updated Dramatic Context Agency Appointment form.  Read more >>

AMPAL Update
- Latest news from Nick Hampton about the AMPAL AGM.

Welcome to the new APRA and AMCOS publisher members
- Roxcentric Pty Ltd
-  Style Music
-  IJam Music Pty Ltd
-  Family Music Pty Ltd (APRA only)
-  Black Knight Productions (APRA only)
-  Astral Records and Music (APRA only)
-  Heaven Publishing Pty Ltd (AMCOS only)
-  SFM Publishing (Now AMCOS as well as APRA)

Recent Board Decisions
- Click here to read the latest APRA and AMCOS Board Decisions.

News from around the world
Read the latest headlines from BIEM/CISAC, including:
- New copyright protection accord with Vietnam
- UK legal downloaders could soon outnumber illegal ones
- Ringtones are mostly bought by women
- New eLabel highlights other ways of marketing music
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