A Blueprint for the Next Decade
APRA AMCOS, the peak body representing Australian songwriters and composers, has released its most comprehensive policy vision to date. Titled Made Here. Heard Everywhere., the submission to the National Cultural Policy consultation outlines a decade-long roadmap to position Australia as a global music powerhouse.
The organisation’s recommendations span live music, streaming, education, Indigenous music infrastructure, copyright, exports and artist development. Among the flagship proposals are a refundable tax incentive for live music venues, festivals and touring artists; a government review into streaming platform algorithms; the creation of a National Song Academy; a permanent National Songbook; and a $180 million funding commitment to Music Australia over four years.
APRA AMCOS CEO Dean Ormston described the submission as arriving at a pivotal moment. “We are living through a moment of profound change and that is precisely why this matters,” he said. “Contemporary music can be the foundation of Australia’s creative century. This submission is the blueprint”.
The Streaming Discoverability Crisis
Central to the submission is a stark diagnosis of the challenges facing Australian music discovery on streaming platforms. APRA AMCOS noted that Australian music now accounts for just 9.5% of streams domestically — a 31% decline over the past five years. The organisation is calling for an urgent Green Paper examining algorithmic discoverability and how local music can be better surfaced to Australian listeners.
This concern reflects a broader anxiety within the industry that algorithmic curation, dominated by global platforms, systematically disadvantages local content. Without intervention, the submission warns, Australian artists risk being marginalised in their own domestic market.
‘Michael’s Rule’ and Live Music Tax Incentives
The submission proposes a live music tax incentive for venues, festivals and touring artists — a mechanism designed to offset the rising operational costs that have forced numerous venues to close. It also advocates for national adoption of “Michael’s Rule,” a policy that would require major international touring artists to include local support acts on Australian tours.
This latter proposal draws inspiration from similar initiatives in other markets and aims to ensure that the commercial benefits of international touring extend to the domestic artist ecosystem. The rule would create guaranteed performance opportunities for emerging Australian acts alongside established global headliners.
Indigenous Cultural Protections and Creator Rights
The submission includes protections for Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP), a Cultural Provenance Register, and a dedicated ICIP Protection Fund. On artificial intelligence, APRA AMCOS is advocating for a voluntary licensing framework based on transparency, consent and remuneration — a position that aligns with ARIA’s parallel calls for copyright safeguards.
Education is another key pillar, with recommendations including a National Song Academy housed at the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) and a national stagecraft and broadcast performance training programme to equip Australian artists for international stages and broadcasts.
The Economic Case for Investment
The submission grounds its proposals in economic data. According to APRA AMCOS, the local music sector now contributes almost $11 billion annually to the economy, including more than $1 billion in exports, while supporting over 40,000 jobs.
The organisation’s call for a $180 million commitment to Music Australia over four years is framed not as expenditure but as investment in export capacity, cultural diplomacy and employment. As the consultation process continues, the industry will be watching closely to see whether policymakers embrace the scale of ambition contained in the submission.
