General information on Copyright issues can be found in the articles in the left hand menu.
Introduction
Copyright collecting societies are generally non-profit companies which collect copyright licence fees for the use of “works” (music, lyrics, sound recordings, film, television, visual art and literature), when licences on an individual basis are impractical. The fees are then distributed to their copyright owner members.
Through collective administration in the public interest, collecting societies fulfil a number of functions, including:
• documenting and identifying use of works, collecting licence fees for the use of works and then distributing fees to copyright owners who are members of the collecting society;
• representing copyright owner members and protecting their economic and creative interests;
• creating international affiliations with copyright collecting societies overseas so that licence fees can be collected for overseas use and assisting with the use of work from overseas;
• (sometimes) collecting and distributing fees as a result of “statutory licences” set out in the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). For example, some copyright material can be used for certain purposes, such as copying by libraries, educational institutions or government, so long as particular payments are made;
• making it easier for those who wish to use copyright material without the expense of identifying and locating the owner of the work and then negotiating the deal which each of the owners without assistance; and
• educating the public and representing members in areas of reform on a national and international level.
This information sheet provides a brief description of the aims and activities of each copyright collecting society operating in Australia. In summary, these are:
- for music: AMCOS, APRA and PPCA;
- for print material: CAL;
- for artistic works: VI$COPY;
- for film (and television): Screenrights (for rights holders) ASDACS (for directors), AWGACS( for screenplay writers)
- for church music: CAL, CCLI, LicenSing, Word of Life International
COPYRIGHT COLLECTING SOCIETIES FOR MUSIC
(INCLUDING LYRICS, SOUND RECORDINGS AND MUSIC VIDEOS)
AMCOS – Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners' Society Limited
AMCOS was established in 1980 by Australian music publishers to collect, administer and distribute royalties collected for mechanical reproduction (copying) of sound recordings and importation of existing reproductions (like CDs, tapes, records and DVDs) on behalf of members. AMCOS members are music publishers who appoint AMCOS to collect fees on their behalf.The term “mechanical” dates from when music was reproduced mechanically. These days the term refers to the right of composers to be paid a statutory royalty when their music is reproduced on material such as records, tapes, CDs, DVDs and films.
AMCOS assists with:
| Licence: recording music | Required if you intend to make a recording of a sound recording. Even if you have no intention of selling the recording, you will need to obtain a licence. The licence fee payable is subject to an industry agreement between AMCOS and the record companies. |
| Licence: telephone music | Required for the use of a sound recording during hold music on a telephone system, or to make recordings of music to use on hold. |
| Licence: online | Required for the reproduction of a sound recording in web pages, Internet radio, concert, pre-recorded archives, clips and play-only songs (not for downloading). Similar to the licence required for radio or TV. |
| Licence: production music | Required for the use of pre-recorded music (sound recording) specifically written and recorded for synchronisation with or dubbing into audio and audio-visual productions. |
| Licence: music videos | In conjunction with ARIA, AMCOS can provide a licence for the reproduction of a sound recording on the soundtrack of a video, for example, a home video or wedding video. |
| Licence: broadcasting | Required for broadcasters who use (synchronise) a sound recording in a program or broadcast it on their broadcasting service. |
| Licence: schools and educational institutions | Required for the use of a sound recording by educational institutions: for the photocopying, recording, performing and synchronisation of music and sound recordings. |
| Other licences | Required for the use of sound recordings by churches, community bands, choirs, orchestras, eisteddfods, dance schools and other groups. |
| Referral service: printed reproduction of scores | AMCOS has a referral service, guidelines and licences for users of print music such as community orchestras, bands, choirs, churches, theatrical producers and music teachers. |
| Distribution of royalties | AMCOS collects money for the use of sound recordings, and distributes it less administrative costs, as royalties to members. |
| AMCOS database | AMCOS has a comprehensive database which lists the copyright owners of over 500,000 musical works. AMCOS also provides licenses for the use of recordings held in its production library. |
| Overseas affiliations | AMCOS has reciprocal agreements with overseas copyright collecting societies and can collect licence fees on behalf of overseas music publishers and may also be able to assist in obtaining the rights to reproduce foreign musical works. |
AMCOS membership is free. Membership is only open to bona fide musical publishers who own or control the “mechanical” and other “reproduction” rights in musical works (as part of an agreement with APRA, composers who do not have a publisher can use the services of AMCOS, through their membership of APRA).
Since 1997, APRA and AMCOS have been amalgamated and share the same offices and staff; however, they are still separate companies, and while they share the same office space they still manage separate copyright rights of their members. For example, when you go to www.amcos.com.au you will be taken to the APRA website where you can access information in relation to AMCOS services.
For further information telephone AMCOS on (02) 9935 7700 or email info@amcos.com.au or visit their website at www.amcos.com.au.
APRA – Australasian Performing Right Association
APRA was established in 1926 and administers the public performance, communication to the public (including over the internet and by way of broadcasting) of “music” (comprising the musical work and the lyrics but not the sound recording which is looked after by AMCOS) on behalf of authors, composers, music publishers and other music copyright owners.
APRA assists with:
| Licence: mechanical rights | Required for the reproduction, duplication and synchronisation of music for record manufacture. |
| Licence: music in business | Required for the use of music in a business. For example, background music, television, jukebox, karaoke and live performances. This includes businesses such as cinemas, venues, gyms, bars, hotels, clubs, shops and restaurants. Some organisations pay a 'blanket' licence fee, which gives them permission to use any music controlled by APRA. |
| Licence: event | Required where music is used at events. For example promoted concerts, dance parties and other performances. |
| Licence: telephone music | Required for the use of music as on hold music on a telephone system, or for making recordings of music to use as music on hold. |
| Licence: online or new media licence | Required for new media – including ringtones – and online use of music. |
| Licence: broadcasters | Required for broadcasters who use (synchronise) music in a program or broadcast on their broadcasting service. |
| Licence: schools and educational institutions | Required for the recording and use of music in educational institutions. |
| Licence: dramatic context | Required where music is used in a ballet or in conjunction with acting, costumes, scenic accessories, scripted dialogue or other dramatic effects (you may also need to negotiate directly with copyright owners). |
| Other licences | Required for the use of music by churches, community bands, choirs, orchestras, eisteddfods, dance schools and other groups/organisations. |
| APRA database | APRA can assist with identifying and finding owners of copyright in music and lyrics. |
| Distribution of royalties | The money collected by APRA is distributed, less administrative costs, as royalties to members. The method of distribution mirrors the extent of use of any given work. For that reason, radio and television stations provide APRA with logs or cue sheets that set out which songs they have played. Songwriters can ‘self report’ to APRA on use of their songs, including their own live performance of them. APRA also monitors foreign performance of musical works. |
| Overseas affiliations | APRA is affiliated with other performing right societies worldwide. APRA owns or controls for Australia the performing rights in musical works written by members of these societies. |
Membership of APRA is voluntary and no joining or membership fees are payable. Membership is open to writers who can show evidence of the public performance or broadcast of at least one musical composition and to bona fide music publishers. Since 1997, APRA and AMCOS have been amalgamated and share the same offices and staff; however, they are still separate companies and manage separate copyright rights of their members.
APRA has offices in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney and Auckland. For further information telephone the Sydney office on (02) 9935 7900 or visit their website at www.apra.com.au.
PPCA – Phonographic Performance Company of Australia
The PPCA was established in 1969, and issues licences on behalf of its members such as record labels (who are usually the copyright owner) and Australia recording artists, for the broadcast, communication and public playing of recorded music (sound recordings) and music videos.
In addition to the copyright in the music and lyrics, which are reproduced in the sound recording, the Copyright Act gives copyright protection to sound recordings. To broadcast or play sound recordings or music videos in public, you need to obtain a licence from the copyright owner of the sound recording or music video as well as from the copyright owner of the music and lyrics (see APRA).
PPCA assists with:
| Licence: recorded music | Required for the broadcast, communication or public playing of recorded music or music videos. Licence fees are assessed according to the extent sound recording will be played and potential size of the audience. |
| Licence: music videos | Required for the broadcast, communication or public playing of music videos. Licencefees are linked to the number of areas and size of screens videos are played on, as well as the potential audience size. |
| Licence: ‘blanket’ licence | A ‘blanket’ licence covers nearly all recordings and music videos commercially released in Australia. Required for businesses such as clubs, hotels, bars, restaurants, fitness centres, shops, halls and dance studios, radio and television stations. |
| Distribution of royalties | PPCA collects, administers and distributes licence fees to record labels and Australian recording artists who are members. Australian recording artists receive monies from the PPCA artists’ distribution scheme. PPCA distributions are based on airplay logs from broadcasters and music video programs, supplemented by additional information from licensees, which is then matched against the PPCA database of sound recordings. |
| PPCA database | This database provides a list of registered copyright owners of recordings, Australian recording artists and sound recordings. |
PPCA membership is free and is open to those who own copyright in a sound recording (usually record labels) and Australian recording artists. ‘Australian recording artists’ are defined as a principal recording artist, being a person or a group of persons whose performance is embodied in an Australian recording and are entitled to be paid a royalty under the terms of their recording agreement.
For further information contact PPCA on (02) 8569 1100 or visit their website at www.ppca.com.au
CAL – Copyright Agency Ltd
CAL was established in 1974 to collect, administer and distribute licence fees under a scheme set out in the Copyright Act, for the reproduction (and now communication) of print material by educational institutions, the public, government and corporations. Members of CAL include Australian authors, newspaper, magazine and book publishers, print journalist members of the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance, surveyors, visual artists and photographers.
CAL assists with:
| Licence: general copying | Required by not-for-profit organisations and associations, religious organisations (a Worship licence is available), institutions assisting people with disabilities, libraries providing commercial document delivery services, media monitors and other organisations for copying print material. |
| Licence: corporate copying | Required by corporations wanting to copy print material created by CAL members. The licence fee is calculated at a set rate per employee plus an administration fee. |
| Licence: associations | This licence covers the copying of works by a diverse range of non-profit organisations, including associations, councils, societies and unions. |
| Licence: schools and educational institutions | Under a statutory licence set out in Part VB of the Copyright Act, CAL is the collecting society for the reproduction and communication of works by educational institutions and institutions assisting people with intellectual and print disabilities. |
| Licence: government | Under a statutory licence set out in section 183 of the Copyright Act, CAL is the collecting society for reproduction and certain communication of works by government departments and agencies. CAL also has a licence available for local governments and councils. |
| Licence: digital / new media / online | CAL has a range of different licences available for the use of works in online databases and electronic works and is actively facilitating online delivery through these different projects. This includes access to information on online databases and using works on corporate intranet. |
| Copyright Express | A one-off copyright clearance service offered by CAL, where users can rrequest permission to photocopy or digitally copy from a hard copy original. Users can utilise Copyright Express if they are not covered by a CAL copying licence, or if the copying they want to do falls outside the terms of their CAL licence. |
| Distribution | A CAL member may claim money from CAL’s distributions, if, according to CAL’s records, the member’s print work has been copied. |
| Overseas affiliations | CAL has reciprocal agreements with other copyright collecting agencies and reproduction rights organisations around the world. |
Membership of CAL is free to all print rights holders. There are two types of membership: author membership and publisher membership.
For further information contact CAL on (02) 9394 7600 or visit their website at www.copyright.com.au
COPYRIGHT COLLECTING SOCIETIES FOR ARTISTIC WORKS
VI$COPY – Visual Arts Copyright Collecting Society
Established in 1995, VI$COPY is the visual arts copyright collecting society, which licences the copyright in artistic works. VI$COPY represents Australian and International visual artists and copyright owners, and also exclusively represents many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists. VI$COPY represents its members for the full range of rights – reproduction, publication and communication – providing copyright users with authorised access and permission to use artistic works for commercial, non-commercial and educational purposes.
VISCOPY assists with:
| Licence | VI$COPY administers the full range of rights in a work and negotiates the terms of licences for the use of artistic works on behalf of members. VI$COPY ensures that licences are entered into, fees are paid and that proper attribution of the creator of the artistic work is made in accordance with the Australian statutory moral rights regime. |
| Scale of fees | VI$COPY assists owners of copyright in artistic works with calculating charges for every conceivable form of artistic reproduction. |
| Distribution of royalties | VI$COPY administers and collects royalties for the use of artistic work on behalf of members. |
| Publishing and broadcast claims | VI$COPY claims royalties (beyond the original licensing fee) on behalf of visual artists and other owners of copyright in artistic works, whose work has been reproduced in a film or a television program, if recorded for an educational purpose. |
| Online Image Licensing Gallery | VI$COPY provides online licensing and a collection of digital images of members work, where reproduction rights or a high resolution scan can be purchased and downloaded. |
| Protection | VI$COPY can assist members in relation to copyright infringement. |
| Overseas affiliations | VISCOPY has signed reciprocal agreements with over 40 international copyright collecting societies |
VI$COPY membership is free. Members include new technology artists, photographers, printmakers, cartoonists, sculptors, illustrators, designers, craftspeople, their agents and others who own or control copyright in artistic works. On joining, the copyright owner enters into an agreement that indicates which rights in which works VI$COPY is to administer, and members can choose whether they wish to obtain Full Membership or Statutory Membership (in which case VI$COPY would only look after the member’s secondary rights, and would only collect and distribute income from Government statutory licences held by educational and government institutions).
For further information contact VI$COPY on (02)9280 2844 or visit their website at www.viscopy.com
SCREENRIGHTS
Screenrights was established in 1990 and is a rights management and royalty collection service, for rights holders in film and television. It administers statutory licences that allow educational institutions (school, TAFE or university) and governments to copy material from radio and television.
Screenrights assists with:
| Licence | Screenrights administers the licence scheme in the Copyright Act under which educational institutions and government can copy programs. |
| Distribution | Screenrights collects, administers and distributes statutory licence fees to the owners of rights in film and television, including broadcasters, producers, distributors, and rightsholders in scripts, musical works, sound recordings and artistic works. |
| Research | Screenrights can assist with identifying and locating copyright owners of audiovisual material. |
| Overseas affiliations | Screenrights has members from 47 countries. It also enters into agreements with overseas audio-visual collecting societies, registering titles and making blanket claims for royalties collected by these societies on behalf of the rightsholders who appoint Screenrights as their agent for collection. |
There are no joining fees and no percentage commission is charged on income collected. Royalties for the copying of musical works are distributed with the assistance of APRA and AMCOS.
For further information contact Screenrights on (02) 9904 0133 or visit their website at www.screen.org
ASDACS – Australian Screen Directors Authorship Collecting Society
ASDACS was established in 1995 by the Australian Screen Directors Association (ASDA), to collect, administer and distribute the European royalty income owed to film and television directors, arising from ‘secondary’ use (blank video tapes, retransmission of broadcasts by cable and video rental for film and television) of rights, conferred on directors by the national legislation of various European countries. Under the rules of the Berne Convention, Australian screen directors are entitled to this European royalty income from ‘secondary’ use. ‘Primary’ use rights are theatrical and television broadcast rights: the director will normally negotiate these rights on an individual basis with the producer.
The Australian copyright system does not allow for secondary rights to be protected, nor is there an equitable share of the income from these rights between the director, writer and producer of audio visual works. Under the European authors’ rights system, the director is the author and first owner of an audio visual work; under the Australian copyright system, directors do not have authorship rights(other than in relation to moral rights) – they are treated as interpreters of the work. In other words, European authors’ rights concentrate on protecting the rights of the original creator whereas Australian copyright protects the owner of the rights, which may be an investor or production company.
Whilst there is no protection of secondary rights in Australia there is one statutory scheme under the Copyright Act which requires an educational institution to pay royalties to directors if the educational institution copies radio and television broadcasts. This scheme is administered by Screenrights (see above).
With the assistance of APRA (and AWGACS, which is referred to in detail later) ASDACS assists with:
| Distribution of royalties | ASDACS receives the income from European collecting societies who deal directly with the end users (broadcasters, cable networks and video manufacturers). This income is then distributed according to each country's rules, which can vary greatly. ASDACS then collects, administers and distributes royalties owed to members. |
| ASDACS database | ASDACS is compiling a database of Australian and New Zealand works. If you are a director it is important to provide this information to ASDACS so it can be matched against the information held by the European societies. |
Membership of ASDACS is free to members of the Screen Directors Guild of New Zealand (SDGNZ) and ASDA. SDGNZ and ASDA are industry associations representing the interests of film and television directors, documentary filmmakers, animators and independent producers throughout New Zealand and Australia, respectively.
For further information contact ASDACS on (02) 9555 7042, visit their website at www.asdafilm.org.au/asdacs or email asdacs@asdacs.com.au
AWGACS – Australian Writers’ Guild Authorship Collecting Society Ltd
AWGACS was established by the Australian Writers’ Guild (AWG) in 1996 as a non-profit collecting society, which registers, collects and distributes authorship monies collected by European collecting societies, to members, who are Australian and New Zealand scriptwriters of film and television. This includes European statutory monies conferred on the author of a script by the national legislation of European countries such as France, Germany, Switzerland, Holland and the United Kingdom. Statutory monies are collected for private copying (a levy collected by some European collecting societies for every blank video cassette tape sold), cable retransmission of free-to-air television, copying done by educational institutions, and video rental and lending.
AWGACS assists with:
| Distribution of royalties | AWGACS, collects and administers the income collected by some European collecting societies and distributes it to the Australian or New Zealand author(s) of a script. APRA assists AWGACS in locating the relevant transmission/broadcast data. |
| Distribution of equitable remuneration | The Australian Copyright Act has an equitable remuneration scheme for copying by educational institutions and government to remunerate the copyright owner of a script in a film or television show (it is, however, very rare that the screenwriter will be the copyright owner and it will usually be the producer). This scheme is administered by Screenrights. If screenwriters transfer their future educational, government and communication copying rights to AWGACS, AWGACS can register, collect and distribute the equitable remuneration to the screenwriter. |
| AWGACS database | AWGACS is compiling a database of credits for film and television work by Australian and New Zealand screenwriters. |
| Overseas affiliations | AWGACS currently collects statutory money, on behalf of members, from: Society of Dramatic Authors and Composers (SACD), in France; SUISSIMAGE (Swiss authors’ rights society for audiovisual works), in Switzerland; WG WORT, in Germany; and the Author’s Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS), in the United Kingdom. |
Membership of AWGACS is free for financial members of the AWG or New Zealand Writers Guild; otherwise there is an annual membership fee.
For further information contact AWGACS on (02) 9281 1554, visit their website at www.awg.com.au or email at awgacs@awg.com.au
COPYRIGHT COLLECTING SOCIETIES FOR CHURCH MUSIC
There are a number of commercial agencies (they are not non-profit collecting societies) that have been established to collect royalties and grant licences for the use of church music; CAL, however, also offers an inexpensive church music licence (see CAL info sheet on page 5 of this fact sheet).
CCLI – Christian Copyright Licensing International
CCLI is based in the USA and was established in 1988 for the purpose of issuing licences and distributing fees for the use of Christian music published by its members.
For further information contact CCLI on (02) 9894 5386 or 1800 635 474 or visit their website at www.ccli.com.au
LicenSing
LicenSing is a division of the US Company MediaCom, established in 1980 as an Australia-New Zealand ecumenical religious communications organisation which issues licences and distributes fees for the use of Christian music published by its members.
For further information telephone Mediacom/LicenSing on (08) 8297 8719 or visit their website on www.mediacom.org.au
Word of Life International
Word of Life International was established in 1990 and acts as an agent to collect and distribute licence fees for the use of Christian music used in Australasia and the South Pacific.
For further information telephone Word of Life International on (03) 5664 9245 or visit their website on www.freelink.com.au
Further Information
• Shane Simpson, Music Business, Sydney: Omnibus Press, 2002.
• Shane Simpson, Review of Australian Collecting Societies, A Report to the Minister of Communications and the Arts and the Minister for Justice, Canberra, Commonwealth of Australia, 1995 (available at www.simpsons.com.au/documents/ip/Reportla.pdf).
• Voluntary code of conduct for copyright collecting societies, 1 January 2002, which deals with distribution of remuneration and fees, governance, accountability, complaints and disputes. Copies can be obtained from CAL's website at www.copyright.com.au/code_of_conduct.htm
© Arts Law Centre of Australia 1998, 2005
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