PPCA welcomes committee report suggesting removing Radio Caps warrants further investigation
Phonographic Performance Company of Australia (PPCA) welcomes today’s Report from the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs into the Copyright Legislation Amendment (Fair Pay for Radio Pay) Bill 2023, while urging the Government to move quickly on implementing the recommendation for further research.
The Report recommends that the federal government conducts a cost-benefit analysis examining the impacts of removing the current caps on licence fees for the broadcast of sound recordings on radio.
While PPCA will fully participate in this review, PPCA has already recently released a report by Mandala looking at the economic impacts of removing the caps which, according to this Committee Report, “shows clearly that increases to licence fees unequivocally strengthen much needed income streams to Australian artists”. This report states that Australian artists could receive up to a 78% increase in radio royalties and record labels would have more revenue to invest in developing local artists if the caps are removed. It also clearly demonstrates that commercial radio has the capacity to pay Australian artists and labels fairly given they have some of the highest revenue per capita globally and profitability higher than the industry average even after the removal of the caps.
PPCA CEO, Annabelle Herd, said: “We are pleased that the Committee has recognised that this is a real issue for Australian artists and labels that warrants further consideration, but the recommendation to require yet another review is frustrating. How many reviews will it take to remove these deeply unfair provisions and put Australian artists on a level playing field with all other copyright holders and with profitable commercial radio networks that rely on music to bring in revenue of over $1 billion annually? All six reviews completed to date have found that the caps should be removed so PPCA can negotiate in a fair and free market.
“Most importantly, we sincerely thank Senator David Pocock for championing Australian music and bringing this issue before the Parliament. With Australian artists doing it tough at the moment, it’s never been more important to get the policy settings right for our homegrown talent, and Senator Pocock quite rightly saw this as a cost-neutral way to get artists paid fairly. We also want to thank Senator Hanson-Young and the Greens for being great supporters of Australian music and for supporting this Bill.”
The Bill referred to in the report amends the Copyright Act 1968 to remove restrictions limiting the Copyright Tribunal’s ability to determine the amount payable by commercial and ABC radio to artists and record labels for the broadcast of sound recordings. These restrictions are often referred to as caps, or radio caps.
For more information, please contact:
Andrew Knowles
M: 0449 510 357