APRA AMCOS has released its Year in Review report. It marks a record year for the music rights body, which reports that its international income has reached $100 million for the first time – coincidentally, in its 100th year – and has paid its members a record amount across the 2025-26 financial year.

Dean Ormston. Photo © Seshanka Samarajiwa

APRA AMCOS has posted a total revenue of $857.4m, up 8.8 percent from the last financial year. Of that amount, $755.7 million was distributed to members and rightsholders. This Net Distributable Revenue grew 10.6 percent from last year, a larger rise than its Gross Revenue.

APRA AMCOS cites major successes including Ninajirachi’s worldwide festival run and the international triumph of Australian kids’ show Bluey as highlights pushing international revenue figures.

Digital is the largest and fastest-growing source of this figure, accounting for a 53 percent share – up more than 12 percent from last year’s report. It also sees a 25 percent rise in Subscription Video on Demand services including Netflix, Disney+ and Apple TV.

The report also cites”softer sales and greater price sensitivity” for small festivals and mid-tier tours as Aussies spent their entertainment budget on large-scale events including tours by AC/DC, Ed Sheeran and Oasis.

“This has been another year of strong results for our members, with more money out the door to them than ever before. As we celebrate APRA’s centenary year, we’ve also reflected on how far we’ve come while remaining firmly focused on the challenges ahead,” said CEO Dean Ormston.

“Australian and New Zealand music continues to achieve extraordinary success around the world, but at home, the opportunities for our members to reach local audiences are shrinking.”

Ninajirachi at Coachella. Photo supplied

APRA AMCOS’s Year in Review report reveals that more than 91 percent of music streamed in Australia was international (96 percent for New Zealand), a “startling” 37.5 percent decline over five years. Aussie creators now hold a 8.6 percent cut of streaming listens.

While consumption of User Generated Content platforms grew, Aussie creators also saw their shares on them drop to 3.6 percent, and NZ creators to 1.7 percent; a 28 percent drop from the last financial year.

“Music made here is winning over global audiences and generating record international revenue, yet it is becoming harder to discover on the platforms we use every day,” said Ormston.

“If the current trend continues, Australian members’ share of streaming is on track to fall to close to 5 percent within the next five years. It’s a devastating statistic. If audiences cannot discover local music on the platforms they use every day, we break the chain that takes an artist from their first listener to community radio, the live stage and an international career. Music creators are squeezed on the platforms where fans first find them, and then on the stages where that support grows.”

As mentioned in last year’s Year in Review report, APRA AMCOS has been campaigning for a federal live music tax incentive and a minimum quote for Australian music for streaming platforms.

APRA AMCOS represents over 135,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers. Across FY26, it delivered 340 events and 110 awards, grants and prizes, including $550,000 to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander creations through NATSIMO’s Lifecycle Grants.

October also marks the first anniversary of Alyelhentye Nawu, the body’s department dedicated to supporting and advocating for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members and Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property rights.

Ormston and APRA AMCOS are also committed to advocating for the rights of Australian musicians in the face of the growing presence of artificial intelligence.

Australian creatives at Parliament House on 1 July, 2026. Photo © Shoelace Creative

In September, it reported that “not one company” has approached APRA AMCOS about licensing Australian music for AI training, despite evidence that Australian music has been found amongst major AI training datasets, which it called “proof of theft”.

Earlier this year, the organisation joined international partners in developing the Paris Commitment, a pledge to protect and fairly compensate creators. It also took the issue to Parliament, where they urged the Australian Government to “hold firm” on protecting Australian artists as the tech industry pushes to loosen copyright restrictions for AI training purposes.

“As AI technology advances, so too does the need to defend the simple principle at the heart of copyright: creators must retain the right to control the use of their work and be paid when that work is used,” said Ormston.

“Our position remains clear and simple: permission and payment.”

More about APRA AMCOS’s Year in Review report can be found here.