APRA AMCOS has called for a decade-long investment in Australian music, releasing its National Cultural Policy submission Made Here. Heard Everywhere – a blueprint aimed at transforming the sector into a global creative powerhouse.

The submission outlines proposals across live music, streaming, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander music, screen music, education, exports and creator rights, arguing that Australia’s music industry has the potential to become a cornerstone of the nation’s cultural and economic future.

Photo © Jack Moran

Key recommendations include a refundable tax incentive scheme for live music venues, festivals and touring artists; an urgent government review into algorithmic barriers limiting Australian music discovery on streaming platforms; a national investment strategy for First Nations music; the establishment of a National Song Academy at the Australian Film Television and Radio School; a National Songbook recognising Australia’s most significant songs; and renewed investment of $180 million over four years into Music Australia.

APRA AMCOS CEO Dean Ormston said the plan represented an opportunity to build on recent industry gains.

“Australian music is extraordinary, and the opportunity in front of us matches it,” Ormston said. “Contemporary music can be the foundation of Australia’s creative century. This submission is the blueprint.”

The submission notes the Australian music industry now contributes almost $11 billion to the economy, generates more than $1 billion in exports and supports more than 40,000 workers.

Among its other recommendations are mandatory sequential music education in primary schools, increased support for the SongMakers program, a national music export strategy focused on markets including India, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Mexico, and new protections around artificial intelligence, including transparent licensing frameworks and safeguards for Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property.

The release follows years of advocacy from the music sector, including a 2020 call from APRA Chair Jenny Morris for a future where Australian music was protected, globally visible and embedded across education and communities.

Ormston said the next step was turning ambition into action.

“The Creative Century is not an aspiration. It is a decision,” he said. “The world is not waiting for Australia to prove itself. It is waiting for Australia to back itself.”

Read the full submission at apraamcos.com.au