Sydney, where APRA AMCOS is based. Photo Credit: Leigh
The Australian government is moving forward with plans for a local video streaming “content obligation,” which APRA AMCOS believes will unlock opportunities for homegrown music talent.
Lawmakers confirmed the forthcoming legislation today, reiterating in one release that the corresponding requirements will apply to any on-demand video streaming platform boasting north of one million domestic subscribers.
After the relevant bill becomes law, those companies will be compelled to spend 10% “of their total expenditure for Australia” or 7.5% of their overall revenue creating “new local drama, children’s, documentary, arts and educational programs,” according to the document.
But how will this affect the music space? Well, at the top level, it’s worth reiterating that the diversification-minded Spotify has quietly amassed a library of “almost 500,000 video podcast shows,” plus plenty of music videos and some TV shows and comedy specials to boot. As such, it’ll be interesting to see how video streaming is defined in the legislation itself.
Even assuming the law won’t extend to video-curious DSPs out of the gate, however, there’s always a chance for a music-specific expansion down the line. Similar measures aren’t without precedent elsewhere (see Canada’s Online Streaming Act), and it was only last month that APRA AMCOS emphasized local artists’ plunging stream shares in Australia as well as New Zealand.
Speaking of APRA AMCOS, CEO Dean Ormston applauded the content obligation as “an incredible first step for Australia” – and a means of driving music compensation on the post-production side.
“This is an incredible first step for Australia, once again leading the way in regulation within a global content market where extraordinary local stories and local music can be drowned out by content from major overseas markets,” Ormston said.
“Critically, the obligation includes requirements to spend on post-production in Australia, opening the door for Australian screen composers and local music to play a central role in telling our stories. This represents a significant new opportunity for Australia’s music creators,” the nearly 12-year APRA AMCOS vet continued.
“With the ACTTS [Australian Content Test Standards] requirement for post-production to happen in Australia, there is now a huge opportunity for the next generation of local productions to celebrate the extraordinary depth of Australian screen composition talent and sync music, truly ‘Ausifying’ the soundtrack,” he concluded.
Like so many aspects of today’s digital-driven entertainment sector, there are several angles to consider when it comes to the potential for international releases to outshine domestic efforts. While the latter trend isn’t exactly positive, Australian musicians are, of course, making a commercial splash in many of the same overseas markets.
On Spotify alone, for instance, Adelaide-born Sia’s monthly listener count is nearly 2.5 times larger than Australia’s population. Furthermore, though the questionable practice definitely isn’t exclusive to governments in Australia, perhaps there’s a better (artist-focused) use for tax dollars than reportedly paying massive corporations millions to stage live events featuring global talent.
