CeLeBRATING 25 YEARS Of THe APRA MUSIC AWARDS

Anthea Sarris
Brett Cottle
Photo > Jan Kuczerawy
Photo > Jan Kuczerawy
editor’s wrap
In an eclectic fusion of tuxedos, sequins and sneakers; the seasoned campaigners
and the young guns of Australian music gathered for the 25th Annual APRA Music
Awards at the Melbourne Town Hall in June. The night was a celebration of the
outstanding achievements of our songwriters over the past year and a moving tribute
to a quarter of a century of great Australian music. Master of ceremonies, Jonathan
Biggins, delivers his ‘view from the stage’ on page 8 along with a full list of winners
and a photo gallery from the night.
In this issue of Aprap, we turn the spotlight on building a fan-base and the influence
of technology. we’ve spoken to the experts – songwriters, managers, booking agents
and venue managers – and they all agree: a decent fan-base can be your launch pad
to success. Check out their views on building a fan-base and the pros and cons of
technologies like MySpace and youTube on pages 11-13.
Social networking sites are the focus of frank Rodi’s article on the licensing and
copyright challenges associated with online, user generated content (uGC) on
page 14. APRA|AMCOS’ Online & Mobile Licensing Manager presents an insightful
overview of the brave new world of uGC where the balance is shifting from
broadcasters to creators.
Also in this issue, we bid farewell to two Australian rock legends: Billy Thorpe
and Lobby Loyde (p.15); we catch up with PdA winners damian Crosbie (p.3) and
John Chong-Nee (p.21); map the course of Sick Puppies’ global journey (p. 6); and
much, much more. enjoy!
Anthea Sarris
to the point
during the last week in May some 600 delegates from around the world
gathered in Brussels to discuss and debate the role of copyright in the digital age.
The occasion was the triennial CISAC Copyright Summit. CISAC is the international
confederation of authors’ and composers’ societies.
Speakers from academia, record companies, publishing companies, digital service
providers, telcos, collecting societies and government joined authors, composers,
artists and film directors to try to find common ground - if not solutions - to some
of the challenges and problems that confront us in the internet age. while the news
from the record industry was generally negative – the industry is significantly down
around the world – many of the protagonists found positives in the new environment.
Billy Bragg spoke of the flourishing live scene in the uK; Glenn Ballard spoke of how
technology has revolutionised his creative life.
One key area of discussion involved the so-called
creative commons movement which encourages
authors to make their work available on the web
for “transformative” or “non-commercial” use,
for free, by anybody. we oppose the movement
as misconceived and involving serious practical
risks for authors, but the debate is healthy, and
some useful ideas (hopefully entailing the creative
commons movement expressly recognising the
role that collecting societies play for authors)
were explored.
At the General Assembly following the Summit,
APRA was re-elected to the CISAC Board.
Crucially, for the increasing imperative that
creators assert themselves and their rights in a
high profile way, Robin Gibb was elected President
of CISAC for the next three years and Mexican
film director, Alfonso Cuaron (Harry Potter and the
Prisoner of Azkaban) was elected Vice-President.
Their voices will be of immense significance to
us in the years ahead.
Brett Cottle
CeO APRA|AMCOS
> CISAC director General eric Baptiste, CISAC President Robin Gibb,
CISAC Chair of Board directors Brett Cottle and CISAC Vice President
Alfonso Cuaron. Brussels 1 June 2007. © GVw/CISAC2007
What is it you most value about music?
freedom of expression, and being able to tell a story.
What are you currently working on?
Our debut album, titled Reflections.
What are you listening to?
Rick Ross’s Port of Miami; T.I’s King and young Jeezy’s
The Inspiration album.
What is your favourite film that is about music
or is it a musical?
Tupac’s Resurrection, oh and our soon to be released
documentary about S.H.A.d.O.w.S by renowned film
director, Shalom Almond!
What is your favourite book/website about music?
we mainly read hip hop magazines, such as The Source,
Vibe magazine and Adelaide street press.
What is the best live performance you’ve ever been to,
whether you were performing or not?
u2 were amazing when we saw them in december 2006,
but Scribe puts on some awesome shows.
What is the quickest piece you have written and which
piece took the longest to write?
Hmm, ‘destiny’ took the longest, that’s from our debut e.P,
but the quickest, and also from that e.P was ‘Give a little’.
Who have been your greatest musical influences?
well there are three really: The warumpi Band, Bob Marley,
and N.w.A
PDA POSTCARDS: DAMIAN CROSBIE
MUSIC BUSINESS BY THE BOOK
CODE OF CONDUCT
KEEP AN EYE ON… PBS 106.7 FM
SERVICES FOR UNPUBLISHED WRITERS
GOING GLOBAL: SICK PUPPIES
2007 APRA MUSIC AWARDS
THE VIEW FROM THE STAGE
INTERNATIONAL NOTES
MEMBER NEWS
FANBASE: IF YOU BUILD IT
THEY WILL COME
WHAT’S MY SCENE?
USER GENERATED CONTENT
CALL FOR BOARD NOMINATIONS
THINK GREEN: E-VOTING
REST IN PEACE: BILLY THORPE AND
LOBBY LOYDE
SCREENRAP
4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 23
Photo > Mark Ludbrook
WHAT’S HAPPENING
S.H.A.D.O.W.S
[Soldiers Hungry Approaching
Difficult Obstacles Wanting Survival]
Damien Hampton aka Big D, Colin
Darcy aka Caper and John Gomez
aka Johnny G, have been rapping
and producing hip hop individually
for over ten years. They have
been performing and recording
collectively as S.H.A.D.O.W.S for
close to two years. Currently in
Derbyshire, UK recording their debut
EP with producer, Peter Harrington,
S.H.A.D.O.W.S have been APRA
members since 2006.
What is your most marked characteristic as songwriters?
we talk from a base of real life experience, so we draw on
that heavily.
Who would you most like to collaborate with and why?
Talib Kweli because he writes in a similar way to S.H.A.d.O.w.S,
Midnight Oil because of their political views, and Lauryn Hill,
because she has so much soul.
What’s your favourite piece (that you’ve written)?
Probably ‘S.H.A.d.O.w.S’, but our debut album has some
pretty strong tracks, which could become favourites.
What piece written by another writer do you wish you
had written, and why?
Tupac’s ‘unconditional Love’, because of the meaningful
lyrics, and everyone can relate to it.
What is the quality you most admire in a composer/songwriter?
Hearing something coming from the heart.
What is the best career advice you were ever given?
That nothing comes easily, and you have to work hard.
If you were not a songwriter, what might you have
ended up doing?
well as there are three of us, it would either be a social
worker (damien), working at Native Title SA (Colin), and
an instrumentation electrician (Johnny).
PUBLISHER NEWS
APRA NZ: JOHN CHONG-NEE
CELEBRATING THE CRAFT OF
SONGWRITING
MOMENTS IN MUSIC
A P r A P J u ly 2 0 0 7 > 0 2
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