2025: A year of impact, growth, and industry firsts.
✨Licensor registrations soared.
✨Artist registrations grew.
✨Income increased by 5%.
We invested strategically in two Copyright Tribunal matters, shaping the 2025 distributable surplus, and celebrated a world-first win with the Government rejecting Big Tech’s AI copyright exemption. Momentum continued on Radio Fair Play, pushing forward the removal of commercial radio caps.
Our presence across the industry reached new heights, with PPCA making its mark at AAM, BIGSOUND, Indie-con, the AIR Awards, and the ARIA Awards.
Social engagement surged by 20%, connecting our community like never before.
As 2025 drew to a close, we celebrated the remarkable legacy of our fearless leader, Lynne Small, and remain forever grateful for her unwavering dedication.
To our licensors, artists, and partners, thank you for being part of this journey 💚.
Bring on 2026!
#PPCA
A special night at the @aamaustralia Awards celebrating the incredible managers working behind the scenes, giving their all to help Aussie artists thrive 💚
Big shoutout to @_aligurl on taking home Emerging Manager of the Year — so well deserved 👏
#PPCA #AAMAwards #Aussiemanagers #AusMusic
Emerging Manager of the Year Winner
Presented by PPCA
Ali Tomoana, Soul Has No Tempo
Roster: Miss Kaninna
Ali Tomoana is the Managing Director of Soul Has No Tempo, a Brisbane-based music company, managing artists and releasing independent records.
Ali is a passionate advocate for First Nations and culturally diverse musicians, creating avenues for them to share their stories in authentic and meaningful ways. She currently manages breakthrough artist Miss Kaninna, guiding her through early development to being a 6-time ARIA award nominee in three short years.
A proud Māori/Samoan woman, with over 15 years in music, she has led international independent release campaigns through Soul Has No Tempo and is a freelance Tour Manager in her spare time. Ali is a member of the ARIA (Australian Recording Industry Assoc) Hip Hop & RnB Advisory Group, supporting and celebrating opportunities for growth and development across both genres in Australia.
MPEG Members - The May Control Room promises to be one of the most important and informative of the year! Join us as the team from PPCA explain the benefits and potential income that can flow from being registered with them.
Vale James Valentine AM
PPCA is deeply saddened by the passing of James Valentine. A jazz-trained saxophonist from Ballarat, James joined Models in late 1984 and helped shape the sound of their landmark album 'Out of Mind, Out of Sight'. That record carried Australian pop to international audiences and gave us classics like Barbados, Big on Love alongside the massive title track. He went on to play with Absent Friends, Wendy Matthews, Kate Ceberano and Joe Camilleri, leaving his mark across some of the most important recordings of the era.
In 2010, James stood on stage with his Models bandmates as the group was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame.
He later built a remarkable second career as one of Australia's most trusted broadcasters, spending more than two decades on ABC Radio Sydney's Afternoons show. In the weeks before his death, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for his contributions to music and media.
Our thoughts are with Joanne, his children, his bandmates and the many communities – musical and otherwise – that he brought together over a lifetime of generous, curious work.
📸 - James Valentine Facebook
#PPCA
Copyright is the legal and commercial foundation that enables the digital economy and in-centivises creators to keep making the work that AI companies depend on. Every song, record-ing, news article or book that trains these models exists because someone created and invested.
Copyright gives that someone the confidence they will have control over the commercial exploitation of that work.
What we will not accept is a campaign waged through government corridors to strip the con-sent, the control and the compensation to which Australian creators are entitled.
Australia is now being watched internationally as a test case. This is not the timeto capitu-late, especially when the existing commercial model works. @annabellejherd
#PPCA
Sounds Australia and @ausindies , in partnership with @aria_official and @ppca.official , are now seeking expressions of interest from Australian independent labels and publishers to take part in an Australian delegation to attend Indie Week 2026, an independent label-focused conference hosted by @a2im from June 8-12, 2026 at the InterContinental Hotel, Times Square in New York City.
A2IM Indie Week is a four-day international conference and networking event aimed at maximising the global impact of Independent music. Featuring keynotes, panels, exclusive networking sessions, and more, A2IM Indie Week has historically drawn an attendance of over 1200 participants from over 30 countries.
Indie Week is a conference for record labels and service providers with a strong focus on the exploitation of master recordings, licensing, networking and digital. AIR & Sounds Australia have led Australian delegations to Indie Week since 2013 and we have again been extended an invitation to lead a delegation to Indie Week in 2026.
Sounds Australia will be providing exclusive opportunities for the Australian delegation to meet with New York-based DSPs and media platforms. On Saturday 13 June, the delegation will be guests at an invite-only networking event hosted by Sounds Australia with key New York music industry. More information about the day’s activities will be announced soon.
If you are interested in being a part of the Australian delegation in New York City, complete the expression of interest form by Monday April 20, 2026. Hit the link in our bio to find the EOI form.
Sounds Australia will cover badge registration for one member from each eligible label and publisher, valued at US$1705.49. Any additional representatives from eligible labels and publishers who complete the EOI will receive a badge discount code exclusive to the Australian delegation.
Australians who are not part of an independent label or publisher, and interested in attending A2IM Indie Week, are also encouraged to submit an expression of interest to receive the badge discount code and be included in Sounds Australia’s activities.
Australia’s creative and media sectors united at Parliament House to make the case for licensing in the age of AI, hosting Powering Intelligence: Media, Culture and the Future of Innovation in Canberra today.
Parliamentarians, senior public servants, policy advisers and industry leaders came together to discuss the policy choices facing Australia on AI and copyright.
The Attorney General, the Hon Michelle Rowland MP, said: “The Government has been clear for some time that there are no plans to weaken copyright protections when it comes to AI. This includes explicitly ruling out a Text and Data Mining exception, which I was extremely proud to announce last year.”
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Emerging Manager of the Year - Presented by @ppca.official
Award Nominees
About this award: This award recognises an emerging manager who has embodied the 'X' factor in their skills and approach to modern artist management. At the coalface of audience development, they have leveraged their hunger to learn, which has resulted in genuine impactful growth for their artist(s). They have navigated obstacles in career growth with ingenuity and creativity. They have overcome challenges with integrity, transparency and consultation. They have demonstrated unwavering dedication during a critical building phase, guiding their artist(s) with exceptional progress, resulting in achievements significantly beyond previous milestones.
Congratulations to the 2026 Emerging Manager of the Year Award Nominees:
Ali Tomoana, Soul Has No Tempo
Beau Somers, BASE LEVEL ONE
Darcy O'Brien, Wildfire Music Management
Hugh Cruickshank, moretocome entertainment
Rick Bridgman, Good Intent
PPCA welcomes the Federal Government's support for a cost-benefit analysis into removing the current caps on licence fees paid by radio broadcasters for the use of sound recordings.
The radio caps, legislated over 55 years ago, restrict the Copyright Tribunal's ability to determine fair market rates for sound recording royalties. Australia remains the only country in the world with restrictions of this kind, and six independent reviews have recommended their removal.
PPCA Chair and ARIA Award-winning artist Josh Pyke said: “Removing the 1% cap is simply the right thing to do. It's impossible to defend an artificial cap set as a short-term measure over 40 years ago. Artists and rights holders deserve the right to negotiate free of this artificial constraint.”
PPCA CEO Annabelle Herd said: “The evidence base for removing these caps is already overwhelming. A cost-benefit analysis will confirm what Australian artists have long known: that a billion-dollar radio industry, built on the back of their music, can afford to pay a fair rate for the recordings it relies on.
Read more at ppca.com.au
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