Copyright and registration are two separate things.

Copyright is free and automatic.

That's right—you don’t have to do anything to ‘get’ copyright; it's there from the moment you write down or record the song. So as soon as you create a new song or piece of music, you have copyright in it.

Register works with APRA AMCOS.

To ensure you receive royalties when your work is played or performed, you must register your songs and compositions through the Writer Portal or App.

APRA pays domestic royalties every three months and processes overseas royalties monthly.

AMCOS processes royalties quarterly—within 60 days of the end of each calendar quarter, usually just before the 60th day. All amounts over $10 are paid.

Learn more about distributions.

Firstly, it shows that your business or organisation respects and supports songwriters and composers - creators of New Zealand culture.

Secondly, if you use music that is protected by copyright within your business, Commonwealth legislation requires permission (a licence) from the creators of that music.

And last but not least - you benefit by using music: keeping your patrons and staff entertained, engaged and creating a better atmosphere.

Composers and music publishers generally authorise APRA AMCOS to administer their rights in Australia. Without these licences you would, for example, need to deal directly with the composers, songwriters and music publishers who own the rights in the music you wish to use.

You can get more information from the New Zealand Intellectual Property Office.

OneMusic is a joint licensing initiative between APRA AMCOS and Recorded Music NZ. OneMusic licenses businesses that use music on behalf of APRA AMCOS and Recorded Music NZ, who return the licence fees collected to music creators – songwriters, composers, music publishers, recording artists and record labels – as royalties.

Both are member organisations, which means that after administration costs all money collected is returned to music creators as royalties. Having permission to use music in a business setting is required by law, and a OneMusic licence grants businesses the permission they need to use essentially all commercially released music from anywhere around the world.

If you write or compose your own songs, you may be eligible to join APRA. You'll also need to match one or more of the following criteria:

• You or someone else performs your songs live OR
• Your songs are broadcast on radio or TV OR
• Your songs are available to stream online.

You can't join if you're a member of an overseas Performing Rights Organisation. If you're in a band, only the members who write or compose music need to join.

Join today

Joining AMCOS is separate from joining APRA. You may want to join AMCOS if you have unpublished works released on a recording for sale to the public or reproduced in a production music recording. You can join AMCOS if:

• You're a copyright owner of musical works;
• You don't already belong to an overseas mechanical rights organisation;
• At least one of your works is unpublished and has been commercially reproduced eg: available on a digital music service like Spotify or Apple Music, released as a physical product by a third party, or reproduced in a production music recording.

In the 'Log in' menu on the website, choose 'Songwriters and composers' and then log in to your account. Enter your email address - the one you use for APRA AMCOS correspondence.

If it's your first time logging in, you'll receive an activation email, asking you to choose a password. Make sure you check your junk or spam if you can't see the activation email in your inbox.

Once you've created your password you'll get access to the Writer Portal.

View this video to see more detail, and how to reset your password.

If you play live at pubs, clubs, cafes, or other live music venues in New Zealand and Australia, you can get royalties for these performances by submitting a Performance Report.

Just tell us what songs you've performed in which venues, and you could be paid for playing your original music live. Please make sure you also tell us about any covers you perform so the original songwriters can get paid too.

You can submit your Performance Reports on-the-go via the APRA AMCOS for Music Creators App or in the Writer Portal. Download the app for free from the Apple App store, or from GooglePlay for Android.

The International Standard Recording Code (ISRC) is the international identification system for sound recordings and music video recordings. APRA AMCOS does not issue ISRCs. Recorded Music NZ is the International Standard Recording Code national agency, and it administers ISRCs. For more information about the ISRC system, or to apply for an ISRC for your recordings, please visit Recorded Music NZ.