Why do I need a licence?

Legally use our music from all over the world in your organisation, without the hassle.

Why choose APRA AMCOS music licences

The New Zealand Copyright Act gives songwriters, composers, and music publishers the right to control how their music is used. So whenever music is played or performed publicly, made available online or copied, that music use almost always requires a licence.

Without an APRA AMCOS licence, you would need to deal directly with the composers, songwriters, music publishers, or other third parties who control the rights in our songs you wish to use.

We’ve done the hard work for you, so you don’t have to contact the owners of each piece of music you play, broadcast, stream, download or copy.

More than New Zealand and Australian music

An APRA AMCOS licence covers the majority of copyrighted music globally.

We represent music creators across Australasia and, by agreement, most music creators around the world through our reciprocal agreements with overseas affiliated societies.

For example, PRS for Music administers Courtney Barnett’s rights in the UK, which means that royalties for performances in that territory are collected by PRS for Music and then distributed to her via APRA AMCOS. Similarly, APRA AMCOS administers Ed Sheeran’s rights in Australia and pays his royalties via PRS for Music.

These agreements mean we can license you to use music from almost anywhere in the world legally.

Our licences:

Cover the musical work for the majority of the world’s repertoire
Are designed to suit your specific music use needs
Provide an easy and cost-effective way to access performing and some of the reproduction rights in musical works
Ensure songwriters, composers and music publishers are paid fairly for their music

Want to play recorded music?

In 2013, APRA AMCOS and Recorded Music NZ established OneMusic New Zealand. This collaboration offers public performance licences that cover both the musical work (the song or composition) and the recording.

How it works

APRA AMCOS grants licences for the live performance, broadcast, communication, public playing or reproduction of its members’ musical works. Recorded Music NZ grants licences for the broadcast, communication or public playing of recorded music (such as CDs, records and digital downloads or streams) and music videos as well as the reproduction of sound recordings and music videos to facilitate these activities.

The OneMusic New Zealand joint licensing initiative simplifies the licensing process for businesses, by offering single OneMusic licence fees, agreements, and invoices on behalf of both APRA AMCOS and Recorded Music NZ. OneMusic licences allow music users to meet their copyright obligations to play our music in their business.

The difference between a song or composition vs a recording

There can be many recordings of an original song. John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote Eleanor Rigby and The Beatles recorded the song, but it has been re-recorded more than 130 times by various artists and record companies.

Frequently asked questions

What music can I play under my APRA AMCOS licence?

An APRA AMCOS licence covers the majority of copyright music being played, except:

Music which is out of copyright. A licence is not required for these works.
Copyright music where the rights holders have not assigned the performing rights to APRA AMCOS or one of our overseas affiliates.
“Royalty-free” (or directly-licensed) music where the music is in copyright, but the rights holder does not require the user to obtain any additional licence.
Music which is specially written for dramatic performances, such as musicals, operettas and ballets (also known as Grand Right works). To use this music, you need to get permission from the rights-holder directly.

If you believe you may be using music which does not require an APRA AMCOS licence, please contact us for further information.

What is OneMusic New Zealand?

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.

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