SYDNEY, Australia — APRA AMCOS Group has posted all-time-high revenue of A$857.4 million ($599 million), up 8.8% from the previous financial year thanks to strong digital, international and public performance licensing.
At the same time, group net distributable revenue (NDR) ballooned to A$755.7 million ($528 million), up 10.6% year-on-year.
As APRA celebrates its 100th anniversary, the PRO’s international revenue lifts to a record-high of A$103.2 million ($72 million) — crossing the $100 million milestone for the first time — powered by strong touring from the likes of Ninajirachi, and screen growth globally, led by animated kids show Bluey, reads a statement.
The engine room for APRA AMCOS is the “Digital” category, which represents more than 53% overall share, and up 12.5% from the same period last time, while OneMusic’s public performance revenue lifted 10.9% on strong gains from concerts and events, fitness and restaurants.
“Audiences continue to spend their entertainment dollars on large-scale, high-priced events like AC/DC, Ed Sheeran and Oasis,” reads a statement, “leading to softer sales and greater price sensitivity for mid-tier tours and smaller festivals.”
Published this week, it’s “another year of strong results for our members, with more money out the door to them than ever before,” explains Dean Ormston, CEO of APRA AMCOS.
Broken down, APRA generated A$557.2 million ($389 million) in revenue for the year, up 6.9%, while AMCOS posted A$300.2 million ($209 million), up 12.6%. Group expense-to-revenue ratio was 11.86%, down from 13.26%.
If there’s one clanger in APRA AMCOS’ 2026 Year In Review, for the period July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026, it’s raw proof that Australians and New Zealanders are tuning out of homegrown music. More than 91% of the music Australians streamed in FY26 was imported. It’s a worse situation across ditch, as 96% of music consumed in NZ was created by internationals.
“If the current trend continues, Australian members’ share of streaming is on track to fall to close to 5% within the next five years,” adds Ormston. “It’s a devastating statistic.”
APRA AMCOS serves more than 135,000 songwriter, composer and music publisher members. Despite the strong overall picture, Ormston assures the organization is focused on the challenges that lie ahead.
“We continue to work closely with governments, platforms and international partners to ensure members are askedpermission and receive payment when their works are used to train or generate AI content,” he explains.
In June, APRA AMCOS took that message to the CISAC General Assembly in Paris, where the Australasian body and its international partners set out the Paris Commitment to protect, recognize and fairly remunerate human creators. Then, its leadership assembled in the nation’s capital, Canberra, to call on the Australian Government to hold firm on the Copyright Act, in the face of lobbying from big tech for a TDM. “ We will continue making that case, clearly and consistently, for as long as it takes.”
And as AI technology advances, he adds, “so too does the need to defend the simple principle at the heart of copyright: creators must retain the right to control the use of their work and be paid when that work is used. Our position remains clear and simple: permission and payment.”
Read APRA AMCOS’ 2026 Year In Review here.
