SYDNEY, Australia — APRA will celebrate its 100th anniversary with a bang.
Announced today, Jan. 28, the Australasian Performing Right Association inks a full slate of centenary activities to the calendar, for what the PRO describes as the “most significant celebration of the contribution of songwriting and composition to Australia and New Zealand’s culture, identity and economy.”
Those plans include the launch of a new “hall of fame-style” event in November, along with the “biggest ever” APRA Music Awards in Sydney in April and Silver Scroll Awards/Kaitito Kaiaka in New Zealand this October.
Also, the SongHubs collaborative songwriting program will get a boost in Australia in April and New Zealand in September, and a major anthology book will be published, recognizing 100 years of music from these parts.
The action gets underway with a digital history timeline, dubbed APRA: A Century of Song, a teasers of which can be seen here.
The spotlight will fall on such moments as Johnny O’Keefe’s “Wild One,” which Iggy Pop famously interpolated in 1986’s “Real Wild Child (Wild One);” the global success of AC/DC, INXS, Midnight Oil, Lorde, Sia and others; Kylie Minogue leaving Neighbours to launch her music career with “Locomotion” in 1987; weekly music TV show Countdown first airing on the ABC in 1974; Christine Anu’s version of the Warumpi Band’s “My Island Home” at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, and much more.
“From the licensing of dance and radio broadcasts in the 1920s to protecting creators’ rights in the AI era, APRA has evolved alongside the music it serves,” says APRA AMCOS CEO, Dean Ormston. “This centenary isn’t just about looking back – it’s about celebrating the enduring value of songwriting to our culture, identity and our two nations.”
Formed by six music publishers a century ago this month, the Australasian Performing Right Association now represents over 128,000 music creators.
Revenue and distributions continue to push into unchartered territory. Including its sister organization AMCOS, the Australasian rights organization last October posted annual revenue of A$787.9 million ($511 million) for 2024-25, up 6.5% from the previous financial year, with net distributable revenue at A$683.4 million ($443 million), up 7.8% year-on-year, also an all-time result.
Based on recent results, Billboard reported at the time, the A$800 million revenue milestone should be crushed in the next annual report, and the magical A$1 billion figure is on the near horizon.
“From the famous Aeroplane Jelly jingle in 1930 to Lorde breaking through to worldwide superstardom in the 2020s, APRA: A Century of Song is a nostalgic and educational walk down memory lane of our songwriting history that’s an absolute must read for any musicophile,” comments NZ-born hitmaker Jenny Morris, MNZM OAM, chair of APRA.
A new hall of fame ceremony means an embarrassment of riches for the domestic music community. ARIA has already announced a special, separate standalone Hall of Fame to celebrate its 40th anniversary, at which five acts will be inducted.
APRA’s own hall of fame honor, the Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music, is awarded during the annual APRA Music Awards.
“It’s a true honour to reflect on the past 100 years and look forward to the next 100 to ensure we remain as relevant for our members today as we always have been. The timeline is just the beginning of our celebrations of Australian and New Zealand songwriting history for 2026, so stay tuned for more announcements!”
The milestone anniversary celebrations promise to dwarf APRA’s 75th anniversary, in 2001, when the organization compiled and published a list of the Top 30 Australian songs of all time, as voted by a 100-strong music industry panel. On that occasion, the Easybeats’ 1966 hit “Friday On My Mind” came out on top, ahead of Daddy Cool’s “Eagle Rock” (1971) and Midnight Oil’s “Beds Are Burning” (1987), respectively.
For more information and to view the timeline, visit apraamcos.com.au/100-years.
