APRA AMCOS Reports Record A$857.4 Million Revenue as Local Share of Streaming Falls

APRA AMCOS, the Australian and New Zealand body that collects royalties for songwriters, composers and music publishers, reported record revenue of A$857.4 million for its 2026 financial year. Billboard reported the figure, which is up 8.8% on the year before. The organisation announced the result on 20 October 2026.

The money that is left to pay members after costs is called net distributable revenue. For APRA AMCOS it came to A$755.7 million, up 10.6%. The organisation's expense-to-revenue ratio, the share of income spent on running the business, fell to 11.86% from 13.26%. In plain terms, a smaller slice of the money went on overheads.

Streaming drove much of the growth. The digital category made up more than 53% of overall income and rose 12.5%. Live performance money also climbed. Revenue from public performance licences, which cover venues such as concerts, gyms and restaurants that play music, rose 10.9%.

International income reached a record A$103.2 million. APRA AMCOS credited touring by the Australian artist Ninajirachi and growth in screen licensing led by the children's series Bluey. Income from licensing music for film and television is a steady earner that often comes from shows, not charts.

The results also carry a warning. According to APRA AMCOS's 2025-2026 Year in Review, Australian members' share of Australian audio streaming fell from 9.5% to 8.5% in the year, the largest annual drop in four years. New Zealand members' share of streaming rose from 3.8% in the previous year. The organisation's announcement put the broader picture bluntly: local content has declined 37.5% in five years, to 8.5% of streaming and 3.6% of user-generated content, such as videos posted by fans on social platforms. More than 91% of the music Australians streamed in the year was imported, and 96% of the music consumed in New Zealand was made by international artists.

What does that mean for the people behind the songs? A songwriter's royalty depends on how many plays a track gets, so a bigger slice of listening going to overseas catalogue means less of the pie for local writers, even when the total pot grows. APRA AMCOS serves more than 135,000 members, and its chief executive, Dean Ormston, is responsible for steering that work through a period of change.

Artificial intelligence was also on the agenda. APRA AMCOS has endorsed the IMPF and IMPEL framework, a set of principles calling for licensing of generative AI, the software that creates new music or lyrics, that properly values the songs it learns from. The organisation also issued a statement on a letter from the Joint Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence to the Prime Minister. It noted that the Government and the Opposition are discussing changes to copyright settings.

The organisation is marking its 100th anniversary this year. Its celebrations include the book 100 Years of Australian Songwriting, which had bookshop launches in Sydney and Melbourne with free RSVP. Composer Cezary Skubiszewski, who wrote the music for Red Dog, Two Hands and the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, is set to receive a Distinguished Services honour from the group.

Revenue at a record level, and a shrinking local share, are both true at once. The next year's figures will show whether the streaming growth reaches the Australian songwriters who make up the local side of that balance.