The APRA Music Awards in Australia celebrate excellence in contemporary music, honoring songwriters and publishers who have achieved artistic excellence and outstanding success in their fields.
The APRA Music Awards were established in 1982 to honour songwriters and music composers for their efforts. The award categories are:
Gold Awards
From 1982 to 1990, the best songs were given the Gold Award, which was also called the Special Award. In the mid-1980s Platinum Awards were given to significant works from previous years.[1]
Song of the Year is decided by the votes of APRA members. All eligible songs must be written by an APRA member and released in the preceding calendar year for consideration. The Song of the Year award is considered one of the most prestigious of the APRA Music Awards.
Songwriter of the Year is voted by APRA's Board of Writer and Publisher Directors rewarding the songwriter who has recorded the most impressive body of work in the previous year.
The Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music
The Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music' is decided by APRA's Board of Writer and Publisher Directors for a lifetime contribution. The Award is named after Ted Albert whose company Albert Productions put out records by The Easybeats, AC/DC and John Paul Young.
Breakthrough Songwriter Award is decided by APRA's Board of Writer and Publisher Directors for an emerging songwriter or groups of writers. The award category was first introduced by APRA in 2002.
There are a number of awards given for most performed work based on a statistical analysis of APRA's database. These awards include "Most Performed Australian Work of the Year", "Most Performed Australian Work Overseas", "Most Performed Foreign Work", "Most Performed Jazz Work", "Most Performed Country Work" and "Most Performed Dance Work".
Richard Gill Award for Distinguished Services to Australian Music
In 2001, APRA joined forces with the Australian Music Centre (AMC) to present awards for Australian classical music, known as Classical Music Awards. The AMC had been presenting annual awards for classical music since 1988, apart from a 1993–1995 hiatus due to funding cuts. The participation of APRA helped to secure the future of the awards, which are the only Australian awards for contemporary Australian classical music. This award has been won by well-known composers including Brenton Broadstock, Brett Dean, Ross Edwards, Georges Lentz, Liza Lim, Richard Mills, and Peter Sculthorpe. After another hiatus in 2010, the event returned as the Art Music Awards the following year, restructured and with two new categories.[3]
The awards now cover classical, jazz and improvised music, experimental music and sound art, recognising achievement in composition, performance, education and presentation. As of 2020[update],[4] the current award structure recognises eleven annual awards and Luminary Awards for sustained contribution (nationally and for each state and territory) in Australian art music. There is also a discretionary award, The Richard Gill Award for Distinguished Services to Australian Music.[5]
Richard Gill Award for Distinguished Services to Australian Music
Originally named The Distinguished Services to Australian Music Award,[6] from 2019 it was renamed in honour of Australian conductor and educator Richard Gill (1941 – 2018).[7] It is determined by APRA's Board of Writer and Publisher Directors and the Australian Music Centre Board for a lifetime contribution to the art music community.
The annual Screen Music Awards were first presented in 2002 by APRA and AMCOS in conjunction with the Australian Guild of Screen Composers (AGSC). The ceremony, held in November, acknowledges excellence and innovation in the field of screen composition, and as of 2019[update] covers 13 categories.[10]
The Emily Burrows Award was instituted in 2001 in memory of Emily Burrows, a former APRA AMCOS membership representative and compliance officer. It is awarded to a South Australian artist or band annually with a $5,000 prize, to further their development and career. Electric Fields won it in 2016, with previous winners including Hilltop Hoods and The Beards,[12] Dead Roo, and Ollie English[13]
In 2023, Indigenous hip hop band from the APY lands, DEM MOB, won the award.[17]
Top 30 Australian Songs (2001 only)
As part of its 75th anniversary celebrations in 2001, APRA created a list of the top 30 Australian songs.[18] A panel of 100 music personalities were asked to list the ten best Australian songs, the data was compiled and the Top Ten in numerical order, was announced at the 2001 APRA Music Awards ceremony.[18] At the ceremony You Am I performed the #1 listed song "Friday on My Mind" with Ross Wilson performing the #2 listed song "Eagle Rock".[18] The next 20 songs in the Top 30 had been announced four weeks earlier.[19]
See also
APRA Awards (New Zealand) – annual awards in New Zealand, including the Silver Scroll Award for songwriting
^"Categories". APRA AMCOS. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
^"APRA / AGSC AWARDS"(PDF). Australian Film Television and Radio School Annual Report 2008–09. Australian Film Television and Radio School, Commonwealth of Australia. 31 July 2009. p. 11. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
^Kruger, Debbie (2 May 2001). "The songs that resonate through the years". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) | Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS). Archived from the original on 1 April 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
