Breakthrough, With Limits
Australia’s music sector notched a rare win in the long fight over the radio royalty cap Australia. The Copyright Tribunal lifted commercial radio’s sound recording broadcast rate from 0.4% to 0.55% of gross industry revenue. That 38% increase, backdated to July 1, 2023, recognizes digital growth and broader use of recordings licensed by PPCA. It also nudges a system frozen since the 1968 Copyright Act toward something closer to market reality.
Cap Versus Market
The cap holds rates to a maximum of 1% of gross industry revenue, constraining negotiations before they start. Commercial radio currently pays around A$4.4 million from roughly A$1 billion in ad revenue, while the ABC’s cap yields just A$125,000 annually. The Tribunal’s reasons repeatedly note the cap’s influence, reinforcing PPCA’s claim that Australian artists are underpaid compared with other markets. As PPCA CEO Annabelle Herd argues, the cap is “fixed and enduring,” and it shaped the outcome.
Industry Fault Lines
Commercial Radio & Audio frames the result as lose-lose. CRA points to PPCA’s larger ask and claims negotiation could have avoided legal costs. It also warns of pressure on regional sustainability, a familiar refrain in global debates over broadcast royalties. Music bodies, including ARIA, PPCA, AAM, and AIR, back the Fair Pay for Radio Play push, led by Senator David Pocock, to strip the cap from the law. The campaign aligns with international moves to modernize legacy royalty frameworks.
Global Context, Local Stakes
Australia’s struggle mirrors a wider recalibration as radio adapts to streaming-era habits. Digital simulcasts, DAB+ expansion, and on-demand discovery blur boundaries that policy once treated as distinct. The Tribunal recognized those shifts, but the radio royalty cap still limits creators’ ceiling. With content deals long expired and parties entrenched, pressure now turns to Parliament for structural reform.
What Comes Next
Expect a renewed lobbying phase as PPCA seeks to scrap the cap, while CRA presses for relief and certainty. For artists and labels, the 0.55% rate is meaningful but partial progress. The next milestone is political, not judicial, and it will shape how Australian music is valued across broadcast and digital. The radio royalty cap in Australia sits at the heart of that decision, defining whether this win becomes a turning point or a temporary patch.
