New OneMusic Licence Great for Business

October 8th 2013
APRA and PPNZ Music Licensing have come together to create a world-first, single music licence that best serves New Zealand businesses.

APRA and PPNZ Music Licensing have come together to create a world-first, single music licence that best serves New Zealand businesses.

A single comprehensive music licence created by APRA and PPNZ called OneMusic launches today, allowing businesses and organisations up and down the country to play music in public without the frustrations of the old two-licence system.

PPNZ Chief Executive, Damian Vaughan, says the OneMusic idea was born from customer feedback.

"Our customers were telling us the old two-licence model was confusing," says Vaughan. "APRA and PPNZ represent different rights holders, we operate differently and calculate fees in different ways. Too many customers were not even aware they needed both licences. So we're now dealing with the complexities behind the scenes. That's our job."

Director of New Zealand Operations for APRA, Anthony Healey, says OneMusic is an initiative that's being closely watched by music licensing bodies overseas. A major advantage to it, he says, is that it will be backed up by a comprehensive online service.

"By APRA and PPNZ coming together our customers can now go to one place, www.onemusicnz.com, to calculate their fee without having to deal with complex paperwork," says Healey. "An online payment service will also be ready to go shortly."

How much a business pays to use music under the new OneMusic licence will also be calculated by a much-simplified method, he says. For instance many businesses will be licensed based on their size per square-metre. How a business uses music - whether it's featured or background - will also be taken into account.

Chief Executive of The Restaurant Association, Marisa Bidois, says the new product is a vast improvement.

"We support anything that means compliance issues don't get in the way of business," says Bidois. "This new process means our members can get a music licence quickly and easily and we're very happy APRA and PPNZ have heard us on this issue."

Healey says that once all licensees have moved over to the new system, APRA and PPNZ will be in relatively the same financial position as they were before.

"We want to make music work for business and this is our honest attempt to deliver the most efficient music licence possible. We want a reasonable return for the music makers that is also fair for businesses using our members' music. Any eventual growth will be through a greater take-up of licences, which makes it more equitable all round" says Healey.

CEO of the New Zealand Retailers Association, John Albertson, says OneMusic means fewer businesses will be accidentally operating outside of the law.

"Not everyone has known they needed two music licences and indeed sometimes it seemed over the top to be charged twice to play music. We've had a look at how much our members will be paying now based on the OneMusic calculations and it seems reasonable," he says.

Healey says that once businesses are licensed they'll receive a OneMusic sticker to show their customers that music rights' holders have been paid and they're fully licensed to reap the benefits of playing music.

"We're really happy to have heard so clearly what our customers want and to deliver a range of new licence options that are simple, fair and reasonable for everyone."

 

www.onemusicnz.com

 

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