Iain Clacher
LGBT festivals across Australia face the prospect of paying huge bills
for the right to play recorded music following an estimated $8,000
licensing fee expected by Melbourne's Midsumma.
The Phonographic Performance Company of Australia (PPCA) will slug
Midsumma organisers with the bill for playing recorded music at the
January 19 Carnival and T-Dance.
The PPCA collects licensing fees from any organisation that plays
recorded music in public. It is an additional fee to that collected by
the Australian Performing Rights Association (APRA).
Midsumma's major events director, Adam Lowe, told MCV the licensing fee
was "100 percent beyond the projected licensing costs" for the event.
He said legislative changes last year had allowed PPCA to increase its
licensing tariffs on major events to $3.07 per person attending the
event.
"In the case of Carnival, this is the first time I'm aware of having to pay the PPCA fees," he said.
Midsumma had applied for a 'Charitable Organiation Exemption' from the PPCA fees, but its claim was refused.
News of the Midsumma bill alarmed Pride March Victoria (PMV), which has
played recorded music on the march for the past 13 years.
"To have recorded music playing on the march route we would have to pay
somewhere in the vicinity of $5,000, which would essentially break us,"
PMV Secretary Brett Hayhoe told MCV.
"It is just absolute 'lunacy when we're not charging people to go to
the event and we're not charging people to listen to the music," he
said.
In order to bypass the PPCA fee, PMV has struck a direct deal with the
Vinyl Pusher record label. Consequently, all music played on the march
and by the DJs on Skinovet Foreshore Stage will be Vinyl Pusher
recordings.
"The PPCA will have someone on the grounds to make sure we don’t breach these rules and regulations."
PPCA Operations Manager Lynne Small said it made no difference that PMV
was a community organisation or that it had avoided paying the fee for
the past 13 years.
"The issue is they have an obligation to obtain the license before they
do it. We're always sending information to people and companies and
organisations to grow awareness of the need to get a license," Small
said.
Nonetheless, Hayhoe said the charge was "absolutely ridiculous".
"There may very well be real justification for this crap, but quite
frankly, for people who aren’t able to come up with this alternative,
it's going to make for some very quiet events out there," he said.
Lowe said Midsumma would not be able to determine the impact of the APPC fees until the festival was over.
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