Put simply, the APRA Music Awards are about honouring composers and songwriters.
It was with this simple ideology in mind that the APRA Music Awards were established in 1982. Staged as an annual event, the awards honour those composers and songwriters who have achieved the highest performances of their work and excellence in their craft over the previous year.
APRA Music Award recipients over the years have been as rich and varied as the songs they represent. Previous winners have included some of the finest names in the Australian contemporary music landscape with an honour roll that has included Neil Finn, Powderfinger, Gurrumul Yunupingu, The Presets, Savage Garden, Alex Lloyd, Tina Arena, Chris Cheney, Angus & Julia Stone, John Butler, Bernard Fanning, Wolfmother and many, many more.
While some awards are based on peer voting by the 34,000+ eligible voting APRA members, others are based on APRA's analysis of performance data. 2011 saw the introduction of additional data in the form of digital and online performance statistics to determine the nominees and ultimately, the winners. APRA acknowledges the importance that online performance has upon the reach and listenership of Australian music and this activity forms part of the statistical analysis.
Needless to say, recognition from fellow musicians and industry peers is always a uniquely prized honour. Outstanding artists previously acknowledged by the APRA Board of Writer and Publisher Directors have included the likes of Daniel Johns, Kasey Chambers, Nick Cave (Songwriters of the Year), Paul Kelly, Don Burrows, Slim Dusty, (Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music), and Sally Seltmann, Missy Higgins, Glenn Richards (Breakthrough Songwriter Award). See below for a comprehensive list of previous winners.
In 2002 APRA introduced two new award categories that have been embraced by the music community. Acknowledging the huge impact of dance music to Australia’s musical panorama, APRA introduced the category for Dance Work of the Year. APRA also introduced Breakthrough Songwriter Award, for emerging composers or songwriters of any genre. The inaugural recipients of these awards were paulmac and Peta Morris (for “Just The Thing”) and SIA and Jennifer Waite and Grant Wallis respectively.
In 2006 APRA introduced two further categories, which are awarded based on statistical analysis. They are Urban Work of the Year and Blues & Roots Work of the Year. The latest category that APRA introduced was Rock Work of the Year in 2010, and Eskimo Joe took out the inaugural award with their track “Foreign Land”.
In 2011 the category of Jazz Work of the Year was moved from the APRA Music Awards and incorporated as part of the new Art Music Awards staged in partnership with APRA and the AMC (Australian Music Centre). The inaugural Art Music Awards (formerly the Classical Music Awards) were held in May 2011, and honour the achievements of composers, performers and industry specialists within contemporary art music, jazz, experimental music, and music education.
APRA continues to host two other annual awards events in any calendar year in Australia. The Screen Music Awards, held in conjunction with the Australian Guild of Screen Performers (AGSC) is held in November and acknowledges excellence and innovation in the genre of screen composition. The 2012 APRA Music Awards will be held on Monday 28th May at Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour.
Now, as APRA enters its 86th year, the commitment to honouring songwriters and composers is as strong as ever.
Previous Years