Music in Schools

Making the Most of Music in Education is Making the Most of Music.

At APRA|AMCOS we recognise the huge role that music plays in schools, whether it is in classrooms, assemblies, presentation evenings, musicals or on the school ‘on-hold’ telephone system. This is why we have put in place three blanket licences to cover the use of music in schools:

  • APRA Performance Licence
  • AMCOS Photocopying Licence
  • AMCOS|ARIA/APRA Music recording Licence

Who is covered?

All government schools are automatically covered by the Department of Education licences in each State or Territory, while Catholic and Independent and other non-government schools must opt in through their peak governing body. If you are not sure if your school is covered, contact our Educational Licensing Department at

What do the licences cover?


APRA Performance Licence

This licence will cover you for:

  • Performances for educational purposes at the school or at events connected with the activities of the school. This covers the majority of performances at the school including assemblies, presentation evenings (even when held off the school grounds and admission isn’t charged), and concerts by students or background music to school events such as sports days, open days or fetes.
  • Playing APRA works as music on-hold over the school telephone system.

If you are performing a musical it is important to determine if it is a Grand Right work (an opera, operetta, musical play (such as Grease), revue or pantomime) as this usage falls outside the scope of this licence, and you will need to contact the copyright owner directly for licensing if the work is protected by copyright. Similarly, you will need publisher permission if performing a large choral work of over 20 minutes.
In addition to the above, if you are a secondary school and are performing musical works in a dramatic context, you may require additional licensing if you are charging admission for your performance. If so, contact our Theatrical Licensing Representative on .

AMCOS Photocopying Licence

Schools are lucky in that they are the only institutions in Australia that are covered by an AMCOS music photocopying licence. All other types of educational institutions such as universities, TAFEs and commercial colleges need to get permission from the copyright owner or rely on the statutory licence administered by CAL for their photocopying uses, (which, generally only permits the copying of a reasonable portion (10%) of a commercially available print music work).
Copying limits for schools under the AMCOS licence:


Print Music Type

Number of Copies per original owned by the school or teacher

Separately Published Work

30 (primary schools), 15 (secondary schools)

Chamber Music Works

A maximum of 10 parts

Choral Sheets

5

Band/Orchestral Set

A total of 30 instrumental parts e.g. 15 copies of a trumpet part, 10 copies of a trombone part, 5 copies of a clarinet part

Vocal Score or Collection of Works

30 copies for a primary school/15 copies for a secondary school of up to 3 songs from a score or collection

You can make a transcription of the lyrics or melody line, or a transposition from an original score of an AMCOS work by hand or using software such as Sibelius or Finale and make up to 30 (primary) copies or 15 (secondary) for these transcriptions/transpositions.

Under the agreement, every copy you make needs to be marked with the imprint of a stamp - or similar - the notice specified in the agreement. Originals must also be marked.

AMCOS|ARIA Audio Visual Licence

This licence covers you to:

  • Make audio recordings of musical events to be played at a school event, of a school event (for example a choir concert) or for analysis in class. This can be either recording a school performance, or creating a ‘compilation’ CD for analysis.
  • Make video recordings of school events (for example graduation ceremonies).
  • Create student films as part of a course of educational instruction to be played at school events only (to enter films in film festivals or competitions, you will need prior publisher permission).
  • Allow parents to make audio-visual recordings of student performances for their own domestic use.
  • Make audio-visual recordings of school events (where no Grand Right Work or Restricted Work is involved) for archival or commemorative purposes. This can be supplied to students for their own personal and domestic use at no charge, or for cost recovery.
  • Store copies made for the above purposes on a password and log in protected intranet system.

Click here for the clause that must be included on any recordings.

Please note that no advertising or promotional material or any other matter intended to encourage the purchase must be included on this recording.

Other Licences Schools Might Need

Reporting Music Use

To be able to distribute royalties from the educational licence fees, we need to know what kinds of music are being used in schools. However, asking teachers to report all their use every day is impractical to say the least. For these reasons we have a survey system in conjunction with CAL and Screenrights. This is conducted by an independent statistician who surveys a certain number of schools each term to obtain the data we need to be able to distribute royalties. We survey 180 Australian schools each year for one term for their photocopying and electronic use, so schools are highly unlikely to have to participate in this survey  more than once every eight years.

If you have been chosen to participate and have any questions about the requirements of the survey, feel free to contact us.

Contacting Us

Our Educational Licensing Department is always available to answer any questions you may have regarding the way you use music in your school. Give us a call on (02) 9935 7900 or send us an email at

APRA|AMCOS Guides to Making the Most of Music in Education

Have some questions? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions page for more information.

Other Useful Contacts

Copyright Advisory Group – www.smartcopying.edu.au
Australian Copyright Council – www.copyright.org.au

Click here to subscribe to our educational newsletter!