ACA National submission to ACCC about OneMusic

Following an invitation from the ACCC to comment on the application for revocation of authorisation AA1000433 and substitution of new authorisation AA1000661 by the Australasian Performing Right Association Ltd (APRA), ACA has made a submission to the ACCC to raise concerns regarding the selling practices of OneMusic Australia (a joint venture between APRA and the Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS)).

Feedback from a number of ACA members (especially those based in NSW and Queensland) indicated that the OneMusic sales staff were:

• calling early learning service providers and their educators/teachers unsolicited.
• overtly advising that they were taking note of whether the early learning service phone system used on-hold music.
• asking whoever answered the phone - often an early childhood educator/teacher – whether they played music in the service, whether they played it during music, dance or exercise sessions with the children, whether they played music during events with parents, whether they showed the children any videos, and so on.
• telling whoever answered the phone that the early learning service was already in breach of Australia’s music copyright laws in light of the fact that they use on-hold music or play music during one of the activities confirmed by the educator earlier, and that the owner needs to buy a OneMusic Australia music licence to avoid being fined or other consequences.
• notwithstanding the early learning service providers advising OneMusic that they were consciously using royalty-free music and not copyrighted music, OneMusic would demand that those early learning service providers prove there actions or else be deemed as in breach of Australia’s music copyright laws.
• calling back repeatedly, including to the direct mobile numbers of some early childhood educators/teachers, to urge the service provider to buy a OneMusic licence.

As a result of this telemarketing approach, early childhood educators and teachers were left:

• feeling stressed that they had somehow betrayed their employer by answering such questions.
• nervous about how to explain to their employer that as a business, they were now in trouble with the law.
• questioning whether they should answer the telephone as an ongoing practice.

Upon learning of the situation from their staff, affected ACA members felt either anxious about possibly breaking the law, or exasperated from being accused falsely, and also felt that their staff were being harassed and bullied by OneMusic’s sales team.

For any further information/clarification, members can contact the ACA NSW team via 1300 556 330 or nsw@childcarealliance.org.au.

PUBLISHED: 8 MARCH 2024