Songwriters Choose New Representative

Songwriters Choose New Representative

Songwriter Arthur Baysting has stepped down from the board of the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and APRA’s New Zealand songwriter/members have elected Don McGlashan as their new representative.

APRA collects and distributes royalties and licence fees from businesses that broadcast, communicate and publicly perform music. In the 2009/10 financial year they distributed almost NZ$240million dollars in royalties and licence fees to over 200,000 music writers from New Zealand, Australia and around the world.

Don McGlashan is a successful song-writer and film composer who’s songs, such as Dominion Road and Bathe in the River, have become kiwi music favourites.

“I’m honoured be the new APRA NZ writer/director. APRA is unique and essential - it looks after composers and songwriters, making sure their rights are protected, so that whatever New Zealand looks like in the future there’ll still be people making music from this place and about this place” McGlashan says.

Baysting says he’s looking forward to having more time for his own creative projects. Known as a passionate advocate for New Zealand music, he was involved with the setting up of the NZ Music Commission and in campaigns for more New Zealand content. In 1999 he was awarded the inaugural SPADA/Onfilm Industry Champion award for bringing the different industry sectors together under the banner of the Green Ribbon campaign.

In a speech at this year’s APRA Silver Scroll Awards, Baysting praised the previous government for its creative industries initiatives and thanked the current government for “delivering a Copyright Act which protects composer’s rights”. He ended with a riddle; asking what was the difference between music and oil? The answer is simple, Baysting explained, “Oil is going to run out”.

ENDS

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