Report of the inquiry into copyright, music and small business - November 2000

Government response to the report of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs

"Don't stop the music! - a report of the inquiry into copyright, music and small business"

The reference was a result of continuous complaints by small businesses (eg, proprietors of shops, hairdressers, doctors) and their representative bodies to Members of Parliament and Government agencies about a licensing drive by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and, to a lesser extent, the Phonographic Performance Company of Australia (PPCA) during 1996-97. The licensing drive had surprised and concerned many small businesses who had had no prior contact with APRA or PPCA and had been used to playing a radio or CD without a licence for the public performance of music for many years.