Member update: season’s greetings

December 7, 2020

Dear Members,

I write to wish you all the very best for the holiday season. COVID-19 has made it a very strange and difficult year. I hope you are able to celebrate the season in the way you would most like, and with the people you most love.

For us it has been an intense and in some ways hard-fought year. Some achievements:

  • In response to the devastating impact of COVID-19 on the creative sector, we increased funding for grants by $500,000 and also brought forward our regular Cultural Fund allocation of grants.
  • In FY20, we paid out $114m to members for the use of their material by businesses, governments and education institutions. We also focused on running operations as efficiently as possible and keeping costs under control.
  • We engaged in two significant actions in the Copyright Tribunal to fight for a fair payment for the use of members’ material. The first action was with the universities and the second with media monitoring organisations.
  • We settled our seven-year-long dispute with the NSW Government over the rate the State should pay for uses of copyright material, with both parties coming to an agreement on fair and equitable arrangements for members.
  • We completed the full upgrade of all our systems and processes to ensure we can keep paying members and improving services. We will continue to improve how we work in response to member feedback.

We could not have done any of this without our members’ hard work. We represent you and your work. So thank you!

I would also like to thank Copyright Agency Board members for their commitment and guidance, as well as the executive team and all employees who worked tirelessly throughout the year to deliver for members and licensees.

Once again – have a restful and festive time over the summer break.

All the best,

Adam

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