UK music businesses feel benefits of Australia trade deal which
slashed tariffs and cut red tape for British exports
London-based music tech company expands presence Down Under to
help musicians recoup royalties over lucrative Christmas
period
British musicians featured in three of the top 10 Christmas songs
in Australia last year
The UK’s free trade agreement with Australia is ringing in
festive cheer this year, having slashed tariffs and helped
British music companies expand Down Under ahead of the lucrative
festive period.
Backed by British legends Sir Elton John and Sir Paul McCartney,
London-based music tech company Audoo produce smart listening
devices, or Audio Meters, which are placed in pubs, shops and
bars to identify when and where music is being played and ensure
musicians are paid for that play.
The UK’s trade deal with Australia has made exporting for Audoo
easier, slashing tariffs on their product, simplifying paperwork
and speeding up the customs process. This has helped them more
than double the number of Audio Meters found in Aussie venues,
rolling them out across all major cities including Brisbane,
Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and Adelaide, ensuring musicians are
paid fairly over the festive period – a key time for sales.
British Christmas bangers feature heavily during Australia’s
festive period, with three of the top 10 songs last year
featuring UK artists.
According to Bloomberg, in 2018 artists and record companies were
losing out on almost $3 billion in unaccounted royalties each
year.
Minister for Trade Policy said:
British music is rocking around the world’s Christmas trees for a
reason and Australia is no exception, with our iconic tunes
ringing out across Aussie cities over the festive period.
All our music artists really want for Christmas is to get the
payment they deserve, regardless of where their song is being
played. Our trade deal with Australia makes it easier for
businesses like Audoo to expand Down Under and fill our stars’
stockings with well-earned royalties.
Audoo Founder & CEO Ryan Edwards said:
Launching across Australia has been a major step in our journey
as a proud British business growing on a global scale. The free
trade agreement helped us accelerate our implementation ensuring
our mission to deliver accurate data for fair royalty
distribution.
Melbourne took the crown as the most festive Aussie city in 2022,
with Christmas songs accounting for 34% of all music played from
November to December 31st, rising to 43% in December.
The UK-Australia free trade agreement came into force in May 2023
and under its beneficial terms tariffs on all UK goods exports to
Australia have or will be removed, making UK products more
competitive in the Australian market.
This is the first trade deal that the UK has negotiated from
scratch since leaving the European Union and is expected to
increase trade with Australia by 53%, boost the economy by £2.3
billion and add £900 million to household wages each year in the
long run.
The deal also cuts red tape that was faced by more than 13,000
small and medium-sized businesses across the UK who already
export goods to Australia, ensuring goods leave customs quickly.
