The APRA Music Awards of 2020 are the 38th annual series, known as
APRA Awards, in 2020. The awards are given in a series of categories in three divisions and in separate ceremonies throughout the year: the APRA Music Awards, Art Music Awards and Screen Music Awards. They are provided by the Australasian Performing Right Association and the Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society, known jointly as
APRA AMCOS
APRA AMCOS consists of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), both copyright management organisations or copyright collectives which jointly represent over 100,000 songwr ...
. In mid-February the associations announced that the previous category, Overseas Recognition Award, would be replaced by Global APRA Music Awards with separate ceremonies at three locations: Los Angeles (26 February 2020) for western North American-based artists, Nashville (1 March) for central and eastern North American-based artists and London (6 March) for European-based artists.
Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, the 2020 APRA Music Awards were not held in the usual live format. The event had been due to take place on 28 April at the International Convention Centre in Sydney, instead they were streamed online for the first time as a virtual event on 25 May with Indigenous rapper,
Briggs as host.
The format featured presenters, winners and performances of the Song of the Year finalists.
The nominees were announced on 7 April,
winners for Most Performed International Work and Licensee of the Year were announced on 14 May,
and the full list of winners was provided to media outlets on 25 May.
The Art Music Awards are provided by APRA AMCOS in conjunction with the
Australian Music Centre
The Australian Music Centre (AMC), formerly known briefly as Sounds Australian, is a national organisation promoting and supporting art music in Australia, founded in 1974. It co-hosts the Art Music Awards along with APRA AMCOS, and publishes '' ...
(AMC), and in 2020 the ceremony was also a virtual event, held on 8 September, hosted by
Zela Margossian,
Dr Lou Bennett,
Jonathan Biggins
Jonathan Martin Biggins (born 14 September 1960) is an Australian actor, singer, writer, director and comedian. He has appeared on film, stage and television as well as in satirical sketch comedy television programmes.
He was born in Newcast ...
.
They were presented with several new and redefined categories to "acknowledge the achievements of composers, performers and educators in the genres of contemporary classical music, jazz, improvisation, sound art and experimental music."
The Screen Music Awards are presented jointly by APRA AMCOS and the
Australian Guild of Screen Composers
The Australian Guild of Screen Composers (AGSC) is a not for profit organisation, which was established in 1981, "to represent the interests of Australian screen composers by developing and promoting employment opportunities, undertaking educationa ...
(AGSC), to "acknowledge excellence and innovation in the field of screen composition." Winners were announced on 1 December at a virtual ceremony and hosted by
Justine Clarke
Justine Clarke (born 16 November 1971) is an Australian actress, singer, musician, author and television host. She has been acting since the age of seven and has appeared in some of Australia's best-known TV shows. She is best known as a presen ...
,
Claudia Karvan
Claudia Karvan (born 19 May 1972) is an Australian actress, producer and scriptwriter. As a child actor, she first appeared in the film, '' Molly'' (1983) and followed with an adolescent role in ''High Tide'' (1987). She portrayed a teacher in ...
and
Meyne Wyatt
Meyne Wyatt (born 14 August 1989) is an Australian actor. Wyatt graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in 2010 and appeared in several theatre productions around the country. For his performance in ''Silent Disco'', Wyatt was name ...
.
Presenters and performers
Indigenous rapper,
Briggs, hosted the virtual APRA Music Awards of 2020 on 25 May.
The musical director,
Kate Miller-Heidke
Kate Melina Miller-Heidke (; born 16 November 1981) is an Australian singer and songwriter. Although classically trained, she has generally followed a career in alternative pop music. She signed to Sony Australia, Epic in the US and RCA in th ...
, curated the performers:
APRA Music Awards
Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year
Licensee of the Year
Most Performed Alternate Work
Most Performed Australian Work
Most Performed Australian Work Overseas
Most Performed Blues & Roots Work
Most Performed Country Work
Most Performed Dance Work
Most Performed International Work
Most Performed Pop Work
Most Performed Rock Work
Most Performed Urban Work
Song of the Year
Songwriter of the Year
Global APRA Music Awards
In mid-February 2020 APRA AMCOS announced that the Overseas Recognition Award from the APRA Music Awards would be replaced by Global APRA Music Awards with separate ceremonies in London, Los Angeles and Nashville . At each location awards were presented for Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year, Distinguished Services, Overseas Recognition Award, and Songwriter of the Year. The London-based awards, "recognise APRA AMCOS members living in the UK and Europe."
The London ceremony was held on 6 March at Ham Yard Hotel, Soho and hosted by Georgia Mooney.
The Los Angeles ceremony was held at the GRAMMY Museum, Clive Davis Theatre on 26 February and hosted by
Maya Jupiter
Melissha Martinez (born 21 December 1978), better known by her stage name Maya Jupiter, is a Mexican-born Australian rapper, songwriter, MC and radio personality. She released her debut album, ''Today'', in 2003. She was a member of hip-hop group ...
to "recognise APRA AMCOS members living on the West Coast of the U.S."
On 1 March, the Nashville ceremony, to "recognise APRA AMCOS members living on the East Coast of the U.S.", was hosted by
O'Shea
O'Shea is a surname and, less often, a given name. It is an anglicized form of the Irish patronymic name Ó Séaghdha or Ó Sé, originating in the Kingdom of Corcu Duibne in County Kerry.
Notable people with the name include:
Surname
*Alicia ...
and held at Clementine Hall.
Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year
Distinguished Services
Overseas Recognition
Songwriter of the Year
Art Music Awards
Work of the Year: Chamber Music
Work of the Year: Choral
Work of the Year: Dramatic
Work of the Year: Electroacustic/Sound Art
Work of the Year: Jazz
Work of the Year: Large Ensemble
Work of the Year: Notated Composition
Performance of the Year: Jazz / Improvised Music
Performance of the Year: Notated Composition
Award for Excellence in Music Education
Award for Excellence in a Regional Area
Award for Excellence in Experimental Music
Richard Gill Award for Distinguished Services to Australian Music
Luminary Award: Individual (National)
Luminary Award: Organisation (National)
Luminary Award: State & Territory Awards
Screen Music Awards
Feature Film Score of the Year
Best Music for an Advertisement
Best Music for Children's Television
Best Music for a Documentary
Best Music for a Mini-Series or Telemovie
Best Music for a Short Film
Best Music for a Television Series or Serial
Best Original Song Composed for the Screen
Best Soundtrack Album
Best Television Theme
Most Performed Screen Composer – Australia
Most Performed Screen Composer – Overseas
Distinguished Services to the Australian Screen
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Apra Awards Of 2020
2020 in Australian music
2020 music awards
APRA Awards