INTHEBLACK July 2026 - Magazine - Page 23
“AI is a highly valuable tool for ideation. Certain artists
will be suited to using it as a tool. And if you think of it as
‘great artistry + hard work + great training + AI’, it equals a
potentially better outcome,” he says. “But there will be those
artists who will not want that, and rightly so, because what
they make is pure in its own sense.”
PAUL WILTSHIRE, SONGTRADR
VINYL ROCKS
The continuing rise in popularity of vinyl records is an undeniable bright spot
for the music industry.
Vinyl is not a niche collectible — it now regularly outsells CDs in the physical format
category and keeps setting new annual highs. Once seen as an endangered
format, vinyl purchases topped US$1 billion (A$1.38 billion) in the US for the first time
in 2025, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. In Australia, vinyl
represented 72.8 per cent of physical sales by dollar value in 2024, Australian Recording
Industry Association data reveals, with sales hitting A$44.5 million.
Dean Ormston, the CEO of Australia and New Zealand’s music rights management
organisation APRA AMCOS, says the popularity of vinyl is clearly “not a blip” and has
become an important part of musicians’ revenue through merchandising transactions.
“The dollar return on vinyl records for an artist is great if they are doing their own
pressing,” he says. “It is an important part of the mix, and it is fantastic that people
are back experiencing music in a different way to streaming.”
A ROLE FOR ACCOUNTANTS
In Australia, the Bass Line report by
Music Australia, reveals that the nation’s
music industry generated A$8.78 billion
in revenue in 2023–24.
Paul Luczak CPA, founder of
The Gild Group, a professional services
firm that serves music and entertainment
clients, says it is crucial for artists to think
like business owners while staying creative.
“Touring businesses are expensive to run,
so being right across a detailed budget is
crucial to maximising profits,” he says.
This is where accountants can make
a difference — guiding musicians on
budgets while they focus on delivering
the “fan experience”. Luczak says there
are many expense categories that can “turn
the profitability needle” including travel
(staying in hotels versus renting a tour bus),
production (making smart choices around
lighting and lasers) and road crews (getting
the numbers right). “Likewise, being across
revenue-generating opportunities, such as
offering VIP fan experiences to support
regular ticketing income, can improve
profitability,” he says.
Luczak adds that it may be worth
engaging an experienced royalty accountant
to undertake a periodic desktop review or
audit to ensure royalties are not missing.
APRA AMCOS encourages music
creators to surround themselves with
experts, which includes accountants.
“The artists who survive and do well
understand the economics of the business,
how their rights play out and how their
rights generate revenue for them,”
Ormston says.
Accountants may also provide taxation
advocacy. As part of its lobbying work,
APRA AMCOS has called on the Australian
Government to introduce tax incentives
to assist grassroots live music following the
post-COVID-19 pandemic closure of many
venues. A proposed live music tax offset
is designed to convince more hoteliers
to support artists in their venues.
intheblack.cpaaustralia.com.au 23
