Mission Statement

Founded in 1981, AGSC’s core purpose is to champion, cultivate, and advocate for Australian screen composers.

Vision Statement

Provide support, information, education and a community for all Australian screen composers, whether emerging or established. To advocate for a sustainable and prosperous screen composition sector within the Australian screen industry.

The Core Pillars that we build our mission and vision on are to:

Cultivate

• We encourage connection through composer meets-ups, events, sharing members’ news, our website and online social media platforms.

• We share knowledge and skills between emerging and established screen composers, via mentorships, educational talks to students and emerging screen composers, and more.

Advocate

• We keep updated on industry developments and actions that affect our members so we can keep them informed, lobby and advocate for, and respond accordingly.

• We lead and contribute to policy and industrial relations matters through submissions to Government, responding to surveys and participating in forums.

• We campaign for screen composers’ perspectives and the value they offer to the industry at large.

• We create initiatives that advocate for greater diversity and gender equity.

Champion

• We recognise and celebrate screen music composing achievements through the annual Screen Music Award (presented by APRA AMCOS with the AGSC).

• We create opportunities to promote and develop screen composers, building industry awareness of the value of screen composition.

• We facilitate and promote screen composer applicants for mentorship programs and awards such as the Johnny Dennis Music Awards.

How will we use our core pillars to achieve our mission?

CORE PILLAR: CULTIVATE

1. We CULTIVATE community amongst screen composers and beyond to inform, share knowledge and further understanding of our practice. We do this by:

Connecting & Building Community Networks

Our event and activities program aims to reach our core audience and others, engaging with, informing, educating and cultivating our community. This in turn strengthens both the membership and wider screen music sector.

Hosting Events and Activities for members and others. We will present a range of events with speakers and panelists who have experience and knowledge across diverse topics and issues. Events will be presented both live and online to reach as many audience members as possible, and will cover:

• Educational and professional career development events

• Screen Music Business and current issues – e.g. Emerging Composer Toolkits; Buyouts; Re-investment Deals

• Social events for members as live and online events (providing networking opportunities for emerging composers with established screen composers)

• Celebratory events and award ceremonies held with APRA AMCOS & others organisations

• Peer-to-peer (e.g. composer to composer) interviews and more

• Health and wellbeing for the sector

Offering Mentorships and promoting awards that encourage equity and participation, including:

• APRA AMCOS / AGSC Women in Music – Screen/Gaming Mentorship programs

• AGSC and NATSIMO Indigenous Screen Composer Pathways intensive program

• APRA AMCOS Professional Development Awards (2021 & 2023)

• Johnny Dennis Music Awards (JD Music Awards) 2021

Offering health and wellbeing support and information that supports and assists our members across urban, regional and isolated locations:

• Referral to appropriate support and well-being services such as Support Act

• Hosting or supporting seminars on health and wellbeing in the sector

Screen industry liaison and sector building

• Engaging with the wider screen community and other guilds via ASIGA (Australian Screen Guilds and Associations network) to share information about screen composer issues, achievements and networks

• Creation of social media strategy for community and industry engagement

• Growth and continued development of the education program for all screen composers (emerging and established). To understand issues which affect our entire industry, such as scope of rights, the value of work, and to be able to negotiate these areas successfully

CORE PILLAR: ADVOCATE

2. We ADVOCATE and campaign to ensure screen composers have a voice in the decisions that affect members’ futures. We will do this across a number of platforms and issues through:

Industrial relations

• Keeping updated with industry, screen and music sector developments and issues, while maintaining an active Industrial Relations Committee

• Updating the Professional Screen Composer Rates document for members and others

• Programming relevant industrial relations events on topics that directly affect screen composers

• Liaising with peak bodies and other organisations across the screen sector, including funding agencies, government departments, industry forums and other guilds to gather and share information. This will include APRA AMCOS, Screen Australia, and state and federal government departments regulating the screen sector and others

• Campaigning for screen composers and participating in industry policy matters. In 2021 this will include:

  • Responding to the Federal Government Green Paper on Media Reforms, Screen Content Investment Obligations, Screen Production Taxation Law Amendments and others measures, solely and/or jointly with APRA AMCOS and other Screen Industry Associations

  • Raising awareness and providing education on buyouts and lobbying to the Government, including how to protect intellectual property rights

  • Lobbying, using Australians Screen Composers as HODs, across all productions – funded through taxpayer screen incentives such as offsets and location incentives

Gender and Diversity Inclusion and Equity

• Hosting the 2021 Gender Equity RoundTable – focusing on making the workplace family friendly and relevant regulation. Includes speakers, forums and discussions about actions that can result in better gender equity and practices that encourage female participation in the screen sector

• Promoting Australian screen composers visibility and opportunity, including quotas and incentives

• Taking part in the Screen Australia Gender Equity Screen Consultative Group and referencing female and non-binary screen composers for actions where possible. In addition, to support quotas and incentives which provide better gender equity across the board in the screen sector

• Promoting the AGSC 2021 Women’s Playlist across membership, social channels and wider networks, showcasing the work of female screen composers to the screen sector

• Working with APRA AMCOS to continue the Women in Film and Women in Television mentorships. These opportunities are offered as part of the larger Women in Music Mentorship program and other mentorship programs, including those offered for regional-based composers through ScreenWorks
• Working towards a 40/40/20 Gender Equity balance goal in all our activities and operations.

CORE PILLAR: CHAMPION

3. We CHAMPION screen composers by promoting and celebrating the contribution they make. We do this by the following:

Recognise and celebrate achievements:

• Co-present & promote the annual APRA AMCOS / AGSC Screen Music Awards
• Facilitate acquisition of judges for awards and competition judging
• Maintain an active and experienced Awards Committee who work with the membership to participate in awards judging and assessment opportunities
• Create events that will celebrate and champion the AGSC during the 40 year anniversary in 2021 and beyond, with an event such as the Glories of the Score in 2022

 Promote screen composers and their work:

• What’s the Score? – the AGSC newsletter which includes an industry and members news section for members to promote their work, and events and activities to our 700+ subscribers. We will continue to expand our readership for the e-news and publish quarterly in 2021
• Through new Composer to Composer Interviews where we profile and interview composers to feature on our Youtube channel for public viewing
• Promotion of composers for industry events and PR opportunities, including film festival sessions, trade news stories, panels, and more
• Informing members of events for the next 6-12 months, using the website as the main conduit
• Developing and reviewing a Communications Strategy to include events, newsletter (members only), website, social forums
• Launch of a new website upgrade with Members Portal to allow for better self-service for members to update profiles and promotional links

Membership Engagement and Growth:

• Building on 2020 growth to new segments and targeting mid-career composers and those with a non-traditional entry to industry, as well as those in advertising, gaming, and other diverse platforms
• Planning live face-to-face events with a national focus (e.g. capital city tour with composer speaking event). Member engagement events can be an opportunity for us to give back to the community, encourage engagement and activism and promote our members

Key focus areas to achieve our goals

Finance and resourcing

• Maintain financial well-being through a combination of core funding from APRA AMCOS, membership fees and other grants and funding opportunities that allow the AGSC to carry out the schedule of activities

• Continue to engage financial accountancy to maintain legal and financial reporting

• Invest in administrative resources such as website upgrade (subject to funds) to support the Executive Director in carrying out all tasks on a part-time basis

Member relations and engagement

• Provide regular communications with members, access to membership benefits where available, promotion of members achievements and activities and a national focus to factor in the spread of membership across the country

• Maintain updated website and social channels of communication to allow for news, interaction and feedback

Governance and operations

• Maintain a diversity of Board Directors according to the Constitution and ensure compliance with constitutional requirements

• Maintain key Sub-Committees across Awards, Events, Education, Gender Equity, Health and Well Being and Industrial Relations, to allow the AGSC to engage with membership, generate activities, conduct outreach and fulfil its mission