APRA honour for Triple M

The Triple M network has today been announced as the APRA AMCOS Licensee of the Year.

APRA AMCOS CEO Dean Ormston paid tribute to the network, saying “Congratulations Triple M, for their unwavering support of Australian songwriters and music – both new and classic.”

“In a very competitive media landscape, we want to honour Triple M for giving homegrown artists a prominent place on the airwaves, which is proven to be appreciated by radio listeners and music fans alike.”

In acknowledging the award, SCA Chief Content Officer Dave Cameron said “Triple M is honoured to be named as Licensee of the Year at the 2023 APRA Music Awards.  For more than 40 years Triple M has proudly and passionately supported Australian music which is at the core of its DNA and makes the network unique in the radio landscape. We look forward to continuing to bring our listeners a strong and diverse line up of Aussie music for many years to come.

“This award is credit to the dedicated music directors and programmers of Triple M, past and present. My sincere congratulations to our Head of Music Mickey Maher and the entire Triple M music team at SCA who have been instrumental in supporting homegrown artists.”

Singer songwriter Colin Hay and the late trailblazing tour promoter Colleen Ironside are to be honoured with the 2023 Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music.

Hay rose to international fame with seminal ’80s hitmakers Men At Work.

He went on to record fifteen critically acclaimed studio albums, with Rolling Stone praising his “witty, hooky pop” tunes, and late-night hosts from David Letterman to Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel welcoming him for performances.

His songs would feature in the Grammy-winning soundtrack for Garden State, which introduced his music to a whole new generation of listeners.

Touring the world playing guitar in Ringo Starr‘s All-Star Band, Hay was recently presented with the APRA Billions Award for Down Under and completed a run of solo shows in Australia and the UK, as well as an acoustic tour of the West Coast of America.

Hay says “To receive the news that APRA wanted to bestow this most prestigious Ted Albert Award is very special indeed. This award is for outstanding services to Australian Music. I think services is the key word here. It’s important to realise at some point in your life that it is a valuable thing to be of service. To be of some use.”

Colleen Ironside, with her force-of-nature personality, set the groundwork for a Pan-Asian touring network and produced scores of tours in the region. She began her career with the Harbour Agency in Sydney, before branching out with her own booking agency APA, promoting clients such as INXS, Ratcat, Jenny Morris, Wendy Matthews, James Reyne and Def FX.

In 1994 Frontier Touring hired Ironside as Head of its Asia division, where she managed tours by Pearl Jam, REM and Tom Jones, among others.

In 1999 she set up Live Limited and toured the Rolling Stones, Elton John, David Bowie, Sting and countless other music heavyweights.

Colleen died in 2022 in her beloved Thailand where she had lived for many years.

“We are very proud to salute two uniquely Australian music industry figures, the late Colleen Ironside and Colin Hay, who both honed their talent and started careers at home, which sent them out into the international scene and onto huge success,” says Dean Ormston.

The 2023 APRA Music Awards will be held on Thursday 27 April at ICC Sydney.