News October 18, 2021

APRA revokes Denis Handlin’s Ted Albert Award

Editorial Operations Manager

The APRA Board has unanimously voted to revoke former Sony Music CEO Denis Handlin’s Ted Albert Award.

Handlin won the award in 2009 in recognition of his outstanding service to Australian music.

In the wake of ongoing revelations about the culture at the major record label under his leadership, however, and a scathing investigation by Four Corners, various organisations have been backtracking on their celebration of his career.

QMusic was the first to move, revoking his honorary award from the 2020 Queensland Music Awards the morning after the Four Corners episode aired.

ARIA then released a short statement on Friday afternoon revealing its Board had also resolved to rescind Handlin’s ARIA Icon Award from 2014.

APRA has now followed suit saying APRA AMCOS is committed to fostering a music industry that upholds a high level of professional respect and conduct. It also noted it does not condone any form of bullying.

“Every single participant in our music industry has a responsibility to act safely and respect others. We recognise and accept there’s still much work to do in this space. We are committed to making the decisions that need to be made and to working with the broader industry so that we can collectively bring about this shift in culture,” it said.

Handlin still retains his Order of Australia honours, and at this stage, it appears unlikely they will be revoked.

Handlin was appointed to the national order in 2005 when he became a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) which recognises “service in a particular locality or field of activity or to a particular group”.

In 2017, he was elevated to Officer of the Order of Australia (AO), which rewards “distinguished service of a high degree to Australia or to humanity at large”.

The Council provided a statement to TMN on Tuesday which noted “unanimous approval is not a criteria” for the award. It also appears that as Handlin has not been convicted by a court or found guilty of any law breaches, his Officer of the Order of Australia will continue to stand.

The Australian Honours and Awards Secretariat, which provides support to the Governor-General in the administration of the Australian honours system, told TMN the issue has been brought to the attention of the Council and it “investigates matters brought to its attention and considers each case individually”.

How did we get here? A timeline of Sony Music Australia’s upheaval