The APRA Board has voted unanimously to revoke Denis Handlin’s Ted Albert Award, which the former Sony Music Australia CEO received at the APRA Music Awards in 2009.
It’s the third honour stripped from Handlin in just a matter of days, after losing his ARIA icon and QMusic Honorary awards last week.
Handlin was removed from his post at Sony in June following a report in The Guardian detailing the company’s toxic “boys club” culture. Last week, ABC’s Four Corners program exposed the depth of this toxic environment, drawing attention to widespread bullying and intimidation at Sony while Handlin was in charge.
Handlin, who was Sony Music Australia’s chief executive from 1984 until June 2021, received the Ted Albert Award for “outstanding services to Australian music”. APRA AMCOS—the Australasian Performing Right Association and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society—released a statement providing context for the decision.
“APRA AMCOS is committed to fostering a music industry that upholds a high level of professional respect and conduct, and does not condone any form of bullying.”
It goes on: “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.”
