POWER 50 2025: Leah Flanagan (APRA AMCOS)

BACKGROUND CHECK:

Leah Flanagan is the Director of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Programs and Strategy at APRA AMCOS, where she leads the organisation’s work in supporting more than 128,000 songwriter, composer and publisher members across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. Recognised on a national scale as an arts leader and strategist, she’s played a pivotal role in shaping a self-determined future for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander music. 

With her own history as an acclaimed singer-songwriter (having performed with Sinéad O'Connor, Meshell Ndegeocello, Paul Kelly, and more), Leah’s dual perspective as both a cultural advocate and a practising artist has allowed her to navigate industry strategy with an intimate understanding of creative practice. Overseeing both the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Music Office (NATSIMO) and the newly established Alyelhentye Nawu, Leah has strengthened the pathways, visibility, and long-term sustainability of Indigenous music creators within the national industry through her work.

THE YEAR IN AUSTRALIAN MUSIC:

The past year has seen Leah lead some of the most significant advancements in Indigenous music governance and support within APRA AMCOS, including overseeing the creation of Alyelhentye Nawu, a world-first department dedicated to protecting Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) through specialised rights management, licensing, and royalty distribution. She’s also helped reshape NATSIMO into a standalone body with a renewed strategic plan, with expanded programs, showcases, and funding opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander songwriters, composers and producers. 

Additionally, the rollout of transformational initiatives – such as the RESONATE songwriting intensive suite, LIFECYCLE Grants, the NATSIMO Production Scholarship, and the APRA Board Observership – has helped to open new career pathways and strengthen industry leadership for First Nations creators across remote, regional, and metropolitan communities.

A prominent voice in national copyright and AI policy, an active contributor to national and international inclusion strategies through partnerships with organisations Sounds Australia, Music NT, Music Australia, and the APRA AMCOS Aotearoa New Zealand team, Leah is a multi-hyphenate with a solid focus on protecting, empowering, and celebrating First Nations music on a local and international level.

THE MUSIC SPEAKS:

Quite simply, the transformation of NATSIMO and creation of Alyelhentye Mawu within APRA AMCOS is one of the biggest and important structural changes to Indigenous music we’ve seen in Australia. Indigenous-led and with cultural outcomes at the heart, there’s a feeling within the industry that these have the potential to set the scene for support and policy frameworks that can lead on a national level. 

What could a self-determined future for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander music look like? It feels like we’re closer than ever to having an answer to that question, and the strides forward that have been made under Flanagan’s leadership this year will be pointed to in years to come as a turning point.