Tales from Outer Suburbia and Addition among Screen Music winners

The ABC children's animation series Tales from Outer Suburbia was one of the biggest winners at the 2026 Screen Music Awards.West Australian composers Josh Hogan and Ned Beckley took home four awards: Best Music for Children's Programming, Best Opening Title Television Theme, Best Soundtrack Album, and Best Original Song Composed for the Screen, the latter shared with Joni Hogan.MasterChef, My Kitchen Rules and Travel Guides helped longtime collaborators Adam Gock and Dinesh Wicks continue their winning streak in the Most Performed Screen Composer — Australia category.The pair also won Most Performed Screen Composer — Overseas for their work on Con Girl, Lego Masters and Married at First Sight.Million Dollar Secret won Best Music for Unscripted or Reality Television Series, with Gock and Wicks among the team of composers recognised alongside Adam Sofo, Brontë Horder, Cassie To, David Bruggemann, Lydia Davies, Mitch Stewart and Rory Chenoweth.Red Dog and Two Hands composer recognisedRed Dog composer Cezary Skubiszewski received the award for Distinguished Services to the Australian Screen in recognition of his incredible body of work spanning more than 30 years.Cezary Skubiszewski recieved the 2026 award for Distinguished Services to the Screen. (APRA AMCOS: Tomek Sikora)Australian documentary Sentient won Best Music for a Documentary, recognising Helena Czajka's score.Christopher Larkin took out Best Music for a Video Game or Other Interactive Media for his work on the highly anticipated Hollow Knight: Silksong.Finn Clarke was named Emerging Screen Composer of the Year, following his 2025 win for Best Soundtrack Album.The charming rom-com Addition won the highly contested Feature Film Score of the Year award for composers Piers Burbrook de Vere and first-time winner Rose Mackenzie-Peterson.First-time winners were also recognised across several categories, with Lego — Project Vehicles winning Best Music for an Advertisement for Benjamin Lam, Trading Cards earning Best Music for a Short Film for Nicholas Gardiner, and The Witchy Girls (Episode 6) taking out Best Music for a Television Comedy for Georgina Darvidis, Matthew Sheers and Peter Corrigan.Screen composers make statement about AIDuring the ceremony, composers, musicians and industry leaders wore special badges in solidarity, opposing the use of Australian creative work to train AI without creators’ consent, licensing or fair compensation.The government is currently considering whether to allow technology companies to use copyrighted material to train AI models.The initiative was spearheaded by composer Antony Partos and the Australian Guild of Screen Composers. One participating composer was Nigel Westlake, best known for his score for the Australian classic Babe.Westlake discovered that 180 of his compositions had been included in AI training datasets without his knowledge.Among them was a requiem he wrote after the death of his son in a road rage incident in 2008.“Our creative industries cannot become collateral damage in the race to attract AI investment,” Partos said in a statement.Nigel Westlake is among the composers opposing technology companies using their work to train AI models without consent. (Supplied: APRA AMCOS)Veltheim leads orchestra for final year as music directorThe ceremony took place in Brisbane's Fortitude Music Hall on October 28, 2026, and was hosted by Rob Collins, Claudia Karvan OAM and Ayesha Madon.In his final year as music director, composer and performer Erkki Veltheim led a live orchestra through selections from nominated scores.The Screen Music Awards, presented by APRA AMCOS in collaboration with the Australian Guild of Screen Composers (AGSC), celebrate excellence and innovation in screen composition.2026 Screen Music Awards winners and finalistsFeature Film Score of the YearWinner: Addition — composed by Piers Burbrook de Vere and Rose Mackenzie-PetersonChristy — composed by Antony Partos. Published by Cas MusicMonument — composed by Kenneth Lampl. Published by Alba Australia Music PublishingWar Machine — Composed by Dmitri Golovko. Published by BMG PublishingMost Performed Screen Composer – AustraliaWinners: Adam Gock and Dinesh Wicks for MasterChef, My Kitchen Rules, Travel GuidesDamian De Boos-Smith for Better Homes & Gardens, Return to Paradise, The BlockJay Stewart for Better Homes & Gardens, It's Academic, The BlockMitch Stewart for MasterChef, My Kitchen Rules, Travel GuidesMost Performed Screen Composer – OverseasWinners: Adam Gock and Dinesh Wicks for Con Girl, Lego Masters, Married at First SightAnthony Ammar for Love on the Spectrum, Married at First Sight, MasterChefJoff Bush for Bluey, The Strange ChoresMitch Stewart for Con Girl, Lego Masters, Married at First SightBest Opening Title Television ThemeWinner: Tales from Outer Suburbia — composed by Ned Beckley and Josh HoganFlower and Flour — composed by Hylton Mowday. Published by Kobalt Music Publishing on behalf of (obo) Cheeky Little MediaReported Missing — composed by Adrian Leung. Published by BMG Publishing obo Manners McDadeRevealed: Death Cap Murders — composed by Simon WalbrookBest Original Song Composed for the ScreenWinner: "Nothing Stays the Same" from Tales from Outer Suburbia — composed by Ned Beckley / Joni Hogan / Josh Hogan"Nug Luck" from Caper Crew — composed by Steve Toulmin"The Spirit Shall Return" from Mystery Road: Origin — composed by William Barton. Published by Wise Music G Schirmer Australia"We Got Away With It" from He Had It Coming — composed by Caitlin Yeo. Published by Kobalt Music Publishing obo LilliPilli IPBest Soundtrack AlbumWinner: Tales from Outer Suburbia — composed by Ned Beckley and Josh HoganChristy — composed by Antony Partos. Published by Cas MusicDeadloch (Season 2) — composed by Amanda Brown. Published by Universal/MCA Music PublishingTogether — composed by Cornel Wilczek and Alex OlijnykBest Music for Children's ProgrammingWinner: Tales from Outer Suburbia (Episode 10) — composed by Ned Beckley and Josh HoganCaper Crew — composed by Steve ToulminKiki Can Fly (Zoo, Special Edition) — composed by David Skinner. Published by Origin Music PublishingThe Pout-Pout Fish — composed by Ack KinmonthBest Music for a DocumentaryWinner: Sentient — composed by Helena CzajkaEdge of Life — composed by Antony Partos. Published by Sonar MusicReported Missing (Season 5 Episode 1) — composed by Adrian Leung. Published by BMG Publishing obo Manners McDadeWhistle — composed by Haydn WalkerBest Music for a Short FilmWinner: Trading Cards — composed by Nicholas GardinerFilthy — composed by Chiara Costanza. Published by Kobalt Music PublishingSpiders on My Lashline — composed by FreyaThe Worm — composed by Callum O'ReillyBest Music for a Television ComedyWinner: The Witchy Girls (Episode 6) — composed by Peter Corrigan / Georgina Darvidis / Matthew SheersDog Park (Episode 1) — composed by Bryony Marks. Published by Kobalt Music Publishing obo LilliPilli IPHe Had It Coming (Episode 7) — composed by Caitlin Yeo. Published by Kobalt Music Publishing obo LilliPilli IPSunny Nights (Episode 1) — composed by Matteo Zingales. Published by Sonar MusicBest Music for a Television DramaWinner: The Artful Dodger (Season 2, Episode 3) — composed by Antony Partos. Published by Sony Music PublishingPlaying Gracie Darling (Episode 5) — composed by Jan SkubiszewskiReckless (Episode 4) — composed by Casse To and Emma GreenhillThe Family Next Door (Episode 1) — composed by Bryony Marks. Published by Kobalt Music Publishing obo LilliPilli IPBest Music for Unscripted or Reality Television SeriesWinner: Million Dollar Secret — composed by Adam Gock* / Dinesh Wicks* / David Bruggemann* / Rory Chenoweth* / Lydia Davies / Brontë Horder* / Adam Sofo* / Mitch Stewart* / Cassie To*. Published by BMG*Beyond Bali with Lara Lee — composed by Amara Primero and Melany Thompson. Published by Cooking Vinyl Publishing / Primerchord MusicMuster Dogs (Season 4) — composed by Mark Walmsley. Published by Universal Music PublishingTucci in Italy (Season 2) — composed by Richard Pike. Published by Sony Music PublishingBest Music for a Video Game or Other Interactive MediaWinner: Hollow Knight: Silksong — composed by Christopher LarkinBluey's Quest for the Gold Pen — composed by Cedar JonesMalys — composed by Belinda CoomesMixtape — composed by Josh Abrahams and Jonathan TronBest Music for an AdvertisementWinner: Lego: Project Vehicles — composed by Benjamin Lam. Published by Massive PublishingSarah & Sebastian: Ondine — composed by Mara SchwerdtfegerTelstra: Tame Your Tech — composed by Scott Langley. Published by Smith and Western StudiosVoice of Resistance — composed by Fred Leone* / Mariah Alone / Dion Brownfield^ / Caleb Tasker# / Skye Thomas / Corey Webster / Dallas Woods^. Published by Sony Music Publishing* / Kobalt Music Publishing^ / BMG Publishing#Emerging Screen Composer of the YearWinner: Finn ClarkeAndreas DominguezEmma GreenhillGenevieve PatrickGet the latest classical music stories direct to your inbox