Pub contests £12K PRS charge
A Buckinghamshire licensee has been drawn into legal proceedings with the Performing Right Society (PRS) over "incredible charges" levied upon him by the music royalty collection agency.
Alastair Watts, general manager of the White Horse in High Wycombe, is contesting charges totalling more than £12,000 that date back to 5 June 2009.
Watts believes PRS has "double-charged" him for the striptease performances he regularly hosts at his venue and had his recalculation of £1,153.93 rejected by the agency.
The White Horse has had strippers performing for more than 25 years and in 2007 most of the first floor of the pub was converted to an evening lap-dancing bar called Bar 95.
Watts claims that the bar is "only open for strip-tease performances" — labelled as "miscellaneous events" by PRS — and that the music system is only used for such events.
According to Watts, the annual charge for use of the music system should therefore be waived as it amounts to a "double charge" by PRS, on top of the individual charges for performances.
As part of a campaign against PRS charges, Watts is planning to launch a website campaign against the organisation, saying: "What I really want is for people to write in, so there is a public record of the costs that the PRS is remunerating.
"Then maybe public pressure will make them alter their charges or lead to some sort of intervention from the Government."
A spokesman for the PRS said: "We can confirm that legal proceedings have been issued against the company running the White Horse in High Wycombe, in respect to music played at the premises.
"This course of action is always a last resort but regrettably the organisation has been left no option in this instance.
"While the case continues we cannot comment further on the matter."
The Publican's Morning Advertiser's legal expert Peter Coulson, said: "If the music centre is only used for the strippers' CDs, then it seems reasonable to argue that only one charge should be levied.
"I also think PRS might find difficulty claiming for featured music, because the music used in this case is ultimately ancillary to the performance."
