Ask An Expert: Which music licences?
What's the difference between a Performing Right Society (PRS) licence and a Phonographic Performance Ltd (PPL) licence? Do I really need both if I've got music in my pub?
The PRS is a non-profit-making membership organisation that collects and distributes music royalties on behalf of composers, songwriters, authors and publishers of music.
If music is played to the public in your pub you are regarded as a 'music user' and are therefore required to obtain a licence from PRS and pay a fee to it. The amount depends on several factors:
• The type of equipment used to play your music (TV, CD, radio etc)
• The size of your venue
• The frequency of performances.
Typical fees (for bar areas less than 120 sq m) now are:
• TV - £66.75 per annum
• Radio - £83.43 per annum
• Disco or karaoke - £7.62 per event.
PPL is a music industry organisation which collects and distributes airplay and public performance royalties in the UK on behalf of record companies and performers. It grants licences for playing or broadcasting sound recordings. So if you play CDs, tapes or records, whether through a background music system, on a CD-player, via radio or television broadcasts or otherwise, you may need a PPL licence as well as one from PRS.
PPL usually licenses the occupier of the premises if the sound recordings and the equipment are not rented. If you hire a music system or jukebox and/or sound recordings from PPL-licensed operators to provide background music, the operator or supplier should obtain the licence on your behalf.
PPL fees are based on various tariffs, applicable to different types of activities. Examples of standard tariffs (exclusive of VAT) now are:
• Pop/music quizzes - £3.01 per quiz
• Background music (for audible area of 101 to 200 sq m) - £213 per annum
Mark S Elliott spent 26 years working in various management roles within the tenanted and leased divisions of the UK's largest brewers and pub companies. He is author of How to Run a Successful Pub - a comprehensive guide to acquiring and running your own pub
