- Under The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, permission is needed from the copyright holders – generally those who create, record and publish music – in order to play or perform music in public (broadly, this means in any other context than a domestic one).
- Through their many thousands of members, PPL and PRS for Music manage these rights in the vast majority of commercially released music available, and license that music for use by businesses and organisations in the UK via TheMusicLicence.
- This means that, if you play or perform music in your business or organisation in the UK, you will usually need TheMusicLicence. Instead of potentially having to contact many thousands of music rights holders individually for permission to play or perform their music, TheMusicLicence gives you those permissions in a single, simple transaction.
Music can be used in a variety of ways in educational establishments.
Whether you’re playing background music in nurseries and pre-schools, or playing music for extra-curricular or entertainment activities in schools and colleges, you’ll usually need TheMusicLicence.
By obtaining TheMusicLicence you’ll be able to play PRS for Music and PPL music legally in your nursery, school or college and enjoy its benefits whilst ensuring that its creators are fairly rewarded for their work.
Discretionary Charging Policies
PPL and PRS for Music each separately operate a number of discretionary policies setting out circumstances in which, whilst legally entitled to do so, they choose not to apply a charge, or to apply a reduced charge. In addition, certain statutory exemptions apply to certain uses of music in educational establishments. Due to the specific nature of these policies and exemptions please contact us for more information and to check any of them apply to your educational establishment.
How is my music licence cost calculated?
Nurseries
If you play music in a nursery, your combined yearly music licence will cost £83.50 (excluding VAT).
Other educational establishments
The cost of TheMusicLicence varies depending on specific characteristics. So please contact us for a quote. Before doing so, please ensure you’ve read our Music Licence Quote Checklist for each section that is applicable to you, and have the relevant information ready so we can provide an accurate quote for your music licence.
Understanding your music licence royalties
To help you understand how much TheMusicLicence could cost for your educational establishment, you can view the individual PPL and PRS for Music tariffs that may be applicable to you.