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Introducing TheMusicLicence, PPL PRS Ltd, and parent companies PPL and PRS for Music

What is TheMusicLicence?
  • TheMusicLicence allows you to legally play and perform music in your business, whether through the radio, TV, other devices and/or live performances.
  • If you play or perform music in your business or organisation in the UK, you will usually need TheMusicLicence. It will cover you, with one licence and one invoice, for the use of virtually all commercially released music available – millions of songs and recordings, including the most popular and well-loved music not just from the UK but also from around the world.
Who is PPL PRS Ltd?
  • PPL PRS Ltd is a new company, equally owned by PPL and PRS for Music. It has been created to provide customers with a streamlined music licensing service – TheMusicLicence – with a single point of contact to make it easier to legally play and perform music in public.
  • Previously, businesses and organisations would have had to purchase two separate licences from PPL and PRS for Music instead.
Who are PPL and PRS for Music ?
  • Our parent companies PPL and PRS for Music are both collective management organisations. They issue licences and collect royalties for certain uses of copyright-protected music, on behalf of their many thousands of members. They then distribute those royalties to members.
  • PPL represents record companies and performers for the use of recorded music, while PRS for Music represents songwriters, composers and music publishers for the use of musical compositions and lyrics (for both recorded music and live performances).
  • PPL and PRS for Music have set up PPL PRS Ltd to offer a single joint music licence, on behalf of them both, for playing and performing music in public.
  • PPL and PRS for Music will continue to carry out everything else they do separately. This includes representing their members, collecting royalties from international societies, developing, setting and consulting on their tariffs and licensing schemes, and licensing their broadcast, online and recorded media customers.
When will existing PPL/PRS for Music customers move to TheMusicLicence?
  • We will be moving existing customers over to TheMusicLicence in the twelve months following the launch of TheMusicLicence (the transitional year). We’re working hard to make sure the process is as seamless and easy as possible.
  • We will move existing customers over to TheMusicLicence when they reach their PRS for Music licence review date (or, if they are an existing PPL customer only, their PPL licence expiry date) during the transitional year.
  • We will be in touch with existing customers, in advance of their transition date, to explain in more detail how the transition process will work for them. If you currently pay for an existing PPL or PRS for Music licence by Direct Debit (DD), you do not have to do anything, your Direct Debit will be transferred over to PPL PRS Ltd for you.
What if I currently pay by Direct Debit (DD)?
  • We will be in touch with existing customers, in advance of their transition date, to explain in more detail how the transition process will work for them. If you currently pay for an existing PPL or PRS for Music licence by Direct Debit (DD), you do not have to do anything, your Direct Debit will be transferred over to PPL PRS Ltd for you.

More about TheMusicLicence

Do I need TheMusicLicence?
  • 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.
What music usage does TheMusicLicence not cover?
  • TheMusicLicence gives you the right to use all the music that PPL and PRS for Music can license in the UK on behalf of their members and affiliated international societies. This will cover the vast majority of commercially released music available from around the world, but very occasionally there may be some music which is not covered by TheMusicLicence, or for which you do not require TheMusicLicence. For more information, please visit What is TheMusicLicence?
Can I play or perform music by specific artists only?
  • TheMusicLicence covers millions of songs and recordings, including the most popular and well-loved music not just from the UK but also from around the world.
  • You can play or perform the music of specific artists only if you wish, but it will not affect the cost of your licence. That’s because the cost is not calculated based on which music artists you play, but instead depends on factors such as the size of your business or organisation and the ways you use music.
How much does TheMusicLicence cost?
  • The cost of TheMusicLicence for a particular business or organisation depends on a number of factors, such as the size of the business or organisation and the ways it uses music.
  • PPL and PRS for Music each have a separate set of licensing tariffs, covering different business types or ways of using music. The tariffs applicable to a particular business or organisation set out the relevant factors for calculating what TheMusicLicence will cost.
  • Things like the size of a business are measured in different ways under different tariffs, depending on what is appropriate for each business type. So, to calculate your fee, we may need you to provide information such as square meterage, number of employees, or venue capacity. We may also need to know the types of devices you use to play recorded music, and information about any live performances of music.
  • Although we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of the website information and pricing, regrettably errors do occasionally occur. Therefore please contact us directly to discuss the tariffs relevant to you and get an accurate quote for TheMusicLicence.
Will the cost of PPL and PRS for Music tariffs be different under TheMusicLicence?
  • PPL and PRS for Music will continue to set their respective licensing tariffs separately from each other. Those tariffs will be applied by PPL PRS Ltd when issuing TheMusicLicence to customers. PPL and PRS for Music will each continue to review the cost of their respective tariffs from time to time, but the launch of TheMusicLicence will not in itself affect the costs under those tariffs.
Where does the money go?
  • When businesses and organisations pay PPL PRS Ltd for TheMusicLicence, we pass those royalties on to our parent companies, PPL and PRS for Music (after deduction of our running costs). The royalties are shared between PPL and PRS for Music based on which of their respective licensing tariffs apply to the music usage under your licence, and the costs due under those tariffs.
  • PPL and PRS for Music each have databases storing details of millions of musical compositions and recordings. Together with a wealth of information about what music is being used by customers, this enables PPL and PRS for Music to determine fairly and efficiently which of their members to pay, and how much to pay them.
  • This means that, by purchasing TheMusicLicence, you are supporting the future of music by helping to ensure its creators are paid for their work, so that the people who write, perform and record it can continue making the music you love.
What are TheMusicLicence Terms and Conditions?
  • Click here to view TheMusicLicence terms and conditions.