U.K. Musician Unions Respond to Calls For PRS to Reduce License Fees

LONDON, England — The U.K.’s main musician and songwriter trade associations have responded to calls for PRS to reduce its blanket license fees for grassroots music venues.

On Tuesday (April 14), the Music Venue Trust launched a campaign titled Set The Record Straight: Fair Licensing Fees, aimed at examining how PRS For Music’s licensing charges are calculated, applied and enforced across the U.K.’s grassroots live music circuit.

The MVT reported that a number of venues were struggling under the weight of PRS For Music’ licenses, claiming that current practices are producing inaccurate billing outcomes for independent venues across the country. 

U.K. venues are covered by a blanket license which allows for the performance of songs written by PRS members. Where performance data is unavailable, estimates are provided. Responding to the campaign, the collection society explained: “PRS licenses venues for the use of music and relies on the data they provide, including capacity and event information. Estimations are only used when the relevant data has not been provided.”

On Wednesday (April 15) the Council of Music Makers — which represents the Featured Artists Coalition (FAC), The Ivors Academy, the Music Managers Forum (MMF), the Music Producers Guild (MPG) and the Musicians’ Union (MU) — responded to the campaign.

In its statement, the CMM said that it “rejects any proposals for a reduction in licensing fees or collections for the use of music,” and that “such moves would simply have a negative impact on the income of songwriters and composers and make their careers less viable.”

It added that, “CMM believes that collective licensing plays a crucial role as part of the licensing of live performances. Members of the CMM have long worked with collective management organisations like PRS to challenge and improve practices, and to ensure they work in favour of the music-makers, without whom there would be no music to perform in a live setting.”

The CMM also called on PRS to “ensure its licences are fair and transparent for both music-makers and users of music, not least grassroots venues,” and said the collection society must “employ new technology to overcome inaccuracies and inefficiencies with songwriter payments.” 

PRS alluded to the challenges and said that “we are continuously investing in and improving the collection of live data to accelerate accurate payment of royalties, including improving setlist collection tools and exploring AI tools to find fan generated setlists to supplement missing data.”

Read the Council of Music Makers full statement below.

The Council Of Music Makers has today (15 April) issued a statement calling on all parts of the UK’s live sector to recognise and uphold the value of songs and songwriters.

Underlining the irrefutable importance that the work of songwriters plays in underpinning the live sector, the CMM rejects any proposals for a reduction in licensing fees or collections for the use of music. Such moves would simply have a negative impact on the income of songwriters and composers and make their careers less viable.

CMM believes that collective licensing plays a crucial role as part of the licensing of live performances. Members of the CMM have long worked with collective management organisations like PRS to challenge and improve practices, and to ensure they work in favour of the music-makers, without whom there would be no music to perform in a live setting.

The majority of songs performed in UK venues and festivals are written by PRS members or members of other collecting societies around the world, making a blanket licence administered by PRS essential to both music-makers and their business partners in live music.

The blanket licence approach accommodates covers, co-writers, overseas writers and publishers, and PRS income is vital for many grassroots artists and songwriters, especially those artists playing support slots and festivals, helping music-makers as they seek to overcome the widely documented challenges around the economics of touring.

Meanwhile, the flexibility already exists for artists who are exclusively performing their own songs at their own gigs to opt-out of the blanket licence and handle the licensing of their performing rights themselves, if and when the artist believes that to be the best approach.

There remain a number of areas where further improvements with collective management are needed, to achieve better accuracy, distribution and transparency. CMM members will continue to work with PRS in the interests of our members to ensure that those changes are made in a manner that does not create unintended consequences which would undermine creators’ ability to make a living in an already tough industry,

PRS must ensure its licences are fair and transparent for both music-makers and users of music, not least grassroots venues. PRS should also employ new technology to overcome inaccuracies and inefficiencies with songwriter payments. And where there is unavoidable unallocated income, it should be used to support grassroots music-makers, for example through the PRS Foundation.

However, while making these changes, we must always ensure that we respect and protect the value of the songs and compositions on which the entire music industry is built, and without which it cannot exist.