ARE YOU LISTENING?
Advice from Natalie Sidwell, Aquacise Development OfficerMillions of songs are played in public every year within the UK. The Performing Right Society (PRS) is here to make things easy for you to gain legal permission needed to play this copyright music in your business or organisation.
PPL Licence – Phonographic Performance Limited – responsibility of the instructor / individual.
PRS Licence – The Performing Right Society - responsibility of the venue
When teaching legalities of music during the Aquacise training I always make a point of stressing the LEGAL obligations we have to make sure we are operating as required under the two above organisations to stay legal and above board with the music we play during our Aquacise courses / classes.
In order to play copyright music in any way shape or form both licences must be registered to the venue you operate at. One is YOUR responsibility and the other is YOUR VENUE responsibility.
There are a number of ways in which you can legally use music to motivate your class.
- PPL you are required to hold this licence if you are playing shop bought music and will require your venue to hold a PRS licence.
- PPL licence included music – purchased from companies who charge you an annual membership fee in exchange for a number of CD’s and a PPL licence under the company organisation – please note that should you stop subscribing to these companies you can no longer use their music legally.
- PPL licence free music these can be purchased direct through the STA and Aquacise ltd. Please note that you must still obtain a PRS licence for your venue. You do not require a PPL licence with this music which is the responsibility of the instructor.
Who are PRS?
They are a not-for-profit membership organisation which collects fees from music users, and distributes these as royalties to writers and publishers of music from the UK and around the world.
When a song or a piece of music is written, the person who wrote it owns the copyright and therefore has a right to decide how and when it should be played. Music is released, allowing individuals to purchase a song which they can play at home. However, if an individual then wishes to play that song to a wider group of people, for example on their business or organisation’s premises for the benefit of their staff, visitors or customers, it is classed as a public performance meaning they must seek permission from the ‘copyright owner’ of that song if they do so.
Why do I need a PRS Music Licence?
By law under the copyright, designs and Patents Act 1988, if you use copyright music in public (ie: outside the home) you must first obtain permission from every writer or composer whose music you intend to play.
This means you would have to contact thousands of music creators to obtain their agreement to play their song in your business or organisation. But to make things easy, The Performing Right Society (PRS) was set up by songwriters, composers and music publishers to manage these rights on their behalf. So a PRS licence grants you the legal permission to pay millions of songs, saving you the time and money needed to gain permission from music creators directly.
This will allow you to play music on your premises live or by any recorded means – for example radio, CD, TV, jukebox, or via the internet.
What happens if I don’t obtain a PRS Music Licence?
As it is a legal requirement to obtain permission from the music creator to play their music outside of the home, if you continue to play copyright music without a PRS Music Licence you may have to pay costs or damage if PRS has to take legal action.
But don’t I already have a licence to cover my music use?
Although you may possess other licences, your PRS Music Licence is entirely separate to your TV licence and to your PPL Licence. A PRS Music Licence is required regardless of any other type of licence you may own.
How much will a PRS licence cost?
The cost of a PRS Music Licence can depend on various factors:
- The type of premises
- The size of the premises
- The nature and extent of the music used.
Some pricing information is available on the website. Please visit www.mcps-prs-alliance.co.uk or to get an accurate quote please call 0800 0684828.
