What we do

PPL, a not-for-profit company, is the music licensing company which, on behalf of 45,000 performers and 5,750 record companies, licenses the use of recorded music in the UK. for public performance, broadcast and new media use.

This section gives you an overview of what we do, and the services we currently offer. (To understand how we got from the past to the present, click here for our history.)

MUSIC USERS

Through its licensing, PPL allows hundreds of UK radio and television stations, other broadcasters and internet radio stations to legally use sound recordings and music videos in their transmissions.

Similarly PPL’s public performance licences allow thousands of clubs, shops, pubs, restaurants, bars and other music users across the UK to play sound recordings and music videos in public.

RECORD COMPANIES & PERFORMERS

In addition to our extensive UK licensing activities, PPL also has 49 agreements in 26 different countries with licensing organisations in other countries to collect overseas income.

The income we generate is then allocated and paid to our 5,750 UK record company members and 45,000 UK performer members.

For 2009, PPL collected more than £111 miilion and distributed £93 million to our registered performers and record company members, providing crucial revenues for those creative individuals and companies.

We also campaign to uphold and strengthen the rights of performers and record companies both domestically and internationally.