On our site, you may find references to something called VPL. This section tells you more about VPL, and how our terminology is changing.
Technically, PPL and VPL are separate companies, with centralised management (click here and scroll down for details of the VPL Board, and click here for details of the Executive Management Team that is common to both companies). VPL was created in 1984 to carry out the same role for music videos that PPL was already carrying out for recorded music. Any references on this site to the services we offer in relation to music videos are effectively references to the work we do in our VPL capacity. So what does this mean for you?
MUSIC USERS
If you are a music user, and you contact us to obtain a licence to use both recorded music and music videos, you will technically need two separate licences – one from PPL and one from VPL. Over time, you will increasingly see us refer to “PPL Video”. This is because we are in the process of rebranding the licensing services that VPL provides, to emphasise the fact that (whilst the two companies may be separate) you can expect the same level of customer service, from the same teams, in the same building – whether you are a recorded music user, a music video user, or both.
RECORD COMPANIES
If you are a record company, and you own or control rights in both recorded music and music videos, you will technically need to join PPL and VPL separately. The application processes and membership documentation are very similar (click here for more details of how to apply for record company membership) and you will be submitting the details of your recorded music and music videos into the same database. Over time, you will increasingly see us referring to this database (formerly known as CatCo) as the “PPL Repertoire Database”. This is again part of our rebranding process.
PERFORMERS
If you are a performer, you only need to register with PPL (click here for more details about performer registration). This is because, under UK copyright law, performers’ music video rights are dealt with differently from their recorded music rights, and performers do not directly receive any music video licensing income from VPL. However, contracted artists often receive a percentage share of VPL income from their record company under the terms of their record contract, and other performers (session musicians, orchestral players, backing singers, actors and others) are paid under specific "buy-out" arrangements negotiated collectively between the Musicians' Union, Equity and the BPI.