There are two separate copyrights in a sound recording and a licence is required for each one:
The copyright in the lyrics and composition are owned by the author and music publisher and this is administered by PRS for Music.
The copyright in the performance and sound recording are owned by the performers and record company and administered by PPL.
As PRS for Music and PPL operate for different rights owners they have always remained as separate companies.
When you buy a CD it only gives you the right to use it for private use such as playing at home or in your car. If you wish to use it in a commercial environment, such as background music in a shop you require a licence from the rights owner which in this case is PPL.
Your TV licence only covers domestic use of your television equipment. Every television channel (including SKY Sports) uses copyright sound recordings in their broadcast ( such as theme tunes and background music during programmes) so any use of your television within your business premises constitutes a licensable public performance of copyright sound recordings.
Radio stations (including news and talk radio) use copyright sound recordings (such as theme tunes and background music during programmes) so any radio broadcasts within your business premises constitute a licensable public performance of copyright sound recordings.
PPL was established in 1934 by the UK recording industry to administer the copyright in public performance of their sound recordings. We operate under the terms of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 (1911 Copyright Act in the Channel Islands). The Act provides that a fee is payable to the copyright owner in a sound recording whenever it is broadcast or played in public. If you need further advice you should contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau, or a solicitor. Further information can also be found on the Government website www.ipo.gov.uk/copy
All licence fees collected (less administration costs) are distributed to the recording companies, individual artists and musicians that have contributed to the recordings.
The cost of a licence depends on your use of the sound recordings at your business premises. A licence can cost as little as 14 pence per day to play music. To enable PPL to advise you further please contact the PPO department on 0207 534 1000.
A public performance occurs whenever sound recordings are played outside the domestic or family circle. Whenever, a sound recording is played in a commercial environment, even if only one person can hear it, it becomes a public performance and a fee is payable to PPL.
If you hire a background music system, the fee you previously paid to your supplier also included the PPL public performance fee. However, this is no longer the case and you will need to secure a licence direct from PPL.
If you hire a Jukebox, the public performance fee is still included in the fees you pay to your supplier.
If you are playing music videos you will also legally require a licence from VPL.
The VPL licence fees are assessed according to the number and size of the screens upon which music videos are played.
The following types of music cannot be used for public performance:
- Illegal Downloads (from P2P Networks etc.)
- Unlicensed Internet Radio Services
- Licensed On Demand / Interactive music services (Napster, Yahoo Music etc.). These are services that let users play specific tracks in an order of their choosing or to create customised 'radio' stations playing a range of music / artists they have selected. It is our understanding that such services are only licensed by the record companies for personal individual use and not for public performance use.
The following sources of music can be used:
- Legally purchased downloads on condition that the usage complies with the Digital Rights Management (DRM) rules accompanying the download. For example, if the download is restricted to being held and played back from a specific PC or MP3 player, the public performance has to be sourced from that PC or MP3 player. If the download rules allow the track to be burnt to a CD that CD can then be used for public performance in the same way as any conventional commercial CD.
- Licensed streamed non-interactive Internet radio services (this would include the Internet broadcasts of licensed commercial radio stations such as Capital, XFM etc. as well as Internet only radio services that have proper licences in place).
A PPL licence entitles a named person or organisation to publicly perform sound recordings at a designated premises only. When a new person takes over a premises or moves premises the usage of sound recordings may be different and so a new licence needs to be issued to ensure that we accurately licence any sound recordings used.
You can submit an application via our website today and we will contact you to confirm your licensing requirements. Alternatively, you can contact us at:
ppo@ppluk.com
T: 020 7534 1070
F: 020 7534 1111