A Traditional Radio Licence is for Ofcom-licensed commercial radio stations that include recorded music in their UK broadcasts and internet simulcasts.
Before a commercial radio station can apply for a PPL Traditional Radio Licence, it must have the appropriate Ofcom licence in place. Please visit Ofcom’s site for more information.
The PPL Traditional Radio Licence
You’ll need a licence if your commercial radio station:
- Broadcasts nationally or locally on AM, FM, DAB (including small scale DAB) and/or Freeview
- Includes a variety of both music and non-music (e.g. talk, news, weather, travel) content in its broadcast output
- Is funded by third-party revenues such as advertising or sponsorship
You will also need a PRS for Music licence to broadcast music on your station.
PPL and PRS for Music are two, separate, independent companies. While we both license the use of music and collect royalties for the music industry, we represent different rightsholders and have separate licences, terms and conditions.
PPL collects and distributes money for the use of recorded music on behalf of recording rightsholders (e.g. record companies) and performers. PRS for Music collects and distributes money for the use of music and lyrics on behalf of songwriters, composers and music publishers.
Visit PRS for Music for more information.
Championing music rights for over 90 years
Costs
The fees under this licence are the greater of the minimum per platform fee(s) or a share of Net Broadcasting Revenue (NBR), which is defined as 85% of your gross broadcasting revenue.
The minimum fees for the period 1 October 2024 to 30 September 2025 are as follows:
| Platform | Minimum fee |
| AM/FM | £833 |
| Local/small scale DAB | £833 |
| Local/small scale DAB Simulcast | £152 |
| National DAB | £1,516 |
| Satellite Simulcast | £1,516 |
| Local Cable Simulcast | £152 |
| National Cable Simulcast | £1,516 |
| DTT (Freeview) | £1,516 |
| Internet Simulcast | £1,516 |
| Test transmissions | £371 per month/part-month |
NBR thresholds
The thresholds are adjusted annually on 1 October in each Licence Year, reflecting any movement in the RPI. The NBR thresholds for the Licence Year ending 30 September 2025 are as follows:
| NBR threshold | Rate |
| Up to £55,428 | Minimum per platform fee(s) |
| £55,429 to £1,035,855 | 2% of NBR |
| £1,035,856 to £2,071,707 | 3% of NBR |
| £2,071,708 or greater | 5% of NBR |
Reporting
Licensed commercial radio stations need to provide quarterly revenue reports to PPL. Licensees also report every track played by their station or stations, which can usually be generated by a station’s digital play-out system.
Contact us about a licence
Please fill in the form and a member of our team will get back to you to assess your licence requirements.
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Fields marked with an asterisk (*) are mandatory
Once you have applied for your PPL licence, you will receive a copy of your licence agreement that you will need to review, sign and return to PPL. We will then countersign your licence agreement and provide an invoice for the initial licence fees due.