The meeting looked back over the 2019 financial year, as outlined in the recently published Annual Performer Review, and touched on the impact of COVID-19 on PPL’s activities and revenues in 2020. Key highlights from 2019 included PPL’s total revenue reaching a record £271.8 million – representing a 10% uplift on 2018’s revenue of £246.8m – and the number of performers paid exceeding 100,000 for the first time. The formal business was presented by PPL’s General Counsel and Company Secretary, David Harmsworth. The meeting also heard addresses from Performer Board Chair, John Smith and Chief Executive Officer, Peter Leathem, as well as reports from Director of Membership and Communications, Sarah Mitchell; Director of International, Laurence Oxenbury; and Director of People and Organisational Development, Kate Reilly.
Peter Leathem, PPL’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “2019 was a successful year for PPL. Thanks to the expertise of our team and an industry-leading technology infrastructure, we not only collected £271.8 million but made at least one payment to more than 100,000 performers in a single calendar year for the first time. However, while the long-term future still looks positive, we are predicting that there will be a significant impact on licensing revenues in 2020 as a result of COVID-19. We are currently expecting a decline in UK revenue of 30% on 2019, while we expect International collections to remain strong in 2020 but to be impacted in 2021.
COVID-19 has also caused significant hardship for many in the music community. This year, we have worked hard to support our members and the wider industry, contributing over £1 million to industry hardship funds so those who have fallen into financial hardship can access support. In April we also made an advance payment to our members of £23.9 million to bridge the gap between our traditional March and June payments. To date we have paid out over £200 million to performers and recording rightsholders this year.
We warmly welcome Jackie Davidson MBE and Peter Thoms to PPL as new Performer Directors, whose experience will play a crucial role in PPL’s continued strong performance. I would also like to thank Crispin Hunt and Mark Kelly, as they step down, for their commitment and contribution to our work.”
Eight candidates stood for the two Performer Director positions available: Jackie Davidson MBE, Mark Kelly, Gary Powell, David Rowntree, Lauren Rozwadowski, Nadine Shah, Peter Thoms, and Firas Waez.
