PPL is making a Q2 payment of £81.6 million to over 140,000 performers and recording rightsholders. This distribution primarily includes payments for UK collections across public performance and broadcast licensing in 2025, as well as some additional revenue from international markets.
Almost 4,500 performers and recording rightsholders are receiving a payment for the first time. Since the beginning of the year, PPL has paid out a total of £159.3 million to performers and recording rightsholders, either as a direct member of PPL or through international collective management organisations (CMO) with which PPL has an agreement.
PPL collects and distributes royalties in the UK and internationally on behalf of tens of thousands of recording rightsholders and performers, including artists such as Mariah Carey, Charli xcx, Alex Warren and Myles Smith.
In addition to income from collections in the UK, this Q2 distribution consists of significant international payments for performers from CMOs in Japan, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and USA. Meanwhile, recording rightsholders have seen significant international revenue from Belgium, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, and USA.
The year-on-year decrease in the total payment sum for this quarter in part reflects the increasingly faster pay-through of monies to performers and recording rightsholders, either through the growing in-year distribution of royalties, or as advances paid out which are being recouped against. These factors contribute to reducing the level of revenue carried forward into the following year for payment.
In addition to audio royalties, payments for music video usage are also included in this June payment. Over £471,000 is being distributed to 275 recording rightsholders through PPL’s sister company, VPL, for the use of music videos when broadcast or played in public. VPL broadcast and public performance revenue declined throughout 2025, decreasing the amount available for payment.
PPL member, Ella Henderson, said: “PPL plays such an important role supporting artists and ensuring that our work is fairly valued and properly compensated. Knowing my music is being played and appreciated around the world and that in turn I’m getting paid, allows me to keep doing what I love. Thank you PPL for all that you do.”
Anne-Marie Pearce, Chief Financial Officer of PPL, said: “At PPL, we exist to make sure our members are fairly rewarded for the talent and investment they put into their recorded music, when it’s broadcast or played publicly in the UK and globally. This latest payment reflects our ongoing focus on delivering value to performers and recording rightsholders and getting money to them as quickly and efficiently as possible. We’ve continued to work collaboratively with our peers around the world on new partnerships and shared technology so that more revenue can be distributed within the same year it’s collected, helping our members to receive their money faster.”
