Online licensing
PPL has the right to license the online transmission of radio, television and certain types of online streaming services.
Radio and television
PPL’s rights to license online services mainly cover radio and television broadcasters whose content is made available online as:
- Internet simulcasts
- Listen-again/catch-up (On-demand streaming and temporary downloads of full programmes)
A full list of restrictions and other important provisions are provided in the licence agreements themselves.
| Online Radio and Services |
|---|
| PPL licenses many different uses of recorded music on the internet, from linear to customised radio services. Go to online radio and services |
Streaming and other online services
Other types of online services licensed by PPL:
| Service type | Description |
|---|---|
| Live ‘real time’ streaming | Where all users receive the same content at the same time. For example, audio and audio-visual content (often referred to as ‘webcasts’). |
| Customised streaming | Where users can influence the content they receive. For example, audio content that has limited interactivity (such as limited skips per hour). |
Types of online music use that PPL does not license
We do not license music services that offer downloads or on-demand streams of individual music tracks, such as Spotify and Apple Music, or services that enable the upload of content by the general public, such as YouTube and Facebook.
We do not license any of the following:
- On-demand streaming and/or downloads of full individual music tracks and/or albums
- Permanent downloads containing full music tracks, including podcasts
- Streaming services with ‘shuffle’ functionality that enables random playback of music tracks
- Unlimited music track skipping functionality
- User upload services
If you are using music in any of the ways set out above, you will need to contact the recording rightsholder(s) (e.g. the record label owning that track) to seek a direct licence.
Get in contact
If you have any specific licensing questions regarding using music online, please direct your queries to our Broadcast Licensing team at radiobroadcasting@ppluk.com.
