Every week, my royalty free music business gets at least one call asking about using royalty free music as background music in public venues. Here you will find the answers to some of our most frequently asked questions. If you are a business already using or considering using background music, this will help you understand the issues surrounding playing music in public.
Q1. PRS visited my premises to tell me that I have to pay a music license…Is this a scam?
Answer: No, this is not a scam. There are many PRO’s globally and PRS is the UK PRO (performance royalty organisation). Composers and music publishers can register their works with a PRO to potentially earn extra income when their music is played, performed or bradcast to the public.
PRO’s impose license fees that are divvied up between the artists / composers who have registered their musical works. This is not an exact science as it would be impractical for PRO’s to monitor every play of every song, therefore, a sample or consensus is taken to decide who gets a share. Inevitably, the mainstream artists get the larger share with many independent composers getting little or nothing.
Q2. Why now?…I have been at these premises for years without having to pay a PRS license.
Answer: The system of monitoring what music is being played is not very efficient; it relies on representatives of the PRO tracking down the venues to establish whether they are playing music. Or, it relies of conscientious venue owners contacting the PRO for information about the license. If you have been playing music for years without paying a license you have simply slipped through the net. This is not a new scheme.
Q3. Why do I have to pay a license fee to the PRO?
Answer: You don’t have to pay it! Stop playing music and they will not be able to get you to pay. However, if you continue to play music that is registered in their database without paying their license fee, they can take legal action against you. They are not the police so they have no authority to arrest or close your venue down, but they can sue you in a court of law.
Q4. OK, so I pay their license…Where does the money go after that?
Answer: After the PRO has deducted their percentage, the majority of the collected money should go back to the artist, composer, record label or publisher. The reality is that the impractical matter of monitoring individual plays means that the bigger, more mainstream artists and major labels are the biggest beneficiaries. The independent composer is often likely to get little or nothing.
Q5. How does the PRO know what music I am playing?
Answer: They know what music is playing by visiting your venue. Obviously, they can’t do this frequently and therefore most of the time they have no idea what is playing. I know of a large restaurant owner that in 5 years of running his business had only one visit from a PRO representative. The representative apparently sat there drinking coffee and taking notes of what was being played for an hour.
Q6. Does this system work?
Answer: It depends who you ask… Not very well in my opinion. It keeps the big record companies and labels happy, but in most cases is little help to smaller independent composers. It worked well historically, however, in recent years music creation and distribution has changed significantly and as a result, things will never go back to the way they used to be. In my opinion, there are numerous ways it could work better, but before any of this can happen, I believe that changes need to be made to PRO policies and copyright law. Personally, I think that the majority of control should be given to the composer / band. A subject for another blog!
Q7. How do the PRO’S calculate the license fee?
Answer: This I do not know the answer to. I have heard that it is done on a case by case basis depending on foot traffic, venue size etc. but I can not say for sure. I have heard that the fees can range drastically, but this is based on what people have told me.
Q8. Can I use royalty free music and avoid paying the license fee?
Answer: Yes, you can use royalty free music, however, this does not mean that the PRO won’t still try to charge you a license. Without going into too much detail, it depends on a number of factors and can be fraught with loop holes and grey areas. Personally, I think that it may be less hassle and in many cases cheaper just to pay the PRO’s license fee than completely restock yourself with royalty free music. In smaller venues, I have heard people being quoted annual fees of around 100 GBP. You would have to license a large amount of royalty free background music to provide enough listener variety and to be honest, as a royalty free music provider, we could not offer you many tracks for that amount of money.
Royalty free music is more suited to using one or more tracks in a product display, demonstration, presentation, trade show, corporate DVD etc. In such cases, the PRO element is not usually an issue when using royalty free music.
Q9. Are there any other alternatives for using music in my venue?
Answer: Yes, there are alternatives, but whether they work out more cost effective is a different matter. Here are some alternatives to consider.
Custom Written – If you need a small amount of music you could hire the services of a composer. The cost here will depend on the composer you choose, however, a single one-time payment could be easily negotiated.
100% Royalty Free Music – Most royalty free music is not exempt from performance issues as the composer of the music may have chosen to register with a PRO. However, some do not and if you can find music that is not registered with a PRO, you could use it in your venue on a royalty free music license. Ask your royalty free music vendor to point out non-PRO registered composers in their music library.
Creative Commons – Creative commons is a great modern movement that enables the composer, author or producer to decide what usage rights are given to the user. This makes using copyrighted material much easier. Many composers and bands that use creative commons licensing allow their music to be used in venues for a one-time fee or possibly for free.
There was a legal case where a Spanish venue owner was taken to court by the Spanish PRO (SGAE) for using CC music in his venue. The outcome: He won against the PRO! Here is the link to that interesting case. http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/5830
Summing up
Most of the companies that contact me are restaurants, cafes, salons, small shops, or bar owners. Their big issue is the fact that they may need play background music, but do not wish to pay the PRO license fee. Unfortunately, there is currently a very limited range of additional options.
Regardless of your views or my views on this, it seems that we are currently stuck with an archaic system created by a traditional mainstream music industry…Or, at least until somebody comes up with a competitive method or system that is more beneficial for all parties.
I have heard some very clever and interesting suggestions and I look forward to the day when there is a wide spread product or license that provides a definitive and concise answer to some of these questions. Whether it is the PRO’s that come up with a better solution or whether it is a new radical system, I certainly welcome a positive change on this matter that is less confusing for all concerned.
—
Feel free to spread this article using the social networking widget below and I look forward to reading your comments.
If you are looking for royalty free music, please feel free to browse Media Music Now’s online library of royalty free background music.
Read other royalty free music related articles
Read other articles on licensing music for multimedia, broadcast & performance
Read other music industry related articles
If I create music dance tracks myself on ‘Garage Band’ and use them for my Dance Business can PPL/PRS charge me as I have created the music myself?
If you have created the music, and providing it is original music they cannot charge you.
Please help. My husband and I have thrown everything we have into a new business to help support us and our disabled, brain damaged son for the rest of our lives. We are to be running fitness classes only at a members only studio. 12 per class max. 2 studios. We open next week. We need 325 members to break even so are offering an attractive array of classes to secure members quickly -70ish per week is the current offer. We found out today The Music License will charge us £15k a year. This will ruin us. What do we do? Take them to court for unreasonableness?
See this page https://www.mediamusicnow.co.uk/royalty-free-music/public-safe-music.aspx
I hope your venture goes well.
Thanks for your article. There are few articles discussing playing music in a Public Venue, but yours is very useful. By your article, I realise the royalty-free songs may be different from each license for different application restrictions. However, what’s different between the royalty-free songs and copyright free songs? I can find many no copyright song from youtube, such as “https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNVgP2wjqcqJrMwOc3hOT8A”. In your opinion, can I play Youtube on these copyright free songs in my cafe?
It does say No Copyright, so it is worth a try. It would be interesting to see what the PRO’s say. If the music on that channel is really copyright free, then there is nothing anyone could do to stop you playing it. (in my opinion anyway). However, the alleged copyright status would worry me as there is nothing in the way of licensing documentation available. The PRO’s would soon tell you if any of the music on that channel is in a PRO. Let us know how you get on.
I work for a heritage organisation which used to produce CDs which had been produced “under licence” for us. Does that mean that I am entitled to play these CDs in our shop without paying PPLPRS for a licence?
I have tried asking them but they don’t seem to understand.
Haha. They should really understand. It is their job to do so. In my experience, they charge separate licenses for making CD’s vs playing them in public. However, if they don’t understand I don’t know what you can do.
Hi
I have been paying to PPL £79.00 a year for licensing for 4 years.This year PLL/PRS asking £580.00 for a year!
my shop is about 45sq meter playing Planet rock dap we sell rock related merchandise t-shirts posters etc.
In states if a shop smaller than 2000 feet
And having not more than 4 speakers there is not licence fee to be paid
So if we play music from USA dap radio station do we have to pay?
Cheers
Atilla
Wow, that is a big increase. May be consider one of these options. https://www.mediamusicnow.co.uk/royalty-free-music/public-safe-music.aspx
I have been paying the licence for years now I’m reading I should get a 50% discount if I have 5 chairs or less. Also on some web sites it says you don’t need to pay if your shop is smaller than 2000 square feet, is this true?
Regards Phil
Hi Phil, not sure the less than 2000 feet is true. However, only the PRO’s can confirm or deny that. I personally don’t think it would be true but you could send them a message to find out. Also, see if you can get that discount 🙂
I still cant understand how they can charge after you have already bought there record its almost as bad as a plumber putting a toilet in for you and then you have to pay every time you flush
Sheer greed
Does £548 a year sound expensive. That is what I am being charged. £10 a week seems a bit over the top for an iPod and 4 speakers.
Thanks in advance
Whether it is expensive or not is not something I can comment on. I guess it is all relative really. Does it bring £548 of value to your business?
Where do we stand with classical music.
Would non-stop; Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Strauss etc, (or a radio station playing such stuff) be exempt from PRS fees?
It depends on who owns the recording. The music may be out of copyright but the recording will have a copyright.
Hello. How do I know if the very specific music I want to play at my venue is royalty free or covered by a specific licensing agency? I do not want to pay BMI if they do not cover the music I want to play.
Thank you!
I would contact them directly and ask them 🙂
If you can be bothered, PPL has a repertoire list for the public to check whether the song/ and or artist is in their system. Beware though – PPL says that the list is “only a guide”. Another way to possibly avoid PPL payments is to play music that was released up to the end of 1962. Again beware – “remasters” of old songs are given a new copyright date, usually around 2013 when an American court case changed the concept. A good start is to read the details of the UK Copyright Act 2013. Good luck!
If i play Royalty free music off spotify in my salon do i need a licence?
I would certainly think so. I am not sure why royalty free music is on spotify but in any case you would have to ask spotify.
Hi Lee ! In reply to you I am using a Persian music website t9 play my Persian music which is recorded in Persia where there is no “royalty”.
Hi Edmond, I am not familiar with the copyright rules in Persia so think you have more knowledge than me on that 🙂 If you are correct PRS will not have it in their database and won’t be able to charge you anything.
Hi I am playing budha relaxation music in my cafe do I need a licence
Check who the publisher is. If they are in PRS, then yes. If they are not you will be fine.
Hello ! I run a Persian restaurant and only play Persian music in my restaurant.There is no PRO in Iran so do I still have to pay for PRS in uk ?
I would say it depends on whether the music you play is in PRS? If you can show them it is not, they can’t collect for music they don’t have in their database. What are you playing, is it published music on CD?
Hello, I have a small business which opened a few years ago. I run a tanning salon. I have a PRS music licence and did not know I also need a PPL licence because we use Youtube to listen to music and dont use a radio,tv or CD.
I dont think i need a PPL license for this. what do you think ?
King Regards
You might be right, best thing is to ask PRS, however, if they know of you and have not told you that you need more than their prs license, you might be fine.
We run a retirement village with restaurant and other leisure facilities. This is available exclusively for the use of residents and their guests, member of the genral public are not allowed on the estate. Do I need a PRS license and how could anyone check?
Thanks
You are still a business, so I think PRS would expect you to pay a license, but best asking them really.
We were at a local rodeo last week and they played over 50 songs in the 2 hour show. The songs, however, did not last but 35 to 60 seconds. I wondered if they did this in order to escape paying royalties. They played ‘Coca Cola Cowboy’ 4 times…at
least one minute of it. My husband’s partner is the songwriter and I wanted to make sure his interests were covered.
it is very important to read the fine print when looking at Royalty Free music companies. Some wont give you a clear view for what you are paying for especially the free ones. AVOID free royalty free music sites that only list tracks as free, they are most likely stolen. I did not no however that lifetime doesn’t always means a lifetime but like Lee said I’m sure its not simple.
Hi Tyron, it seems that now copyright protection lasts the life of the author and 70 years after their death. However, it is not always that simple…
This explains it well http://inventors.about.com/od/copyrights/a/expiration.htm
Is there a time limit for music to be publicly available without having royalty fees?
I know for written works of art, there is a limit of something like 50 years.
Thanks,
Tyron