- Play recorded music in public or at your business (including background music on a CD, radio or music channel)
- Stage live music events in public (eg a concert or festival)
- Play live or recorded music in a theatre
- Use sound recordings in a theatrical production (including on-stage and off-stage effects)
We’ll Cover:
- Who needs a licence?
- How much does it cost to license music?
- What is PPL, and what’s the difference between PPL and PRS?
- How is PRS calculated?
- How much do I have to pay PRS for staging live performances?
- Do you have to pay PRS for Music?
Who Needs a Licence?
You may not think of yourself as a ‘performance venue’, but the key thing is that if you’re playing live or recorded music in public, you’ll need a licence. So, this includes:
- Shops
- Offices and factories
- Hairdressers and beauty salons
- Cinemas and theatres
- Hotels and guesthouses
- Restaurants and cafes
- Pubs, bars and nightclubs
- Sports grounds and other sporting facilities (eg bowling alleys)
- Gyms and other health facilities
- Bingo halls and casinos
- Social clubs and members’ clubs
- Churches and halls
- Public transport (eg planes)
T he licence you need is called ‘TheMusicLicence’.
How Much Does It Cost to License Music?
For music other than royalty-free (more about this below!), a PPL PRS Music Licence allows you to legally play PRS members’ music, whether through the radio, TV, other digital devices or live performances. The licence is available through the PPL/PRS site, where you can get a quote or view the different tariffs , which depend on what your business type is, and can vary depending on the size of your ‘audience’ (for example, the charges differ on an aircraft, according to how many passengers are on board.)
Generally speaking, the PRS music licence costs start from around £100 a year, while PPL licences can set you back up to £350 per year, depending on your business type and size.
Royalty-free music however, allows users to pay a one-off fee for unlimited use without recurring royalties. It isn't part of the PPL or PRS repertoire, so no licences from these organisations are required. Instead, the rights are managed directly by the music licensing agency that provides the royalty-free music
What Is PPL, and What’s the Difference between PPL and PRS?
PRS for Music and the PPL – aka Phonographic Performance Limited – are separate organisations. They license different sets of rights that relate to the same songs – PPL licenses the use of recorded music where it’s played in public, broadcast on radio or TV, or used on the internet. They do this on behalf of both record companies and performers. PRS represents composers and writers for the music and lyrics used in the recordings.
However, the two music collecting societies – PRS and PPL – joined forces to set up PPL PRS Ltd, launching a joint licence, TheMusicLicence, in 2018.
If you’ve performed on, or own the rights to, recorded music, it’s free to join PPL . For PRS, i t's currently £100 to join as a writer and £400 as a publisher.
How Is PRS Calculated?
Even according to the PRS itself – it’s complicated! The answer is that, if you’re a composer or artist, ‘the method for calculating and collecting royalties largely depends on where your music was used… there are separate policies for PRS – to maintain fairness, efficiency, transparency and accuracy.’
For more in-depth information, the PRS website gives a rundown on calculating royalties from radio , TV and film , and online .
How Much Do I Have to Pay PRS for Staging Live Performances?
Live music royalty calculations are made depending on the type of performance. Eg, if you’re playing at a small licensed venue under the PRS’s Gigs and Clubs scheme, there’s a set royalty for each reported event, shared between all PRS writers whose works are performed at the event (about £10 per event).
When it comes to classical concerts, venues can choose to pay either a flat rate (4.8% of box office receipts), or use a sliding scale based on the amount of copyright music that’s being performed.
The live and DJ licence selector walks you through how to get a licence for live performances.
UK music festivals need their PRS licence to ensure royalties can be paid to the music creators of any of the songs which are played or performed. Royalties are calculated based on the capacity of the stage, and the song’s duration. For 20 of the UK’s largest festivals, PRS staff are in attendance to collect all the setlists. As for why this is important, at a panel for Festival Congress 2024, Jo Åström from Fleet River Music explained that a fee for a live show will be split between a band, tour manager, stage production and more, whilst live royalties go direct to the writer.
Do You Have to Pay PRS for Music?
In short, yes. If you don’t, you can be fined – and the costs can really mount up. For example, in 2018, Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council were fined £2,000 for not having a PRS licence for an event, and in 2015, the owner of Socialite Bar in London was fined £4,000 in damages and a whopping £15,000 in court fees for not having a music licence for his bar.
Licensing Music with Audio Network
We want to make things as simple as possible. So we license our music tracks per project or video. Every licence is valid forever, and your project can be used across multiple platforms.
It covers all sync and dubbing rights, but it doesn’t cover performing rights. These are normally the hosting platform’s responsibility (e.g. YouTube). They can be easily cleared directly with performing rights societies.
Need a licence that covers multiple projects or videos? To license music for a campaign or series, get in touch with our account managers, who’ll be happy to help you out.
Read more about our licences to find the right one for your project and check out our licensing guide for more detailed info.
That Was Our PRS Licence Guide
Music licensing can seem confusing, so we have lots of deep dives, such as ‘ Where do YouTubers get their music? ’ to help you find out more.
If you’re licensing music for a particular project, read our FAQs for details of the rights that our licences cover and our guide to paying for tracks , or watch our video explainer:
