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PPL announces new tariff for discos and DJ sets in pubs, clubs, cafes and hotels
By Chris Cooke | Published on Wednesday 27 July 2022
UK record industry collecting society PPL has reached an agreement with the British Beer And Pub Association and UKHospitality regarding a new licensing tariff for discos and DJ sets at pubs, clubs, bars, cafes, restaurants and hotels.
The agreement relates to what PPL calls the Specially Featured Entertainment tariff, which covers, and I quote, “the public use of sound recordings as ‘specially featured entertainment’ save where the public performances are specifically covered by another of PPL’s tariffs – examples of SFE include discos, dances and DJ sets/presentations”.
PPL first began reviewing this particular tariff a few years back, reckoning that the existing system undervalued the contribution its members’ music made to the events that the licence covered.
It also felt that current system didn’t treat licensees fairly because the fees didn’t really take into account how many people attended any one event, plus there was uncertainty regarding how attendee numbers were even reported.
Seeking to address all that, PPL proposed new rates and rules in 2019. But in June that year, the BBPA and UKHospitality – as trade bodies representing many of the customers of this licence – referred the proposed new rates to the copyright tribunal, which is the special UK court that deals with disputes relating to collecting society managed licences.
The tribunal process was then delayed because of the pesky COVID-19 pandemic. During that time PPL continued to negotiate with the BBPA and UKHospitality, reaching a compromise on both the new tariff and a timeline for introducing it. As a result, the copyright tribunal case has been withdrawn.
Among the changes made with the new tariff, fees will now increase in direct proportion to the size of the audience attending any one event, plus there is now a clear policy for reporting how many people attended.
The tariff also applies if recordings are streamed into a venue, as well as when they are actually played on site. The new rates and rules will be introduced in a staggered way from next year, so that the new tariff won’t be fully phased in until 2030.
Commenting on the agreed new tariff, the BBPA and UKHospitality said in a joint statement yesterday: “We are pleased to have reached agreement with PPL on this new tariff and hope it will end uncertainty around costs for music licensing. The new rates are significantly lower than originally proposed and bring to end an expensive tribunal process”.
“At a time where our pubs, bars and nightclubs are under immense financial pressure it is a shame fees have increased”, they added, “but we welcome the longevity of the new structure and hope they will provide clarity in the longer-term for our members looking to play music in their venues”.
