How to get the royal treatment: A self-employed musician’s guide to royalties

This article was originally published in our Winter 2023 issue. Click here to subscribe to our quarterly print magazine and be the first to read our January issue features.

PPL licenses recorded music in the UK when it is played in public, such as in shops, bars, nightclubs or offices, or broadcast on the radio and TV. We do this on behalf of recording rightsholders and performers, who are due royalties for the public performance of recordings they own or have contributed to. We also collect royalties worldwide through international neighbouring rights collections, providing an increasingly important additional revenue stream for performers and recording rightsholders.

In 2021 we paid out £228.7m to more than 146,500 performers and recording rightsholders. Self-employed musicians who are members of PPL can receive a share of this revenue if the recordings they have contributed to are played in public and they qualify to receive ‘equitable remuneration’ in respect of that recording. Membership is free, with PPL only deducting operating costs from the total revenue we collect each year.

Payments for use of music in the UK are made twice a year, in June and December. For members who have authorised us to represent them internationally, payments for use of music outside of the UK are made quarterly, in March, June, September and December.

Performance royalties earned by a recording are typically split 50/50 between the recording rightsholder and the qualifying performers on the recording. The performer half is then divided between the performers on the recording by their roles: contracted featured performers, other featured performers, or non-featured performers. It is hugely important that performers identify the role they played when claiming a performance on a recording. This allows PPL to have a comprehensive and accurate list of the performers and their roles on a recording and ensure related royalty splits are correct.

A full list of all applicable roles can be found on our website. Although a performer is anyone who has made an audible contribution to a recording, in some cases this includes the conductor of an orchestra, because often their performance provides a significant musical direction to the recording.

Joining is simple. Go to ppluk.com and click on the ‘Join PPL’ button on the top right-hand corner of the page. This takes you to our member portal ‘myPPL’, which will ask you whether you need to register as a performer, a recording rightsholder, or both.

In order to register you will need:

• Photo ID
• Contact details
• Bank and tax details
• Date of birth, address and signature

myPPL is the portal through which you will manage your PPL membership. To start receiving royalties, you need to tell us which recordings you have performed on by ‘claiming’ your performance. PPL has a repertoire database of more than 20 million recordings, with data outlining who owns each recording and the performers who played on them. Without this data PPL would not be able to distribute royalties to those who own or contributed to the recording, so we recommend our members regularly audit their myPPL profile to ensure the performance data we have related to your recording contributions is correct and up to date. You may need to provide evidence of your contribution, such as a contract, record sleeve credit or proof of attendance at a recording session.

Only recording rightsholders can upload a recording and its data to our repertoire database. If a recording you have contributed to is not in our database, you must contact the recording rightsholder.

PPL is the global leader in international neighbouring rights collections – we collect significantly more international neighbouring rights revenue than anyone else. If you authorise us to collect for you outside of the UK, we can help maximise the royalties you earn from usage of your recordings abroad. We do this via agreements we have with other collective management organisations like PPL around the world.

© Garry Jones Photography

PRS for Music represent the rights of over 160,000 composers, songwriters, and music publishers around the world. We’re one of the world’s leading music collective management organisations and home to two royalty collectives: Performing Right Society (PRS) and Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society (MCPS).

Daniel Lewis, PRS for Music’s writer relationship manager for classical (pictured above), notes the integral part the organisation plays in the lives of composers: ‘PRS membership is a vital component of earning a living as a composer. Revenue generated by issuing licences to music users, including concert halls and broadcasters, is distributed back to members, enabling composers to earn royalties, but more importantly, to focus on what they do best – creating music.’

PRS membership is open to composers and songwriters who create original works, but music publishers can also join PRS since they represent the interests of those composers and songwriters. Joining PRS and/or MCPS means you can earn money when your music is used on the radio, online or in concert venues. You don’t need to be signed to a record label or music publishing company, but you do need to be the copyright owner of a musical work. We have some pointers on PRS for Music’s website that can help determine when it’s the right time for you to join and which membership is best for you.

Once you become a member, we ask you to register your works via your online account by sharing some basic information; work title, co-creators (if there are any), how much ownership each person is claiming and the duration of the work. As a classical composer, you can let us know of additional information such as the instrumentation of the work. The more metadata you attach to a work, the easier it is for us to match your compositions when they are used. And when we say used, in this context we mean when the song or composition is streamed, played or performed publicly. We also ask that you keep your contact details and bank account details up-to-date with us in our system to ensure we can pay you the royalties you have earned.

We issue licences to businesses that use music, including (but not limited to) live performances in concert halls, as well as performances distributed by broadcasters such as the BBC, radio stations such as Classical FM, and streaming platforms such as Spotify and SoundCloud.

In most instances, the businesses who use music are obliged to provide us with a report, which is matched to the works and compositions registered by members in our database. Royalty rates are calculated according to PRS tariffs. If you have one of your pieces used in a concert for example, the venue and/or promoter will usually send us a report covering all the music they’ve programmed. The classical music concerts and recitals tariff will be applied based on a percentage of gross receipts for the event (or a variable rate depending on the number of copyright works in the programme). Royalties are then divided among copyright works in the programme according to duration. Works in the public domain do not receive a royalty.

Monies are distributed to PRS members four times a year in April, July, October and December.

PRS membership covers the world because PRS has reciprocal agreements in place with other collection societies globally. These societies collect locally, then send the money on to PRS for the use of your works and we distribute it as royalties to our members.

The time between a performance and royalty payment varies depending on where and how your music was used. It takes a little while for us to receive and process all the reported data – so it can take on average six to twelve months after the performance or broadcast for royalties to be distributed.

If your music was performed overseas, it can stretch to over a year until you see the royalties, but we strive to get the money in and distributed out to you as quickly as possible.

PRS Foundation was formed by PRS for Music in 2000 to enable the investment in new music and support the professional development of songwriters and composers. Now independently run as a charity, PRS for Music continues its partnership with PRS Foundation as its primary funder. It offers a number of schemes for contemporary classical composers including The Open Fund, The Composers’ Fund, Women Make Music and Adopt a Music Creator.

We also collaborate with leading composers, ensembles, and organisations to grow the profile of PRS members through workshops, commissioning opportunities, showcases and concerts. Previous partners include Dunvagen Music Publishers, the Ligeti Quartet, Riot Ensemble, Cheltenham Festival, and Wild Plum Arts.