What we do Membership International collections Music licensing Search Join PPL myPPL Login Home What we do WHAT WE DO PPL is the UK’s music licensing company for over 120,000 performers and recording rightsholders. We have been licensing the use of recorded music in the UK since 1934. We license recorded music when it is broadcast on radio, TV and online PPL licenses radio stations, TV broadcasters and certain digital media services to play recorded music in the UK as part of their programming. We also license music suppliers to copy recorded music for services such as in-store music systems, jukeboxes, compilations for exercise classes and in-flight entertainment systems. Learn more about music licensing What happens to the licence fee? And when it is played in public If you play or perform music at your business or organisation’s premises, you will usually need TheMusicLicence. This is issued by PPL PRS Ltd - a joint venture between PPL and its fellow music licensing company PRS for Music, with the aim of simplifying the process of becoming licensed to play music in public. Learn more about playing music at a business Read about PPL's history with public performance licensing Then ensure that the revenue flows back to our members After deduction of our operating costs, the music licensing royalties we collect are distributed to the performers and recording rightsholders we represent, based on the use of their music. PPL's members range from session musicians and emerging artists to major record labels and globally successful performers – all of whom are entitled to be fairly paid for the use of their recorded music. Find out about our free membership See how PPL royalties are calculated LOVE PROTECT RESPECT MUSIC REGISTER AS A MEMBER Our job is to protect our members’ rights, and make sure their talent and investment is rewarded fairly. We can also collect royalties for our members from across the globe Through a network of international agreements with collective management organisations (CMOs) in other countries, PPL is also able to collect royalties for performers and recording rightsholders when their recorded music is played around the world. For your royalties to be collected internationally by PPL, you will need to ensure you give us an up-to-date international mandate appointing us to do so. Learn more about our international collections service Facts about royalties collected OVER 105,192 Performers & recording rightsholders paid in 2018 OVER 15 MILLION Recordings in the PPL repertoire database 661 BILLION Seconds of airplay matched and analysed in 2018 How is PPL different from PRS for Music? PPL and PRS for Music are both music licensing companies. Because we each act on behalf of members to manage their rights, we are also sometimes referred to as collective management organisations (CMOs). We both issue licences and collect royalties for certain uses of copyright-protected music and distribute these to our respective members. The main differences relate to what rights we are licensing and on whose behalf we do so. PPL UK Represents recording rightsholders and performers for the use of their recordings and performances Licenses recorded music for broadcast on radio, TV and certain digital media services PRS for Music Represents songwriters, composers and performers for the use of their musical compositions and lyrics Licenses recorded and live music for broadcast on radio, TV and online PPL PRS Jointly owned by PPL and PRS for Music, PPL PRS Ltd was created to provide customers with a streamlined music licensing service – TheMusicLicence Licenses recorded and live music when it is played or performed in public LEARN MORE ABOUT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PPL AND PRS FOR MUSIC NEXT Who we work with About us News & events Work at PPL Contact us Tools & resources PPL Repertoire search PPL Member/Label search VPL Repertoire search Accessibility Cookies Terms Privacy Code of conduct COVID-19 Secure Slavery statement Help Search tools ©PPL (or its licensors) 2011-2019