Report: UK Performing Rights Society Failed To Pay Out Millions, UPDATE: PRS Response

A July 4 Guardian report found that UK performing rights society PRS For Music is sitting on millions of pounds of unpaid royalties, because it can’t match performers and setlists.

Concert promoters pay a percentage of gross ticket sales from every performance to PRS, the UK society charged with distributing that money to the writers of the songs performed on stage.

In many instances, however, PRS has been unable to distribute the cut of ticket sales to the relevant songwriters, because it was lacking the necessary information about the songs played.

The Guardian found entries of artists, dates and venues on PRS’s website dating back to 2022, for which the songwriter’s cut hadn’t been distributed yet.

It counted “106,000 performances where money has been collected but not distributed, with almost three-quarters relating to pop gigs in mostly grassroots venues,” and found that “artists on the list are mostly not big names but it does include Ronan Keating, The Jesus and Mary Chain, 10cc, Aled Jones, Alien Ant Farm and All Our Yesterdays,” while “venues include a number of O2-sponsored Academy sites, as well as the Jazz Cafe and Ronnie Scott’s in London, Durham Cathedral, York Barbican and Leicester Racecourse.”

The Guardian has seen a document showing that in 2019 alone unclaimed royalties from PRS amounted to £2.7 million ($3.7 million).

Unclaimed royalties are redistributed “to the market after three years, using its own formula,” a process in which the grassroots venues and artists lose out.

PRS informs its members about the importance of submitting playlists after concerts to make sure the collected royalties end up with the right people. It also claims to go “to great lengths to try to match the music performed with the writers.”

A PRS spokesperson quoted in the Guardian report, stated, “PRS dedicates significant resources to match live performances to works, and ensure songwriters and composers receive the royalties they are due.

“We have a team whose primary job is to manually research setlist details. In addition, we provide and widely promote our online tool, designed to make it easy for members or their representatives to report setlists for any performances of their works.

“We also send staff to festivals and events to collect setlist in person. While it is true there is a contractual obligation on venues and promoters to provide setlists, we also work hard to fill in as many gaps as we can.”

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PRS is facing legal action launched by Dave Rowntree of Blur last year, who alleges the society was “in violation of UK and EU competition rules over how it distributed” this unclaimed money, and claims “that PRS handles this income in a way that benefits music publishers more than songwriters.”

PRS, in an open letter to members, has stated Rowntree’s claims to be “factually incorrect and fundamentally misrepresent our policies and operations.”

The UK competition appeal tribunal, was “in the process of determining whether or not Rowntree’s case will be certified as a class action,” according to the Guardian.

In June, PRS said it paid out £1.02 billion ($1.4 billion) to rights holders last year, which marked a new record and was up 8% on 2023.

PRS, by its own admission, represents the rights of more than 180,000 members and a repertoire of over 45 million musical works. It collects and pays royalties when a PRS member’s music is played in public, broadcast, downloaded, streamed, or performed live both in the UK and around the world.

UPDATE, July 22, 5.53 P.M. BST: A PRS spokesperson told Pollstar that it was simply not the case that PRS was withholding royalties from songwriters. Here’s the full statement:

A “PRS spokesperson has clarified that this is not the case. It is simply incorrect to suggest that PRS withholds royalties from songwriters. All live music royalties (Tariff LP) collected are paid to music creators, using the data provided to us by all those involved in music creation and those that play it. Members have up to three years to claim live royalties owed to them (and up to seven years for classical music). This means that if a songwriter or composer does not receive a payment in the current distribution period, they are still able to claim it in future rounds as additional data is processed or setlists are reported.

“PRS is continually investing in better technology, data tools, education, and partnerships to improve setlist reporting. However, songwriters cannot always be present when their music is performed or played, so it is essential that everyone involved, especially promoters and venues, plays their part to ensure accurate reporting and that music creators are properly paid.”

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