PPL CEO Peter Leathem has described the company’s joint venture with PRS For Music as “a joint front office that will act as a one-stop shop for bars, nightclubs, offices, and public spaces that need PPL and PRS licences”.
Speaking in the latest edition of Music Week, out now, Leathem discussed the future of the new venture, PPL PRS Ltd, which will operate from will be based at Mercury Place in Leicester with a staff of 200.
“When PPL and PRS go to the same premises and collect different rights, it is not efficient,” he said. “We are going to stop that and offer a joint licence.
“The more you can join things up, the more there are benefits,” he continued. “We are going to have one approach. It will reduce some of the bureaucracy, drive cost savings, provide revenue benefits and it’s what businesses want.”
Music Week broke the news of the JV's formation back in February 2016, while Suzanne Smith was appointed to the position of managing director of the JV in May.
The two organisations announced a data linking initiative in March and are working together on a joint project to develop digital audio fingerprinting in clubs.
“Our joint venture with PRS shows our appetite to try find the right collaboration to find cost savings, increase services and continue ambitious projects like this,” Leathem added. “This is a massive programme. We are rebuilding everything: we have a new building, new people, new IT, new processes. It is a brilliant project and it is hard work, but it is right thing to be doing.”
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