PRS For Music CEO Robert Ashcroft touched upon the upcoming announcement on the terms of the organisation’s Popular Music Concerts Tariff during its AGM.
PRS held a consultation on the tariff, which is applied to ticketed live music events such as concerts and festivals, from April to September 2015. The consultation received a total of 111 direct responses from across the industry, including PRS for Music members, covering the majority of the live market. A summary of responses can be viewed here.
The tariff was originally set in 1988 and is 3% of gross box office receipts per event.
Speaking at the British Library yesterday (May 26), Ashcroft said: “I can’t say much about our discussions with the live sector regarding the Tariff LP consultation that we launched in April last year.
“What I will say, though, is that the market in live music has changed dramatically in recent times, and we have to ensure that our tariff is brought up to date.”
He added: “While on the subject of live though, I would like to touch on the issue of international discounts given the attention it has received over the past 12 months.
“The first thing to say here is that there is a fundamental difference between undisclosed rebates and published discounts. With an undisclosed ‘rebate’, royalties that have been collected are returned to the licensee rather than distributed to their rightful owners. This practice is not acceptable to PRS and is not allowed under our agreements with other societies.
“Published discounts are different. There may be good reason for a discount, such as to encourage a new market or to incentivise more use of music. These discounts exist in many countries, are explained in the published tariffs and are normally listed in invoices to licensees. They can be confusing, however, especially for an act touring across several countries with different tariff structures and different languages.
“The solution, as in many things, lies in greater transparency and we are working to increase transparency in two ways: First, we have analysed the concert tariffs around the world, identified what discounts may apply and for what reasons, and made available to our members, via our website, a summary for each country. Secondly, we have asked societies to review any discounts with a view to simplifying concert tariffs and making them easier to understand for all parties.
“I understand the scope this gives for misreporting by the promoters and the impact it can have on our members, so I am pleased to report that while we have not yet solved the problem we are making headway.”
Ashcroft hailed 2015 as a "landmark year" for PRS. "We managed to increase distributions to members by £35.6m to almost £461 million, despite unfavourable exchange rates and a continuing dispute with the French tax authorities," he added.
