PRS LANDS IN MORE HOT WATER

PRS for Music has come under fire again for introducing a backdated 10% tariff for online livestream concerts, which the Featured Artists Coalition and Music Managers Forum say is “unjustifiable.”

For paid events, the PRO has introduced a license that costs 10% of gross revenue (plus VAT) for events that earn more than £1,500. As previously stated, licenses for members performing their own work are free. Small concerts earning less than £1,500 are now charged between 5% and 8% of revenue, depending on earnings, which doesn’t apply to events held last year.

Despite PRS calling the 10% tariff a “discounted rate,” the MMF and FAC point out that it’s “considerably higher than the initial 8% tariff proposed by PRS in late 2020 and more than twice the rate for physical live shows,” which is currently 4.2%.

A joint statement continues: “MMF and FAC believe that the high level of backdated tariffs for online shows will be widely viewed as unjustifiable. This hits those artists in the middle the hardest and certainly cannot be construed as a ‘discount.’”

The organizations are urging PRS to “reconsider and come back with fair and reasonable proposals that the whole industry, including their own members, can benefit from.”