This sector comprises, amongst others, government buildings, student union nightclubs, charities, community halls, voluntary organisations and social enterprises. These changes will bring licensing in this sector in line with the rest of Europe and will take effect in the next few months. From then on, not-for-profit organisations using recorded music will need a licence from PPL.
Responding to these changes, PPL and PRS for Music will develop a pilot joint licensing scheme in conjunction with charity representatives. The benefits of this will be that it offers a simple 'one-stop shop' for charities with certainty about the costs involved.
As well as developing plans for licensing public sector establishments, PPL is in detailed discussions with the CSLMG representing community buildings, the ACS representing charity shops and NCVO representing charities generally. These discussions are focusing on how to bring in these changes in a way that is fair and equitable to charities and community groups. In particular, there is a desire to keep the administrative burden to a minimum.
To support these discussions, PPL is inviting comments and contributions from those affected by the changes in music licensing. If you would like to input to this consultation, please email your comments, with a brief description of your organisation and activities using recorded music, to notforprofit@ppluk.com.