Paying PRS fees – venues and Making Music

Venues will almost always pass the entire fee they own PRS on to you. This is normally done as part of the hire agreement. Some venues may add an admin fee. 

Leisure-time music groups performing classical music get a 50% discount on PRS fees. Normally fees are charged at 6.5% of box office takings, but the 50% discount means the rate is 3.25%,

• This only applies to leisure-time music groups where the performers are leisure-time musicians.
• The discount does not apply to leisure time promoting groups who organise performances by professional musicians.
• The discount does not apply to popular music events (where the rate is 4.2% for everyone) 

PRS use the word amateur instead of leisure-time and define amateur as: Amateurs means an individual or group operated by volunteers, whose performers are primarily unpaid. If a group earns ticket revenue, they may still be considered Amateur if the majority of revenue goes towards the running of the group (e.g. transportation costs, venue hire, score rental etc). Groups are still considered Amateur if they engage a small minority of professionals to assist with the group performances (e.g. hiring a conductor, substitute players in the event of illness).

If you are a preforming leisure-time music group let the venue know at the point of booking to be sure you get the 50% discount for the LC tariff. If the venue does not offer the discount you can get in contact us.

Venues normally have a licence with PRS based on a percentage of box office takings (with a minimum fee applicable). Typically they pass this onto the hirer as part of the hire agreement, with no extra fees. Some venues may add an admin fee to this charge. Venues most commonly have a licence with two tariffs, depending on the genre of music:

• Live classical tariff (LC) – this is charged at 6.5% of box office takings.
• Live Popular tariff (LP) - this is charged at 4.2% of box office takings.

There is a 50% discount for leisure-time music groups on the LC tariff (see separate FAQ below).

No – if the venue has a licence with PRS for Music you must pay through them. 

You can make payments through Making Music 

If the venue has a licence with PRS then any royalty payments should be made by the venue to PRS for Music. The venue will pass the charge onto you, normally as a percentage of ticket sales income.  You can find out more in our full guidance