copyright

Making an arrangement of a piece of music is fairly common practice among leisure-time music groups, but there are a number of things to consider before you can make one.

Some data

From our Big Survey 2022, we know performing groups commission at least 1430 arrangements each year. 

But we think this might be the tip of the iceberg and there is much more work being done by very skilled professionals.  

In this webinar expert guest speakers from PRS for Music explain the latest changes to its live classical tariff. Original webinar took place on Monday 12 June 2023.

PRS for Music recently announced the details of changes to its live classical licence, which come into effect for events held from 1 September. As part of the announced changes, a 50% discount is newly available to amateur groups, making it easier for communities across the UK to host events and concerts.

The role of the librarian is important for the smooth running of your group and doing it well can make a big difference.  You need systems to keep track of all the music whilst being flexible enough to cope with unexpected schedule changes, and the more disorganised members of your group who may forget or lose their music.  

The main responsibilities and challenges are: 

Sourcing music is vital to the efficient running of a music group. It normally falls to the librarian to do this and can involving obtaining music from a variety of sources.

In this resource, we’ll look at how and where you can find the music you need, and the things you need to think about when dealing with publishers and music libraries. 

Part 1 of our two-part video series on Performing Rights Fees (PRS): what they are and whether you need to pay them.
 

Watch Part 2: Paying PRS fees

If you are putting on a public performance of music you may have to pay royalty fees. It is important that you understand what you obligations are and that you are paying any fees where necessary.

When you play or sing or programme a work that is in copyright, you need to consider who licenses the right to perform it. If you’re performing a piece of music as part of a standard concert/recital/gig, that’s usually simple – the vast majority of pieces can be licensed through PRS for Music (read all about PRS fees in our guidance).

When your group decides to perform a piece of music there will be copyright laws, permissions and licenses to be aware of. Part 1 of our guidance gives an introduction to music copyright.

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