Paying PRS fees – venues and Making Music

Some community buildings (village halls etc.) may have a Community Building. Where they do your performance will be covered by their licence. It is a flat fee annual licence based on the community building’s annual income. Some community buildings pass this onto hirers – others do not.  When they do it is generally as a flat fee as part of the hire agreement rather than as a percentage of box office sales (as with other venue licences). We have heard of some community buildings charging a fee when the music being performed is not in copyright. There is nothing to stop them doing this – but you can try speaking with them and explaining the situation. Community buildings do not have to report on repertoire performed so may not ask for programme details – if they do not you can contact us instead.

It might do. Making Music cannot always take royalty payments for festivals. It depends on the type/size of festival.

First of all – are you a festival in the eyes of PRS for Music?

The PRS for Music definition of a festival is: an organised programme of activities, cultural events or entertainment held in one or more venues within a single town or area with more than one activity taking place in any one day.

If your group does not fit that definition you do not have to do anything else and can continue to pay royalty fees through Making Music.

If your group does fit the definition you need to read the criteria below. If your festival fits any of the criteria then you may not be able to license your event through Making Music. Are you a festival that:

• is run for a commercial purpose
• has over 1000 attendees
• has an entry fee in excess of £20 per person

If you can answer yes to any of the above three options please contact us so we can look into your situation further. In the first instance please email us with your group name, a brief overview of your festival activities, a link to further information (if available) and a contact name and number.

Festivals that do have to pay royalties directly to PRS for Music: 

You can find out more about licensing festivals and/or contact PRS for Music on 0845 300 6033 or at live.musiclicence@prsformusic.com for more information.

• If you disband you can make any royalty payments to Making Music when you cancel you membership - this can be at any point in the year
• If you decide not to renew you membership, but are continuing as a group, you can still make the royalty payment to Making Music at the end of the year. 

No – PRS payments must be made, and programmes sent, at the end of each year as part of your membership renewal. 

The current tariff is the PRS for Music LC tariff – you can view it here.

You should estimate the average audience number at any one time and use this figure to calculate your royalty.

They are calculated on audience size (for free-to-attend events) or gross ticket income (for ticketed events). We use tariff LC to calculate our fees – you can view the current rates here.

Royalties are collected at the end of each year as part of your membership renewal. They are calculated from a fixed tariff and according to the audience size (for free-to-attend events) or gross ticket income (for ticketed events). You also need to submit programmes details via our online submission form or send a copy of the programme for each concert with the audience number written on. Find out more in our full guidance.

There are a number of ways to find out if a venue has a PRS license:

1) Ask the venue directly – they should know

2) If the venue is unsure or not forthcoming then you can ask PRS for Music directly

3) Search the list of licensed premises on the PRS website

Yes – the VAT should be applied after the percentage of box office takings has been calculated.

Example: 

Box office taking = £1,000

3.25% PRS charge = £32.50

Plus 20% VAT = £39.00