PRS for Music

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PRS for Music is a society of songwriters, composers and music publishers. PRS licenses organisations to play, perform or make available copyright music on behalf of PRS members and overseas societies, and distributes the resulting royalties to members fairly and efficiently. PRS promotes and protects the value of copyright.

The mission of PRS For Music is: to achieve fair value for copyright music in the face of changing technology and legislation; to forge international alliances to enable cost-effective and transparent copyright administration around the world; and striving to increase distributions to members and improve the service PRS offers.

Copyright in music is how over 100,000 PRS members – songwriters, composers and music publishers – earn their living. PRS members license their rights through PRS rather than doing it individually, making it easier and more efficient for those who want to use music to do so legally by obtaining a license from PRS. PRS for Music administers the performance rights and mechanical rights of about 10 million musical works and songs on behalf of its songwriter, composer and publisher members.[1]

PRS is owned by and accountable to its members. After deducting the costs of running PRS, all the income received from license fees is distributed back to PRS members. PRS is the UK’s leading collecting society and part of a global network of societies. PRS has around 150 affiliate agreements with collecting societies in nearly 100 countries.[2] In most cases a license from PRS gives those who want to use music the right to legally use millions of copyrighted songs and music compositions registered around the world.[3]

PRS membership, in excess of 100,000, includes rock and pop writers, classical composers, TV and film score composers, library music creators and music publishers. PRS songwriter and composer members span every musical genre and range from some of the world’s biggest musical acts, exporting their music round the globe, to those who provide music for Britain’s advertising, TV, film, fashion and video games industries.

PRS publisher members range from multinational corporations right down to small private companies representing just one or two songwriters. Between them, they oversee music catalogues that span every genre, past and present. Every UK publisher registers most of the repertoire of their client songwriters and composers with PRS and PRS works with them to ensure that royalties are correctly received and paid.[4]

 

Website: https://www.prsformusic.com/

Membership Information: https://www.prsformusic.com/joinus/Pages/joinus.aspx

Letter of Support: https://music.us/letters/UKMusic.pdf

 

[1] http://www.prsformusic.com/aboutus/faqs/licensingmusicfaqs/pages/default.aspx

[2] https://www.prsformusic.com/affiliated-societies/Pages/default.aspx

[3] https://www.prsformusic.com/aboutus/ourorganisation/Pages/default.aspx

[4] https://www.prsformusic.com/aboutus/ourorganisation/ourmembers/Pages/default.aspx