Sign In:     

Forum: General Discussion

Topic: UK PRS and Legalitys

This topic is old and might contain outdated or incorrect information.

ok guys heres a question that hopefully someone can give me a full answer too (preferably because theve been visited by prs and told by the horses mouth) most venues i visit have a prs licencse sticker on the door (some even have a prs video license) is vdj and the likes legal to use in these environments? what do there visits entail? we had them do surveys in the area in the past (before i moved into venue management) is the whole mp3 format a big no no. pretty much all the jocks in the area are serato pcdj based (some more legal then others)

any info would be greatly apreciated
 
Posted Tue 13 Jan 09 @ 6:04 pm
from what i recall mp3's are fine providing you have the original recording on cd, or can provide proof of legal purchase via itunes etc

Personally I think its a scam, if the venue has a PRS licence then surely by rights you are covered.

But apparently not

Scamming arses
 
Aye, and there's 3 different agencies involved here fighting against each other. There's PRS, MCPS and some other lot.

The whole thing is just a money making scam of the highest order. I remember when they brought out "DJ Licences" a few years ago that it was still illegal to put your music on a computer even if you had the original, and that you couldn't "blend" music for more than 6 seconds or something daft.

I ignored the whole lot and have had no hassle to date.

Rip off Britain strikes again!
 
All this is a Minefield but basically this sums it up

Quote :

If you play a sound recording in public there are TWO separate license fees to be paid.

PPL collect the fees and distribute them to record companies and artists

PRS distribute the fees to composers and music publishers

It is illegal to play music in public without a license from both these organisations for further information contact


It is your responsibility as a DJ to have a PPL license.

It is the Venue's responsibility to have a PRS license.

Also I believe there may be a License/fee to the local Borough Council aswell. This is just for music/sound recordings, when it comes to video, it's a whole different ball game. It's just basically a complete mess IMO
 
PRS = Venue
PPL = Venue

No local government licenses now exist in UK, what was formerly an 'entertainment licence' no longer exists and is now covered in the newer UK licencing laws.

TopHouse = Venue owner ;o)

PPL actually covers juke boxes too
 
TopHouse wrote :
PRS = Venue
PPL = Venue

No local government licenses now exist in UK, what was formerly an 'entertainment licence' no longer exists and is now covered in the newer UK licencing laws.

TopHouse = Venue owner ;o)

PPL actually covers juke boxes too


So a DJ does not actually need a PPL license, interesting mate. I'm only saying this as a know of a couple of "mobile" guys that have been prosecuted for not have a PPL license. One guy had all his equipment seized. And yes the venue had all there relevant paperwork.

So, a DJ can turn up at a venue and play, with no worries about any license what so over, I don't know about this, there's got to be a catch there somewhere, lol
 
Tophouse is correct, as are you jimmy b for being suspicious.

Venues will pay PRS & PPL for there DJ's to play purchased original format music. The End.

However, DJ's changing formats or "Ripping" must be, or have been at some point licensed permission. You can pay a one off licence for 5000 tracks to be converted. This can be done using a Pro Dub licence which is a DJ's blanket licence to pay both PPL & PRS. As annoying as this is it is not a scam because when you bought that CD you also excepted the copyright terms of that product which include its reproduction. Young guns should remember that no licence will legalise stolen music. Support your industry!

Dj's playing ripped Music or Karaoke without a licence should expect data storage devices of any description, both business and personal to be seized for investigation / prosecution.

Finally, Yes I am technically a hippocrate as only 99.9% all my collection is paid for. (It's the must have but cant get remixes that screw me)

-PLEASE NOTE-

It is illegal to play Video files ripped from a DVD in the UK.
 
I live in the states and you don't see this here where someone would check your papaers about your music
 
if the truth be known the Uk is more of a police/rip off state than we care to admit...
 
av1613 wrote :
Tophouse is correct, as are you jimmy b for being suspicious.


Cheer's...............you can never be to careful nowadays!!!
 
cheers guys. this is the sort of answer i was after
 
Caliente123 wrote :
I live in the states and you don't see this here where someone would check your papaers about your music


BMI and ASCAP fees?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Society_of_Composers,_Authors_and_Publishers
The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) is a non-profit performance rights organization that protects its members' musical copyrights by monitoring public performances of their music, whether via a broadcast or live performance, and compensating them accordingly. ASCAP collects licensing fees from users of music created by ASCAP members, then distributes them back to its members as royalties (BMI has a similar method for its members). In effect, the arrangement is the product of a compromise: when a song is played, the user does not have to pay the copyright holder directly, nor does the music creator have to bill a radio station for use of a song.

In 2005, ASCAP collected US$750 million in licensing fees and distributed US$646 million in royalties to its members, with a 12.5% operating expense ratio. In the United States, ASCAP competes with two other performing rights organizations: Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI) and the Society of European Stage Authors and Composers (SESAC).

the rest of the article is pretty damn informative and if you go to the ASCAP website and look at the listing for what type of licenses they have, it might make your headspin. and they do things worse than seizing your equipment - they file a lawsuit, and are armed with some of the best lawyers money can buy. i don't know about you but a multi-million dollar infringement/royalties lawsuit might put a hole in my pocket - for life.
 
for those of us in the usa i beleive it is the club owner who must have the license. my brother just logged in to ascap and read all his agreements to confirm that
 


(Old topics and forums are automatically closed)