The Federation of Small Businesses has carried out a survey which shows that nearly a quarter of the trade organisation’s members with a collecting society licence have made a complaint about the collecting society systems. That spells bad news for the PPL and PRS For Music, both of whom have been trying to up their game over the last few years after the 2011 Hargreaves Review of UK copyright showed their processes needed fine-tuning and updating. All that said, it seems that no matter whether music is used in a personal or public environment, it’s always a complete fuss to get artists and musicians paid with everybody happy.
The simple fact seems to be that most people simply do not understand how copyright and music royalties systems function. How we address that, both for businesses and in general, will directly impact on the future success for musicians and their ability to command a fee for their work. The alternative is a system that no longer works for those who support it, resulting in increasing numbers opting out.
