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Venues face massive hikes for playing music

Published:  22 July, 2011

Venues could face fee hikes for playing music of between 10 and 20 times current rates, under new proposals from collecting society PPL.

Venues could face fee hikes for playing music of between 10 and 20 times current rates, under new proposals from collecting society PPL.

Trade bodies acting on behalf of pubs and nightclubs have slammed the proposed increases as "totally unacceptable".

The plans are outlined in a consultation from PPL, which collects royalties on behalf of record companies. The British Beer & Pub Association, which represents the majority of Britain's pubs, has scheduled a meeting with PPL next Thursday to discuss its concerns.


The BBPA has calculated that a small pub company with six venues and running two to three such events per week could face huge fee increases. If between 250 to 400 people attended each event, a current bill of £22,300 could become £220,000 under the new proposals - an increase of nearly 900%.


The BBPA and the British Hospitality Association (BHA) have successfully taken action on behalf of pubs, restaurants and hotels over PPL charges in the recent past. In 2010, they won a High Court ruling rejecting an appeal brought by PPL over the charges for the playing of background music in pubs, bars, restaurants and hotels. The court victory entitled pubs, hotels and restaurants across Britain to receive up to a total of £20 million in refunds from PPL, and saved pubs around £6 million per year in new charges.


BBPA chief executive, Brigid Simmonds, said: "These proposed increases for playing music are unacceptable and totally off the scale. They would be a huge burden on pubs and nightclubs. We have secured a meeting with PPL next week, where we would hope to see a quick move from PPL towards some much more realistic proposals."

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