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PPL Music Defeat Hailed Victory for Retailers
Listed under: News
Published: Monday, February 15, 2010
The company responsible for licensing the music played in independent retail outlets has lost a court appeal against a ruling made by the Copyright Tribunal last October in what is being labelled a landmark ruling for small business owners nationwide.
The Phonographic Performance Ltd (PPL) was taken to court by the Tribunal following what it considered to be an unfair and excessive increase in licence fee charges in 2005, which saw some business owner's costs more than double overnight.
The ruling, which concluded that the increases were indeed excessive and should be capped at a ten percent maximum, could save retailers as much as £5 million a year and result in companies receiving a whopping £20 million refund of the charges they have paid over the last five years.
Laws regarding the practice of playing music in the workplace have been the cause of controversy for many years, with retailers currently under obligation to purchase licences for every kind of music played on their premises – whether it be from a radio or CD player, or simply a tune recorded on to their phones for when customers are put on hold.
Commenting on the outcome of the ruling, Stephen Robertson, director general of retail support group, the British Retail Consortium (BRC), which backed the appeal, says, “Being able to play music or have a radio on is important for customers and staff in many shops. Performers and record companies are entitled to be paid, but increases on the scale demanded were unjustifiable and out of reach for many retailers.”
He adds, “It's been a long fight, but we now have a level of tariffs that's fair for all parties.”
In 2008, the PPL collected approximately £127.6 million in licence fees from UK businesses – around £11 million of which is believed to have been from retailers. Following the court ruling, companies will now be entitled to claim back any overpayments they have made over the last five years. For more information, contact the PPL directly at http://www.ppluk.com.
How did the increase in music fees affect your business? Email your stories to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
The Phonographic Performance Ltd (PPL) was taken to court by the Tribunal following what it considered to be an unfair and excessive increase in licence fee charges in 2005, which saw some business owner's costs more than double overnight.
The ruling, which concluded that the increases were indeed excessive and should be capped at a ten percent maximum, could save retailers as much as £5 million a year and result in companies receiving a whopping £20 million refund of the charges they have paid over the last five years.
Laws regarding the practice of playing music in the workplace have been the cause of controversy for many years, with retailers currently under obligation to purchase licences for every kind of music played on their premises – whether it be from a radio or CD player, or simply a tune recorded on to their phones for when customers are put on hold.
Commenting on the outcome of the ruling, Stephen Robertson, director general of retail support group, the British Retail Consortium (BRC), which backed the appeal, says, “Being able to play music or have a radio on is important for customers and staff in many shops. Performers and record companies are entitled to be paid, but increases on the scale demanded were unjustifiable and out of reach for many retailers.”
He adds, “It's been a long fight, but we now have a level of tariffs that's fair for all parties.”
In 2008, the PPL collected approximately £127.6 million in licence fees from UK businesses – around £11 million of which is believed to have been from retailers. Following the court ruling, companies will now be entitled to claim back any overpayments they have made over the last five years. For more information, contact the PPL directly at http://www.ppluk.com.
How did the increase in music fees affect your business? Email your stories to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
