Pop legend Cathy Dennis elected to PRS Members' Council

04 June 2025 - Press release

PRS announces newly elected Council Members at its AGM

Songwriters and composers receive milestone royalty payout of £1.02 billion in 2024

 

Cathy Dennis, multi award-winning singer, songwriter and music producer, has been newly elected as a Writer Council Member alongside Tom Gray, Chair of the Ivors Academy, and composer and songwriter, Philip Pope.

Other appointments include the following Publisher Council Members[1]:

• Megan Hall, Senior Vice President of Business and Legal Affairs at Concord Music Publishing;
• Nigel Gilroy, Global Head of Legal & Business Affairs at Novello and Company
• Daniel Lang, Senior Vice President of Global Society Relations & Digital Rights at Warner Chappell Music;
• Richard Paine, Director of Commercial Rights and Business Affairs at Faber Music.

The appointments were voted for by PRS members at the Performing Right Society (PRS) 2025 Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Tuesday 3 June.

Julian Nott, Chair of the PRS Members' Council, said: "I'm delighted to welcome our new and re-elected Council Members. The wealth of knowledge, experience and expertise that they have amassed during their careers will bring a huge amount of insight and ensure the Council continues to deliver the best possible society for members and that every part of the membership is served by the organisation."

At the AGM, Andrea Czapary Martin, CEO of PRS for Music also announced that in 2024, the society paid £1.02 billion to rightsholders, up 8.1% (£76.5m) on 2023, and increased revenues by 6.1% (£66.6m) to £1.15 billion. This milestone achievement over recent years has largely been achieved through a renewed commercial mindset and investment in data and technology infrastructure [2].

Andrea Czapary Martin, CEO, PRS for Music, said: "PRS members have the right to demand their society think differently, challenge the norms in an industry where tradition is too often an excuse for inaction. To constantly evolve to meet their changing needs and expectations. Indeed, it is because we recognise the need to constantly challenge ourselves that we have been able to double the royalties paid to songwriters, composers and publishers in less than a decade."

Since 1914, PRS has delivered £500 million in collections and royalty distributions over 100 years, a figure that the society has now doubled in less than a decade. PRS has delivered early on its five-year plan to achieve £1 billion in royalties paid out by 2026.

 

• Online royalties were again a key growth driver for PRS royalty collections in 2024, increasing by 9% to £401.2 million. Since 2015, online royalty collections have increased by 846% (£358.8m).
• In 2024, PRS collected nearly 180% more from the video games sector driven by new agreements including with PlayStation and engagement with emerging video game customers. 
• At the end of 2024, international revenues reached £351.4 million, an increase of 79.6% (£155.8m) compared to 2015.
• Over the last six years, public performance royalty collections have seen a 49.6% (£95.3 million) increase, from £192 million in 2018 to £287.3 million in 2024. In the year to 31 December 2024, these collections increased by 14% primarily due to the significant growth in collections from the Live sector, which were up 30% on 2023.