In today’s Q1 distribution of international revenue, PPL will pay £17.4 million to more than 26,000 performers and recording rightsholders in the UK and around the world.  The first of four payments made by PPL annually, the royalties paid out by PPL provide an important revenue stream for session musicians and well-known performers, as well as independent and major music companies, as part of their overall portfolio of income.  

This quarter’s total comprises revenue collected from 76 CMOs (collective management organisations), with significant payments from France, Germany, Italy and the USA. With over 100 agreements in place across Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North and South America, PPL is the global leader in international neighbouring rights collections, ensuring its mandated members’ rights are represented in many of the world’s biggest music markets. The Company collects neighbouring rights royalties overseas where recorded music is used and rights exist for the use of recorded music via broadcast (radio and TV), cable retransmission, public performance, private copying, and dubbing (the copying of recorded music for commercial purposes).

Commenting on the Q1 payment, Laurence Oxenbury, PPL’s Director of International, said:
“We are pleased to continue delivering world-leading returns to those who invest their time, energy and talent in making the music we all love. Running an independent record company or being a musician can be a precarious business; our focus remains on being a constant and stable source of support for our members as the industry navigates change and various challenges. This latest payment is testament to our efforts and a positive reflection of the work we are driving forward with our members to improve the data quality underpinning the flow of royalties around the world.”

PPL helps tens of thousands of performers and recording rightsholders across a wide range of genres to maximise their international neighbouring rights income for their work. They include eight times Grammy winner Anderson .Paak, ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus, the No. 1 artist Rita Ora, the producer, DJ and member of Swedish House Mafia Steve Angello, and the legendary producer Trevor Horn. 

PPL’s innovative and collaborative approach with counterparts around the world enables it to share accurate data, helping more parties to collect and, ultimately, pay out increased neighbouring rights royalties. Having worked in this field for decades, PPL is a pioneering supporter of complete and accurate recording metadata and continues to invest heavily in best-in-class technology that further improves data accuracy and processing, helping revenues reach performers and recording rightsholders more efficiently. 

The international reach of PPL’s work offers significant potential for the music community, with the global neighbouring rights market growing to $2.5 billion USD in 2022, according to the recently published IFPI Global Music Report. Revenues from performance rights grew by 8.6%, with revenues surpassing their pre-pandemic levels in 2022 and accounting for 9.4% of the global recorded music market.