PPL, the UK’s music industry collective management organization for performers and recording rightsholders, has partnered with the Indian Singers’ and Musicians’ Rights Association (ISAMRA) to facilitate cross-border royalty collection for musicians.
As part of the agreement, PPL can now collect royalties on behalf of mandated performers in India, meaning Indian artists will receive compensation for the use of their recorded music in the UK.
This deal builds upon the 2023 agreement between ISAMRA and the Indian Music Industry (IMI), which represents over 200 Indian record labels, allowing ISAMRA to receive up to 25% of public performance revenue from PPL India for distribution to performers.
In 2023, over 450 performers benefited from this agreement. PPL expects the number to rise “substantially” this year.
PPL India, which is not affiliated with the UK-based PPL, collected INR ₹1.64 billion, equivalent to about GBP £15.5 million or USD $19.7 million, in 2022. To further support the growth in PPL India’s collections, ISAMRA’s CEO has taken a seat on the board of PPL India.
“The UK is a significant consumer of Indian repertoire and money has already been paid from PPL in the UK to ISAMRA, benefiting hundreds of performers who did not historically have an entitlement to revenue.”
Laurence Oxenbury, PPL
The partnership also comes as the Indian music industry continues to gain momentum, generating about USD $1.5 billion in 2022, PPL noted, citing data from EY.
“This partnership with ISAMRA is an important moment for the rights of performers in India. The UK is a significant consumer of Indian repertoire and money has already been paid from PPL in the UK to ISAMRA, benefiting hundreds of performers who did not historically have an entitlement to revenue,” said Laurence Oxenbury, Director of International at PPL.
“The performers we represent at PPL will start to receive new royalties for the use of their music in India during 2024. The agreement is another step on our journey to ensure that our members are paid whenever and wherever their music is used around the world,” Oxenbury added.
“The performers we represent at PPL will start to receive new royalties for the use of their music in India during 2024.”
Laurence Oxenbury, PPL
ISAMRA was previously known as ISRA. The recent name change reflects its broadened scope to represent vocalists and musicians. Previously, the organization only represented the vocalist featured on a recording.
PPL said the organizational changes at ISAMRA have been backed by the Indian government, enabling PPL to collect royalties for UK performers’ performances on recordings used in India.
PPL’s alliance with ISAMRA marks its latest partnership after teaming up with Audoo and PRS for Music in August for public performance distributions
The CMO paid out a record GBP £48.7 million (USD $62 million) in December 2023 to over 137,000 performers and recording rightsholders, its final quarterly distribution of 2023. The figure rose 13% from £43.2m ($55m) paid out in December 2022.
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