Four time Grammy-winning US rapper, singer, producer and drummer Anderson .Paak signed with PPL for the administration of his international neighbouring rights collections
UK-based music licensing company PPL collected a record £94 million (approx $128m) of international monies in 2021, up 9.4% on 2020.
Neighbouring rights royalties are collected when sound recordings are played in public, such as in shops, bars, nightclubs and offices, copied for private use, or broadcast on TV and radio or online.
The company reports that its record international collections in 2021 are a result of a number of factors.
PPL says that it “continued to work on improving recording metadata” and on “the identification of recording usage, which has helped it to claim and collect more revenue”.
PPL notes that it has worked with other collective management organisations (CMOs) to do this, notably using the Virtual Recording Database (VRDB) of performer CMO association SCAPR to drive performer royalty collections.
VRDB is a centralized system that allows performer CMOs to better identify recordings and improve and share performer line-ups on those recordings.
PPL collects Neighbouring rights royalties for “tens of thousands” of performer and recording rightsholder members, including four times Grammy-winner Anderson .Paak, ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus and multi-platinum singer/songwriter Rita Ora.
Currently, PPL has 105 agreements with CMOs across Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North and South America, collecting more overseas revenue than any other CMO, administrator or agent.
Since 2006 it has collected nearly £700 million ($951m) of international revenue.
“As a global service provider for the music industry, it is fantastic that PPL has delivered a record result for the tens of thousands of performers and recording rightsholders who trust us with their international collections.”
Laurence Oxenbury, PPL
Laurence Oxenbury, Director of International at PPL, said: “As a global service provider for the music industry, it is fantastic that PPL has delivered a record result for the tens of thousands of performers and recording rightsholders who trust us with their international collections.
“Each year we improve the technological and operational systems that allow us to claim royalties for our members and develop the already excellent relationships we have with CMOs around the world.
“These systems and relationships are why PPL is the market leader in international neighbouring rights collections and have helped us collect nearly £700 million in revenue since our international service began in 2006.
Added Oxenbury: I’d like to thank the team at PPL, as well as the teams at each CMO we work with, for their hard work. The long-standing, collaborative relationships we have with our partners are crucial to performers and recording rightsholders getting paid and the £94 million we collected in 2021 is a testament to their efforts.”
“I am extremely proud of yet another record year for PPL’s International collections.”
Peter Leathem, PPL
Peter Leathem, Chief Executive Officer at PPL, said: “I am extremely proud of yet another record year for PPL’s International collections. It cements our position as the world’s leading international neighbouring rights company, a position we hold thanks to sustained investment in our sector-leading data, technology, operations and talented team of neighbouring rights experts who work tirelessly to claim royalties on behalf of our members.
“These results also partly reflect the strength of UK music abroad. Our country produces some of the world’s most commercially and critically successful artists and it is a privilege to represent and defend their neighbouring rights.
Added Leathem: “Neighbouring rights has always been an important revenue stream for our members and never more so than throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. That will continue to be the case as we slowly emerge from the crisis. Effects of the pandemic will continue to be felt on our collections for a number of years and this will include our International revenue.
“However, today’s results show that we are set-up to maximise neighbouring rights income for performers and recording rightsholders, supporting their careers and businesses through a difficult time for the industry and ensuring they get paid for when their music is played.”Music Business Worldwide
The best of MBW, plus the most important music biz stories on the web. Delivered for FREE, direct to your inbox each day.
