UK-based music licensing body PPL paid out GBP £16.5 million (approx. $21.6 million at current exchange rates) to over 1500 recording rights holders and over 21,000 performers in the third quarter of 2024.
The latest figure marks a 30%, or £3.8 million, increase from £12.7 million in Q3 2023, and the largest third-quarter payout since 2020, the organization said Monday (September 30).
The sum includes a £2.3 million payment from VPL, PPL’s affiliated company responsible for licensing music videos in public venues or television broadcasts, which is a £700,000 increase from the year-ago period.
PPL distributed £103.7 million in the prior quarter (Q2 2024), marking the first time that the 90-year-old licensing body surpassed the £100 million mark in a single distribution.
“Through our collaboration with over 110 collective management organizations globally, we are helping ensure performers and recording rightsholders get paid for their music when it is played in markets where public performance rights exist.”
Laurence Oxenbury, PPL
Over the last 12 months, PPL said “thousands of performers” have selected the organization to collect international royalties on their behalf including Lewis Capaldi, Central Cee, The Last Dinner Party, Ice Spice and Kenya Grace.
PPL attributed its Q3 performance partly to its growing international reach. PPL says it has established over 110 agreements with collection management organizations (CMOs) worldwide.
Distribution in Q3 includes revenues collected from 55 CMOs across countries such as Germany, Denmark, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy, and the US.
Notably, the Q3 distribution marks PPL’s first payment to over 1,000 performer members from the Indian Singers’ and Musicians’ Rights Association (ISAMRA), following a bilateral agreement announced in January 2024. PPL also highlighted the continued growth of the Asian market, as evidenced by payments from FKMP (Korea) and RPM (Malaysia).
“We are proud to make this record payment to our members who invest so much of their talent, creativity, and time into recording music to be enjoyed by people around the world,” PPL’s Director of International, Laurence Oxenbury, said.
“Through our collaboration with over 110 collective management organizations globally, we are helping ensure performers and recording rightsholders get paid for their music when it is played in markets where public performance rights exist.”
Music Business Worldwide
