Financial Results

PRS for Music celebrates financial success in 2022

Last year, we collected a record £964m, a year-on-year increase of 22.9%. These landmark results indicate not only a dramatic recovery following the global COVID-19 pandemic, but an increase of £154m on the previous high of £810m achieved in 2019.

We paid out an unprecedented £836.2m of royalties, a 23.5% increase on 2021. The quarterly distribution in October 2022 alone was in excess of £211m, the largest single distribution in the organisation’s 108-year history.

These ground-breaking results were delivered at a historically low cost-to-income ratio of 9.3%, meeting the target of achieving a cost-to-income ratio below 10% four years earlier than our five-year plan.

Quote from PRS for Music CEO Andrea Czapary Martin

Overall revenues from public performance, music played or performed in public (i.e., shops, restaurants, bars, cinemas etc.) represented the largest year-on-year increase in 2022, up by 66.4% to £228.9m
Online revenues (i.e., music streaming, music downloads, music contained within film and TV on video on demand platforms and in online video games) saw an increase of 25% on 2021, to £334m
International revenues (i.e., the usage of PRS members music in countries outside of the UK) showed strong signs of recovery following the global pandemic, totalling £272.4m in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 8.8%
As audiences continue to diversify the way they access media, revenue from linear UK broadcast (i.e., music contained within programming on TV and radio) declined by 0.5% compared to 2021, totalling £128.7m in 2022.

Find out more about our financial results in 2022

The big story of 2022 was the strength of the rebound in live music.

Over 128,000 live events were reported across the year in the UK, including major tours from the likes of Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran, Little Mix, N-Dubz, The Cure and The Rolling Stones, among others.

Report your live setlist with us

streaming continues to be the most popular way to access music generating 26% more revenue than in 2021 reaching £284.3m

PRS writer members featured on many of the most streamed hits of 2022 on the Official UK Charts , including Go by Spotify Global RADAR artist and BRIT Award nominee Cat Burns and synth-pop track As it Was by the effervescent Harry Styles.

over 165,000 members, 6,612 new members in 2022

PRS represents the rights of more than 165,000 talented songwriters, composers, and music publishers around the globe and welcomed almost 7,000 new writer, composer and publisher members in 2022.

Download our 2022 results infographic