MCPS online and mobile product royalties

General Entertainment Online Licences (GEOL) are designed for audio and audio-visual services offering 'general entertainment' content where music is not the primary focus (i.e. as distinct from music services).

GEOL covers interactive or on-demand services (including streaming or downloading) over the internet, mobile or TV platforms.

GEOL download-to-own and on demand rental

The following royalty rate and minimum fees apply to a-la-carte download and rental services:

• Royalty rate: 2.5% gross revenue
• TV: 1p for on demand rental, 3p for download-to-own
• Film: 3p for on demand rental,  10p for download-to-own

All other GEOL services

Licence fees for all other services (including catch up, free to consumer, subscription or ad-funded) are calculated on an individual basis, using a number of standard factors. They include:

• Music hours consumed
• Viewer/subscriber figures
• Level of music use
• Revenue generated

What’s the commission rate on the royalties collected?

10 percent

How often should you expect to be paid if your music is used on these services?

Line by line distributions will take place on a quarterly basis for the royalties paid by the large scale licensees that are required to provide full reporting. Annual pro-rata distributions will take place for royalties from the smaller scale licensees.

How do customers report their music usage?

Customers are required to report details of the total level of music usage, including the different types of use (such as streaming or downloading), quarterly or annually as agreed between parties.

What is a Podcast?

For the purposes of this scheme, a Podcast is a downloadable, audio only programme that contains both music and speech and where the podcast cannot be disaggregated into its individual tracks.

How often should you expect to be paid?

Line by line distributions will take place on a quarterly basis for the royalties paid by the large scale licensees that are required to provide full reporting. Annual pro rata distributions will take place for royalties from the smaller scale licensees.

What do we charge a customer for the use of your music?

A quarterly advance payment of a minimum of £50 (+ VAT) is also required. This is non-refundable but is offset against royalties accrued on an ongoing basis.

All licensees under the Joint Podcast Licence are required to report on a quarterly basis using the same formats and timeframes as the JOL. Large scale licensees are required to provide full line by line reporting.

What commission rate do you pay us on the royalties collected?

• Headline Royalty Rate: 8%
• Per Track Minimum: 0.15p (excludes VAT)  

What does the scheme exclude?

The 2008 Joint Podcast Licence carries the following restrictions:

• Podcasts must be provided in the form of programmes in their entirety, and not as individual tracks or separate portions.
• No audio-visual content is covered under the podcast licence without approval from PRS for Music.
• Podcasts must contain both speech and music, with the speech interspersed throughout.
• No more than 50% of the music used in the podcast can be performed by a particular artist or written by a particular composer without approval from PRS for Music.
• No more than 2 pieces of music from a particular album or more than 2 repertoire works performed by a particular artist or written by a particular composer is permitted under the podcast licence without approval from PRS for Music.
• There can be no guide providing details of the time at which particular tracks appear.
• There must not be any flags or markers inserted which enable the segmenting and disaggregation of tracks.

Audio-visual content will be licensed under either the JOL or GEOD licence, depending on the nature of the content. Small scale Podcast services can be covered by the Limited Online Exploitation Licence (LOEL).

The Limited Online Music Licence (LOML) covers small online services offering music or general entertainment content to the UK public where the revenue generated by the service is less than £12,500 per year.

The licence also covers limited podcasting, on-demand karaoke streaming services, permanent karaoke download services and ringtones. Services generating in excess of £12,500 a year are licensed by the Limited Online Music Licence Plus (LOML+) or the Online Music Licence (OML). The LOML rates are based on the JOL rates as determined by the UK Copyright Tribunal.

How often should you expect to be paid?

Distribution will take place annually, on a pro-rata basis.

Do we pay you for each track used?

No.

What do we charge a customer for the use of your music?

A full LOML rate guide can be found on the LOML page.

What commission rate do you pay us on the royalties collected?

12%

What does the scheme exclude?

Please see a copy of the 'LOML: summary of key terms and conditions'.

Online Music Licences (OML) are aimed at companies providing online services (digital downloads, streaming and webcasting) to the UK public, which generate more than £200,000 in annual revenue.

There are two licences that make up the OML scheme: the Music Download Licence and the Music Streaming Licence.

What do we charge a customer for the use of your music?

Music Download Licence

For music services licensed under the OML Music Download Licence, royalty rates are eight percent of gross revenue subject to a minimum fee per track depending on how many tracks are offered for download as a ‘bundle’ of tracks.

Music Streaming Licence

The Music Streaming Licence is currently under review. While this process takes place, the current OML on-demand and webcasting rates and minima will continue to apply.

How are royalties calculated?

• Permanent Download services – 75 percent to MCPS and 25 percent to PRS
• On demand streaming services – 50 percent MCPS and 50 percent PRS
• Webcasting services – 25 percent to MCPS and 75 percent to PRS

Do we pay you for each track used?

We will pay you for a track as long as we are sent the required information from the digital music supplier and we can automatically match it to information stored in our database. For download stores, approximately 90 percent of royalties related to downloads are paid out. A high proportion of the 90 percent is achieved through automatic matching. The remaining downloads are manually matched when it is cost effective to do so.

For companies that generate less money ( for example, through the LOML scheme) we pool all collected revenue and distribute it according to our data. This minimises costs and maximises the money that we pay to you.

Will you receive mechanical royalties for downloads if your music is registered late such as after it’s been downloaded, streamed or web-cast?

Music needs to have been registered by the end of the quarter in which the download, stream or web-cast took place to ensure a royalty payment.

What’s the commission rate on the royalties collected?

10 percent

How often should you expect to be paid?

• For performances in Jan, Feb and Mar, we'll aim to distribute in October
• For performances in Apr, May and Jun, we'll aim to distribute in December
• For performances in Jul, Aug and Sep, we'll aim to distribute in April
• For performances in Oct, Nov and Dec, we'll aim to distribute in July

Money collected from companies operating under the LOML scheme is paid in December of each year.

What do the OMLs include?

• Permanent downloads
• On-demand streaming and limited downloads
• Premium and interactive webcasting
• Pure webcasting
• ‘Promo’ music videos
• Live concert performances
• Combination of a musical work with images relating to the performer or composer of the work
• Use of a musical work with an interview with an artist, composer, producer or other person involved in the creation of music, where the work used is associated with the interviewee

What do the licences exclude?

• Moral and graphic rights
• Unauthorised adaptations and arrangements
• Uses of music that are prejudicial to the composer, artist or relevant copyright owners
• Parodies, burlesques and dramatico-musical works
• Synchronising music with images
• Advertising and sponsorships
• Mobile ringtones
• Podcasting and simulcasting
• Sound recording rights

Need more help?

Contact writerquery@prsformusic.com or publisherquery@prsformusic.com for further information on online services offering music.

The Premium Rate Telephone Services licence is aimed at businesses who use music on their premium telephone services available to the public.

How often should you expect to be paid?

This can vary.

Do we pay you for each track used?

No.

What do we charge a customer for the use of your music?

5% of the gross receipts of the licensed company.

What commission rate do you pay us on the royalties collected?

12.5%

Examples of customers who have signed up to the BG1 scheme include:

• Broadsystem
• Cablecom Productions

The MCPS & PRS for Music Joint Ringbacks is aimed at companies who record music as ringbacks to supply to the UK public.

How often should you expect to be paid?

Due to little or no growth in this product area, we have not yet had any distributions for this scheme.

Do we pay you for each track used?

Yes.

What do we charge a customer for the use of your music?

Either 15% of gross revenue or 15 pence per ringback supplied (whichever is the greater).

£1000 non-returnable advance from licensee offset against royalties accrued on an ongoing basis.

What commission rate do you pay us on the royalties collected?

12.5%

Special Considerations

30 second audio-only clips may be given for consumers to sample before they buy.

What does the scheme exclude?

Mobile phones that can forward or copy ringtones. Visual material (only to be used in vid-tones or pic-tones). Reproduction of lyrics, musical notation, sponsorship/advertising messages.

The MCPS and PRS for Music Ringtone Licences are aimed at companies who offer ringtone services to sell to the UK public.

How often should you expect to be paid?

The main payments are made quarterly but on occasion some payments will be made monthly. The MCPS and PRS for Music royalties will be paid separately and detailed on the relevant statement.

Do we pay you for each track used?

Yes.

What do we charge a customer for the use of your music?

MCPS:

The charge is either 10% of the gross revenue received in relation to the supply of the ringtone or 10p per music per file supplied (whichever is the greater).

An advance payment of £500 is also required and is non-refundable but is offset against the first £500 of royalties accrued.

PRS for Music:

The charge is either 5% of the gross revenue or £0.05 per ringtone file supplied (whichever is the greater), subject to an annual minimum charge of £911.92 +VAT (payable in four quarterly payments of £227.98 +VAT).

What commission rate do you pay us on the royalties collected?

12.5%

Special Considerations

30 second audio-only clips may be given for consumers to sample before they buy.

What do the schemes exclude?

Mobile phones that can forward or copy ringtones. Visual material (only to be used in music related vid-tones or pic-tones). Moral rights. Contentious music. Music used in advertising or sponsorship. Adaptation or dramatico musical works (musicals, operas). Reproduction of lyrics and musical notation.