What should be included when reporting radio station usage
Reporting requirements when providing details to PRS for Music.
PRS for Music (PRS) is a collection society representing songwriters, composers and music publishers. We pay royalties to our members when their work is performed, broadcast, streamed, downloaded, reproduced, played in public or used in film and TV.
Therefore when music is played on radio stations, songwriters, composers and publishers are entitled to royalties that we collect on their behalf.
COVID-19 is severely affecting many of our members’ income, so it’s more important than ever that we receive fully complete and accurate reporting to maximise member royalties.
Why do we require broadcast information?
For Radio Stations, we collect either on a census basis or sample day basis. For census stations, reporting every performance and play per work must be provided for every day of the month. For sample days, the same information must be provided for agreed upon days. It is vital that we are provided with the correct information so we can distribute royalties to our members accurately. Failure to do so means a potential risk of loss of royalties to our members.
Supply of a full and accurate Programme Return, including the song title, songwriter(s), composer(s), publisher(s), performing artist(s) and duration, is a key obligation under the Commercial Radio licence, in accordance with clause 9.
This means it is extremely important to provide the full details below, when sending the music usage details to us.
The following information is mandatory and must be provided to us:
- Music Title
- Songwriter/Composer/Performer
- Music Duration
- Times of day banding
- Number of plays
- Transmission Dates (sample days only)
- Campaign/advert details (commercials only)
The following information is optional:
Supplementary data, such as the ISRC, is not mandatory but is incredibly helpful to us and should be provided where possible.
Providing us with the mandatory information, will mean royalties will be paid out to the correct songwriters, composers and music publishers.
Delivering this mandatory information is needed for PRS to grant a licence to a broadcaster for them to use the copyright in the music we represent. If you don’t send the mandatory information, this will breach the conditions of the PRS licence which may result in the termination of the licence and potential legal permission to use the music.
We’d need to raise any missing details with broadcasters, which can lead to queries with outside agencies or production houses, so it’s best to send us accurate reporting first time.
