Pete Woodroffe
Proposed for appointment by: Julian Nott, Tom Gray, Dru Masters, V V Brown, Iain Archer, Gary Osborne, Joe Elliot, James Bourne, Kim Appleby, Jez Ashurst
Biography
Pete spent the nineties producing four Def Leppard albums including their hits When Love and Hate Collide, Action and Two Steps Behind. He became a member of PRS in 1999 and has focussed on songwriting ever since. Hits include So Not Over You for Simply Red, Come Get Some for Rooster and Ticket Outta Loserville for Son of Dork. He’s also landed synchs with Ford, Oral B, Cornetto, Mercedes Benz, Universal Pictures, and McDonalds. He first realised the need for writers to wake up to the changing economics of the music industry in 2010, when his co-write Superman by Joe Brooks generated very little income from YouTube despite 27 million streams. Rather than just complain about the state of the world, Pete decided to get involved.
He joined the PRS Writer Member Operations Group in 2012 and was later elected to the SEC at what was then BASCA (now The Ivors Academy). While at BASCA he asked PRS to reconsider allowing YouTube to sponsor music business awards and events. It was surely wrong to be drinking champagne paid for by companies who weren’t paying songwriters the market rate for their work. Once elected to the Members Council in 2021 he joined the Licensing Committee, Distribution Committee, AI Working Group, GEOL Sub Group, attended the Audit Committee and last year was elected by the Members’ Council to the Board of PRS. He’s also become a Trustee of the PRS Member’s Fund.
Current and recent directorships: Performing Rights Society Limited and PRS for Music Limited
Members’ Council attendance since last appointment: 10 out of 10 meetings.
Manifesto
Creators need to be paid more for their work. This is the one, clear and simple fact that serves as my guiding principle every single day at PRS. And that’s why I’m here to ask for your vote in this Election – to keep fighting, so that creating music can be a sustainable way to earn a living.
Three years ago, you elected me to the Member’s Council and since then I’ve been committed to protecting your rights and ensuring your music earns as much as it possibly can.
One of our biggest problems as creators is the unacceptably low income we receive from streaming. It falls to ICE Services to negotiate these rates, but PRS needs to keep pushing ICE to get better deals. Between 2019 and 2022 (most recent published figures) streaming income has increased 45%. But we have to do more.
If you’re an unpublished writer who earns streaming income through PRS it’s crucial that you also join MCPS because they collect half of your streaming income.
We’ve put up hurdles to make buyouts harder for media companies.
As a member of the AI working group, we’re creating a policy that will both protect creators from the ingestion of their works and the competition which generative AI created works will bring.
I’ve helped fight for a fairer voting system for writers so that your votes have more power to drive change at PRS. I also supported media writers on the newly formed LCAG (Licensing Committee Advisory Group) so that their voice is heard loud and clear.
Please vote for me so that I can continue to fight for your rights. My work for PRS is something I take extremely seriously and in the last three years I’ve not missed a single meeting.
Feel free to get in touch on: pete.woodroffe@risingtidemusic.co.uk
IMPORTANT: Publication of this statement, or any subsequent communication of it, does not constitute endorsement or the promotion of the candidate by the Society, or any member of its management or staff.
The statement has been written by the candidate and has not been altered in any way. The views and/or opinions expressed are the candidate’s own.
