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PRS for Music is launching a new reporting tool in early 2017 to make it easier and simpler for members to claim royalties from their live gigs.
The service, which will be available for all members, offers a simple, three step reporting process, and can be used on the move via tablet or smartphone.
It also allows members the chance to track the progress of a claim and to duplicate set lists to help save time when inputting performance data.
Tim Arber, PRS for Music’s head of membership support, told M: ‘Our new live reporting tool is a major milestone for our digital transformation programme. It’s essential for our members to report details of the music they performed live so we can pay out royalties for these performances as accurately as possible.
'This tool is easy to use thanks to its modern look and feel and is the first of a number of innovations we will implement for members.’
With the live industry growing every year, securing the correct royalties from these performances is more important than ever for all artists.
Maria Forte, a live music industry expert and consultant, has been working with PRS for Music on researching the live marketplace to inform these initiatives.
She said: ‘Live has changed so much in the last 15 years,’ she says. ‘It’s an enormous industry. At the top end, venues seem to have got much bigger, there are more stadium tours and arena tours than ever. Everything has increased in volume and, therefore, so has the money. It means there’s more at stake.’
PRS for Music's existing Live Concert Service app
While PRS for Music’s Live Concert Service already exists to help members claim royalties from their international live outings, it’s a service the collecting society is also working to enhance in 2017 with a new web responsive app.
International gigs are not only a way for artists to hone their musical talents but also represent a sizeable amount of revenue. An average of £20m is generated each year for PRS for Music members, the majority of which flows from European stages.
The Live Concert Service has helped PRS for Music members playing larger gigs to claim performance royalties for more than 20 years. However, after feedback from these members, research revealed that some were losing out on revenue due to complexities in licensing these gigs in overseas territories.
In one case, a top touring group worked out they’d lost an average of £30,000 per gig, which, over the course of a lengthy live stint, adds up to a sizeable chunk of income.
What does the new app do?
The app will equip PRS for Music members and their representatives with tools to secure full and correct revenues from live concerts. Featuring a tariff calculator, the tool will provide advance estimates of royalty value per concert, as well as ensuring the correct licence tariff rates and box office value are applied for major concerts.
This removes the complexity of applying specific countries’ local tariff to the figures, which often vary significantly from territory to territory.
After a gig, the service also enables members to review the progress of a royalty payment, as well as access a summary of the royalties they will receive after box office and the relevant tariff discounts have been ratified.
Forte said: ‘The app tells you on a territory by territory basis what the published tariff should be, what the applicable discounts might be and, if you plug box office figures in, what the licence fee figure should be on the settlement sheet.’
Iain Black, PRS for Music’s senior international manager (Europe), added: ‘We’ve done this also to help our members in their role as performing artists. It makes PRS for Music a unique collecting society in providing this service to members in their live concert services.
‘This tariff information and calculator can help you work out how much money you will get back as a rightsholder. We’re hoping this service will attract other writers to join PRS for Music. It could help bands of a certain size save potentially hundreds of thousands of pounds on a large European tour.’
The service, which will be available for all members, offers a simple, three step reporting process, and can be used on the move via tablet or smartphone.
It also allows members the chance to track the progress of a claim and to duplicate set lists to help save time when inputting performance data.
Tim Arber, PRS for Music’s head of membership support, told M: ‘Our new live reporting tool is a major milestone for our digital transformation programme. It’s essential for our members to report details of the music they performed live so we can pay out royalties for these performances as accurately as possible.
'This tool is easy to use thanks to its modern look and feel and is the first of a number of innovations we will implement for members.’
With the live industry growing every year, securing the correct royalties from these performances is more important than ever for all artists.
Maria Forte, a live music industry expert and consultant, has been working with PRS for Music on researching the live marketplace to inform these initiatives.
She said: ‘Live has changed so much in the last 15 years,’ she says. ‘It’s an enormous industry. At the top end, venues seem to have got much bigger, there are more stadium tours and arena tours than ever. Everything has increased in volume and, therefore, so has the money. It means there’s more at stake.’
PRS for Music's existing Live Concert Service app
While PRS for Music’s Live Concert Service already exists to help members claim royalties from their international live outings, it’s a service the collecting society is also working to enhance in 2017 with a new web responsive app.
International gigs are not only a way for artists to hone their musical talents but also represent a sizeable amount of revenue. An average of £20m is generated each year for PRS for Music members, the majority of which flows from European stages.
The Live Concert Service has helped PRS for Music members playing larger gigs to claim performance royalties for more than 20 years. However, after feedback from these members, research revealed that some were losing out on revenue due to complexities in licensing these gigs in overseas territories.
In one case, a top touring group worked out they’d lost an average of £30,000 per gig, which, over the course of a lengthy live stint, adds up to a sizeable chunk of income.
What does the new app do?
The app will equip PRS for Music members and their representatives with tools to secure full and correct revenues from live concerts. Featuring a tariff calculator, the tool will provide advance estimates of royalty value per concert, as well as ensuring the correct licence tariff rates and box office value are applied for major concerts.
This removes the complexity of applying specific countries’ local tariff to the figures, which often vary significantly from territory to territory.
After a gig, the service also enables members to review the progress of a royalty payment, as well as access a summary of the royalties they will receive after box office and the relevant tariff discounts have been ratified.
Forte said: ‘The app tells you on a territory by territory basis what the published tariff should be, what the applicable discounts might be and, if you plug box office figures in, what the licence fee figure should be on the settlement sheet.’
Iain Black, PRS for Music’s senior international manager (Europe), added: ‘We’ve done this also to help our members in their role as performing artists. It makes PRS for Music a unique collecting society in providing this service to members in their live concert services.
‘This tariff information and calculator can help you work out how much money you will get back as a rightsholder. We’re hoping this service will attract other writers to join PRS for Music. It could help bands of a certain size save potentially hundreds of thousands of pounds on a large European tour.’
