TOWIE nightclub banned from playing music after court ruling

Club Miya, Chelmsford, ordered to stop playing recorded music on their premises

On 25 October 2016, Club Miya, in Chelmsford Essex, which has featured prominently in the hit ITV show The Only Way Is Essex, was banned from playing music and ordered to pay music licensing organisations PPL and PRS for Music’s outstanding legal costs for playing recorded music without a licence.

The trial, which started on 28 September 2016, centred on one of the defendants, Ms Kerry Ormes. Ms Ormes was the nightclub's Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) - the key person charged with the day-to-day management of premises under the Licensing Act 2003. Ormes denied being responsible for any infringement at the club, claiming she was not the manager or proprietor, or had any proprietary interest in the running of the club.

Master Clark, who gave the Judgment, found that Ormes was liable for authorising and procuring acts infringing copyright, namely the playing of sound recordings and musical works at the club without licences from PPL and PRS for Music. In giving her Judgment, Master Clark accepted PPL’s and PRS’ evidence summating, it would be unusual for a DPS not to be a person who had managerial control of the premises in order to meet the licensing objectives.

Further, the evidence showed that Ormes acted as the manager of the nightclub, and that her managerial responsibilities would generally include the booking of DJs and promoters. The Master awarded PPL and PRS for Music an injunction against the defendant to prevent further infringement by Ormes at any public premises and awarded damages against Ms Ormes personally. A costs hearing will take place in January 2017.

Music can have many positive benefits for business, whether used for staff and customer entertainment, or to enhance financial gain/profits. We support businesses across all sectors with licensing advice, so that music can be enjoyed by all, and in-turn ensure that the creators of music are fairly and legitimately paid for their work.

There is an intrinsic value that music adds to businesses, and this judgement acknowledges that the creators of the music should be fairly rewarded for this. This ruling demonstrates how seriously the courts treat copyright infringement and reiterates that music can only be played in public if the right licences are obtained. Those businesses that choose to play recorded music without a licence will face legal action as a result.

PPL and PRS for Music regards legal proceedings as very much a last resort but unfortunately they are sometimes necessary. A court can order the business to pay its outstanding music licence fees plus PPL and PRS’ legal costs and issue a court order known as an injunction to stop the business playing recorded music until this is done.

In this instance, in spite of us repeatedly contacting the business owner to get the correct licensing in place, this case was taken to the High Court in London, where the owner was banned from playing any copyrighted recorded music at the venue until a licence is purchased.

About PPL

PPL is the music licensing company which works on behalf of record companies and performers to license recorded music played in public (at pubs, nightclubs, restaurants, shops, offices and many other business types) and broadcast on TV and radio across the UK. Our members include major record labels and independents as well as globally successful performers and session musicians, ranging from orchestral players to percussionists and singers. PPL also operates an international royalty collection service helping members to get paid when their music is played internationally.

About PRS for Music

Here for music since 1914, PRS for Music is a world-leading music collective management organisation representing the rights of more than 175,000 talented songwriters, composers and music publishers. Redefining the global standard for music royalties, PRS for Music ensures songwriters and composers are paid whenever their musical compositions and songs are streamed, downloaded, broadcast, performed and played in public. 

For 110 years it has grown and protected the rights of the music creator community, paying out royalties with more accuracy, transparency and speed. In 2023, PRS for Music paid out £943.6m in royalties and collected a record £1.08 billion in revenues. prsformusic.com