An update on PPL’s public affairs activity

Our public affairs work, where we are engaging with government and regulators on matters of relevance to our membership, involves a mix of both direct engagement and inputting to wider UK music industry lobbying via other bodies, such as UK Music and the British Copyright Council. The approach will depend on the subject matter and we continue to find this mix works well – it enables us to both draw on skills from across PPL’s business and also make good use of the specialist resource at those other organisations to amplify our messaging on behalf of our members.

Over recent months the focus of our public affairs activity has remained on matters relating to Brexit or COVID-19 and has included the following:

• Brexit: We have been seeking to ensure that our members’ interests are being put forward in the various international trade deals the UK has been negotiating following Brexit. This activity has involved both direct engagement with government and supporting the music industry’s lobbying efforts through our membership of UK Music. The objective of this work is to seek to protect our members’ current rights and standards and also maximise opportunities for improvements in the rights position in other countries. We have also supported the broader industry call for action to address the adverse impacts Brexit has had on touring, such as the challenges presented for securing work permits and transporting instruments.
• Covid-19: We have been supporting UK Music’s work highlighting to government both the significant economic value of live music, and the role our members can play in the post-pandemic recovery, and also stress the industry need for economic support.  As we see a gradual reopening of venues following lockdown, we have been keen to support our public performance licensees drawing on the benefits of using our members’ recorded music, where it is safe to do so, and that any government guidance around this is clear.

In addition to these areas, we have contributed to industry submissions on other topics that Government has been consulting on, such as its recent Call for Views on Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property.  We have also been monitoring the progress of the DCMS Select Committee inquiry into the economics of music streaming