PPL pays out £12.7 million of international revenue in Q3 distribution

2 October 2023 – PPL has paid out £12.7 million to more than 25,500 performers and recording rightsholders in its Q3 2023 distribution, which took place on Friday 29 September. The third of four quarterly payments made by PPL annually, these monies paid out by the collective management organisation (CMO) provide a significant revenue stream from neighbouring rights for the recorded music industry.

PPL provides a vital service in helping to ensure that members across multiple genres and territories are paid when their recorded music is played in the UK and internationally. The thousands of performers who have selected PPL to collect international royalties on their behalf include Becky Hill, Digga D, Ellie Goulding, Emeli Sandé, Gregory Porter, Gotcha, and Trevor Horn.

This quarter’s payment is made up of international revenues collected from 69 CMOs around the world, with significant payments from organisations in Belgium, Denmark, France, Spain and the US. It also included £1.9 million from PPL’s sister company VPL, which licenses music videos when they are played in public or broadcast on TV. The revenue being distributed relates to the use of music videos by MTV’s channels across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Commenting on the Q3 distribution, PPL’s Director of International, Laurence Oxenbury, said:

“I’m delighted to see our third multi-million-pound payment of the year go out to thousands of members.

For many of the performers and independent labels included in this international distribution, this payment represents a consistent source of income at a time when the challenges of earning from music are well-documented.  Cross-border collaboration remains a priority for the PPL as we continue to work on maximising the reward for those who create the music which keeps our world turning.”  

This distribution was underpinned by PPL’s significant investment in technology and operations. The Company is a pioneer in the management of metadata, expanding the industry’s knowledge and understanding of who performs on or owns the rights to a specific recording. Its industry-leading Repertoire Database now holds the details of more than 24 million recordings, with over 45,000 being added on average every week.

Supporting its position as the world’s leading international neighbouring rights company, PPL now has 109 agreements in place with overseas counterparts across 49 territories in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North and South America, covering 98% of the global neighbouring rights value, and ensuring its members’ rights are represented in many of the world’s largest music markets.