PRS for Music

Today's UK Music Ltd Diversity Report 2024, reveals an up-to-date snapshot of those who work behind the scenes in the UK music industry. The survey was completed by 2,874 people from across the sector. Our Director of Talent, Culture & Experience Jay T (Janeace) Thompson CIPD Assoc. welcomed the report and reiterated PRS's continued commitment to diversity and inclusion: "I am a strong believer that embracing diversity, in all its forms, is essential to building and sustaining progression. The appetite for inclusion remains high at PRS for Music and the changes we have made to our recruitment and talent attraction processes, which focus on skills-based hiring and performance over qualifications and job titles, have been effective in helping to remove bias from our processes. We still have some distance to go but I’m hopeful this will help towards achieving the parity we seek at every level across our industry.” Read the report at: https://lnkd.in/eyqKafrn

📢 Royalty admin rate reduction set to deliver £6million a year boost for songwriters and composers from online services. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eFSFeYWK

PRS was created by members, for members. Our thanks to those who attended the #PRSAGM and voted to determine how their society is run. Here's a roundup from the Annual General Meeting this week: - Royalty admin rate reduction announced - Stevie Spring CBE was officially appointed as Chair of the PRS Board who replaces outgoing Chair Stephen Davidson - Pete Woodroffe, Mike Stobbie, Laura Young (S2k Music Limited) and Phil Rose (Sentric) appointed to the PRS Members' Council - Announced a comprehensive review of admin rates next year - New voting category introduced - New governance changes approved Read more: https://lnkd.in/dwzWbJ9W

Yesterday at the #PRSMembersDay I spoke about the founding basis on which PRS for Music was established in 1914. So much has changed over the past 110 years, but the idea which brought those first members together was simple... collectively songwriters and composers are stronger. That idea still underpins everything we do today, united in their shared interests to better protect their rights and maximise the value of their works in a cost-efficient way. It is the reason why the royalties we collect and pay our members are the most important measures of our success. Therefore, I was delighted to report another year of unprecedented financial results for 2023. Paying out a record-breaking £943m in royalties. £107m more than in 2022. And we broke £1bn in revenue for the first time. These are truly outstanding numbers which reflect the endeavours of the whole PRS team, the Board and Members’ Council to continually drive us forward on behalf of those we represent. On the topic of representing our members, we know there is a lot of talk about streaming services diversifying their offering, or bundling. But music creators are the very core of appeal to their subscribers. The future success of these platforms depends upon the rights of songwriters and composers and the works they create. I urge those platforms to think carefully before they depart from the spirit of partnership or take songwriters and composers for granted. One constant throughout PRS’s 110 years is that our members will fight with everything they have for the value they deserve.

We'll be live streaming our #PRSMembersDay and #PRSAGM tomorrow from 1:30pm - 4:30pm. Join us at prsformusic.com/agm to watch.

We paid out an unprecedented £943.6 Million in royalties to songwriters, composers and music publishers in 2023 and collected a massive £1.08 billion in revenues, more than a 12% (£120.9 million) increase on 2022. Our cost-to-income ratio fell to a new low of just 9.2%, down from 9.3% the previous year. This important measure shows that our targeted investments in people, technologies and services, are delivering significant returns on investment for members. Our CEO Andrea C. Martin, ICD.D said of the results: 'Our remarkable performance in 2023 is a testament to the team’s hard work behind the scenes of the music industry. We're not just surpassing financial milestones at the lowest cost-to-income ratio amongst our peers; we're orchestrating a significant shift in the music business. My vision to ascend to a billion-pound society in royalties paid out isn't just a goal—it reflects our commitment to music creators worldwide. With our focus on innovation and strategic partnerships, including the recent pioneering Project Nexus, we're shaping the future of our business and redefining how rights are managed globally. For 110 years we have existed to ensure that every music creator receives fair compensation for their artistry, wherever and whenever their music is played.' See the full results: https://lnkd.in/eYZjMgnw

The #PRSAGM is just around the corner, it’s a chance to hear what we are doing to support members and their chance to ask questions and vote on the proposed resolutions, including the changes to the PRS Members’ Council. Here’s a short video outlining some of the changes we're proposing at this year’s AGM to fine tune the way we work and give members more say in how PRS is run. Principal Voting and Voting members can RSVP and appoint a proxy until 3pm on 31 May 2024 at prsformusic.com/agm

We're at #MusicBiz2024 in Nashville this week to share how we are driving solutions to fix global metadata issues and protect music rights. Mark Krajewski, our Managing Director, Strategic Alliances and Chief Information Officer will join Susan Butler, Declan Rudden and Kim Beauchamp for a keynote session exploring in development solutions to global music industry metadata challenges. John Mottram, our Chief Strategy, Communications & Public Affairs Officer will be joined by Susan Butler, Emily Stephenson and Maurice Russell discussing the increasing importance of music rights protection and the robust anti-fraud frameworks and regulations that are in place to ensure the protection of music rights. Do join us at these sessions taking place on Wednesday 15 May - for the full programme of events see https://lnkd.in/dqsKYGgQ #MetadataSummit

Our business development manager Sophie Elliott Sheen & senior acquisitions manager Kerryn Hill will be at The Media Production & Technology Show next week sharing insights into the world of music licensing. Find out more at: https://lnkd.in/eMZCisDc #MPTS2024

🗳️ Calling all PRS members - Your Vote Matters Voting members - today is your last chance to vote for who you want to represent your interests on the Members’ Council – the voice of the PRS Community. Voting closes at 5pm today. https://lnkd.in/eYEsytrc #PRSAGM