Music Licensing for Short-Term Let Operators in Scotland

The following guidance is for short-term let operators in Scotland and outlines the regulations in regard to music royalty for the use of music in the property (including TV and radio).

PPL PRS choose not to charge a royalty for the use of music (including TV and radio) in self-catering apartment(s) or holiday cottage(s) etc where all of the following criteria is met:

• The accommodation consists of three self-catering units* or fewer, irrespective of the number of bedrooms in each.
• The premises is the sole holiday let, self-catering apartments, holiday cottage business operated or owned by the proprietors
• Facilities are only available to resident guests (and, in the case of holiday premises, the proprietors)

The fee structure is based upon the Small Residential Hotels and Guest House Tariff. We did not manage to get a dedicated Self-Catering Tariff, although we are still working on this.
We have example case studies of what charg es might look like for larger business, which are considerably less than some of the charges previously levied. For example, an operator with 4 properties in a single site would be paying £61.77.

PRS Higher Rate Royalty:
If an operator has not applied for and obtained PRS for Music’s licence before musical performances commence, a higher (standard rate plus 50%) royalty rate will be charged and payable for the first year of the licence. After the first year of the licence, the standard royalty rate will be charged and payable.

We have negotiated an ‘amnesty’
for the first-year surcharge of 50%, if operators proactively contact PPL/PRS and pay before the end of March 2023. For this to apply you will need to contact PPL/PRS as described below and pay by 31 March 2023.

If a non-exempt operator proactively contacts PRS PPL and applies and pays for a licence before 31 March 2023, PRS PPL have agreed to waive the 50% surcharge.

Quote PPLPRSMAR23.

You will need to proactively contact PRS PPL for this to be applied.

PRS PPL can be contacted, and licences applied for via their website https://pplprs.co.uk
or by phone on 08000 720 808

Music Licensing FAQS
The term “self-catering units/premises” in this document refers to short term lets in holiday cottages and self-catering apartments.

Who are PPL and PRS?

• PPL and PRS for Music are both collective management organisations. They issue licences and distribute royalties for the use of copyright-protected music, on behalf of their many thousands of members.
• PPL represents record companies and performers for the use of recorded music, while PRS for Music represents songwriters, composers and music publishers for the use of musical compositions and lyrics (for both recorded music and live performances).
• PPL and PRS for Music set up PPL PRS Ltd in 2018 to offer a single joint music licence, “TheMusicLicence”, for playing and performing music in public.

Why do I need a licence?

• Under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, permission is needed from the relevant copyright holders – those who create, record and publish music – in order to play or perform music in public.
• Broadly speaking, this includes any presentation of music outside of a domestic setting. For example, it will include using music in the following ways as part of your business or organisation (for the benefit of customers and/or employees): playing recorded music via any device, including the radio; TV broadcasts, or other audio-visual content, containing music; or putting on live performances of music.

How do you calculate the royalties payable?
Royalties are calculated under the relevant PPL and PRS tariffs depending on the type of music usage. The charges applied under the tariffs are set independently by each of PPL and PRS and the current versions of the relevant tariffs can be found here, https://pplprs.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/PPLPP289-Small-residential-hotels-guesthouses-Jan-2023.pdf and https://pplprs.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/HR-2022-07-Tariff.pdf.

The most frequent uses are background music in areas for general resident use, such as lounges or kitchen, music contained within television or radio broadcasts delivered to common areas and guest bedrooms, and live music events. (See details below)

What are the most common uses of music in self-catering premises that may require a licence?

Televisions and radios provided for general use

• Where the premises are rented out to groups that are not solely comprised of families and friends for PPL, and to an audience outside of proprietor’s domestic or home circle for PRS, for example corporate lets for team away days, both a PPL and PRS royalty will be payable for the use of televisions and radios provided for the general use of all residents.
• Where the premises are solely rented out to groups comprised of an audience outside of proprietor’s domestic or home circle and a television or radio is provided for general use in an area such as a lounge, then while a PRS royalty will be payable, PPL currently does not charge a royalty.

Provision of CD player/ docking stations

• PPL and PRS royalties will be payable for the use of music by way of a CD or docking station but only when you supply the guests with both the equipment and the music (for example, a CD player in conjunction with a library of CD’s or a docking station together with a digital library contained on a device such as an iPod, MP3 player or similar).
• In addition, for PRS only, royalties will be required when you provide a DVD/Video player in conjunction with DVD or Video copies for the use of the guests.

Provision of Alexa/Google Nest/Sonos systems.

• PPL and PRS royalties for the use of music by such systems will only be required if, in addition to you providing the physical equipment, you also provide the music such as by allowing customers access to your account to stream music or to a database of tracks to play via Sonos or similar system.

Why do I have to pay for the use of music by way of televisions and radios in general areas and
guest bedrooms?

• A TV licence only allows you to receive the broadcast signal for the television. Music is used all the time within the transmission of broadcasts of TV programmes (for example, in advertisements during commercial breaks, programme theme tunes and incidental music within programmes) and therefore, if televisions and/or radios are provided in guest bedrooms a PRS royalty will be payable.
• A PPL royalty is only payable if the television signal is received by the proprietor and the retransmitted (for example, where there are three self-catering units but only one aerial and the signal is received via that aerial and then retransmitted to the other two units). In such cases a royalty will be payable to PPL and charged under its tariff for the supply of recorded music to hotel bedrooms contained within its small residential hotels and guesthouses tariff https://pplprs.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/PPLPP289-Small-residential-hotels-guesthouses-Jan-2023.pdf
• Live music events and discos Where the premises are rented out to groups that are not solely comprised of families and friends, for example such as corporate lets for team meetings/away days and either live music, such as a band or discos/DJ presentations are provided then additional royalties may be payable to PPL and/or PRS.

Are there any additional charges that might be payable?

PRS Higher Rate Royalty:
Where the customer has not applied for and obtained PRS for Music’s licence before musical performances commence, the higher (standard rate plus 50%) royalty rate will be charged and payable for the first year of the licence. After the first year of the licence, the standard royalty rate will be charged and payable.

PPL Surcharge:
Certain PPL tariffs contain a surcharge. Where a customer has been invoiced and not paid that invoice by the due date, a 50% surcharge may be applied. If this is the case a separate surcharge invoice will be issued at this time.

Are there any circumstances when fees are not charged?

Discretionary Charging Policy:
PPL PRS Ltd charges for music in hotels and other holiday accommodation businesses.

• PRS for Music considers the use of music in self-catering apartments, holiday cottages etc as equivalent to music use in a hotel or guest house, and therefore a PRS for Music licence is required. Many holiday accommodation businesses include self-catering apartments or cottages, in some form.
• Each self-catering apartment or holiday cottage is treated as the equivalent of one bedroom/suite (regardless of the number of bedrooms or TVs/CDs in the cottage) and charged under Tariff HR Section 4.5. The lowest level of charge is calculated on 15 bedrooms and a minimum annual licence royalty is applicable. A seasonal reduction (Section 4.7) may apply if the apartments or cottages are open for not more than 26 weeks in the licence year, subject to the minimum quoted in that section of the tariff.

All self-catering apartment(s), holiday cottage(s) etc on one site can be considered as one licence, for the purpose of applying the minimum charge.

However, where PRS for Music discretionary charging policy applies, PRS for Music choose not to charge a royalty for the use of music (including TV and radio) in self-catering apartment(s) or holiday cottage(s) etc where all of the following criteria is met:

• The accommodation consists of three self-catering units* or fewer, irrespective of the number of bedrooms in each.
• The premises is the sole holiday, self-catering apartments, holiday cottage business operated or owned by the proprietors
• Facilities are only available to resident guests (and, in the case of holiday premises, the proprietors)

PPL operates a discretionary charging policy and chooses not to charge a royalty for the use of music (including TV and radio) in self-catering apartment(s) or holiday cottage(s) etc where all of the following criteria are met:

• The accommodation consists of three self-catering units or fewer, irrespective of the number of bedrooms in each.
• The premises is the sole holiday, self-catering apartments or holiday cottage business operated or owned by the proprietors
• Facilities are only available to resident guests (and, in the case of holiday premises, the proprietors)

Example Fees payable: See table below.

Disclaimer

Guidance Sheets are written by experienced Members of the ASSC and other experts. The information in the ‘Guidance Sheet’ is provided by the ASSC for use by Members in support of their own independent business decisions. It does not constitute advice or instruction for which the ASSC can be held liable in any way whatsoever. All Members and other readers remain responsible for the consequences of any decisions taken whether in the light of information gained from this Guidance Sheet or not.