PRS for Music Partners With Soundtrack for Usage-Based Royalties
Soundtrack is a streaming service marketed towards businesses
UK copyright collective PRS for Music has partnered with the B2B streaming service Soundtrack to distribute royalties for music played in bars, shops, and other public spaces. As of now, the partnership is tracking 7,000 UK businesses.
How it works:
PRS will begin paying out royalties from this data in December 2026.
This partnership adds on top of PRS’s current work with background music providers.
With this data, PRS will rely less on estimated usage.
Background:
Businesses that use Soundtrack include Ole & Steen, Uniqlo, Dr. Martens, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Kiehl’s, Joe & The Juice, and TAG Heuer.
The UK Parliament uses Soundtrack as well.
What they said:
Ola Sars, Founder, CEO, and Chairman of Soundtrack: “Soundtrack research shows that in most countries, public performance royalties are distributed based on proxy data and not actual usage, this partnership proves that there is a better solution available. We’re closing the gap with consumer streaming and bringing the same digital accuracy and standards to the music-for-business market.”
Ben McOwen Wilson, CEO of PRS for Music: “Our focus at PRS is simple: to pay our members as accurately and as quickly as we can. When songwriters’ and composers’ music is being used, we want the information that allows us to recognize that use and get the right royalties paid to them. We’ve been working with partners in this way for years, and our new partnership with Soundtrack gives us actual usage data from thousands more businesses across the UK. It’s another important step toward making our distributions reflect the music that people are really listening to.”
👋 Disclosures & Transparency Block
This article was written with information sourced from Music Business Worldwide.
We covered it because it represents an update in how rights holders can be paid for their works.
