Unpaid Royalties from UK Concerts Cost Songwriters Millions

A new report by _The Guardian_ suggests songwriters are missing out on millions of pounds in royalties every year, stretching across more than 100,000 gigs and performances across the UK.

The background:

• UK organization PRS for Music collects and pays royalties when its members’ music is played in public, broadcast, downloaded, streamed or performed live in the UK or around the world.

• In a live context, PRS takes a small percentage cut of gross ticket sales from every performance, then distributes the royalties to the relative songwriters after matching them with the setlists.

• As per The Guardian, royalties from more than 100,000 gigs across the UK have been collected by the agency but have not been paid to songwriters as PRS “cannot identify when [the artists’] songs have been performed.”

• The unpaid monies then sit in PRS’s “black box.”

• Though PRS does not reveal how much income is in the black box, The Guardian claims to have seen documents showing that in 2019 alone it amounted to £2.7 million.

• PRS redistributes unclaimed black box money to the market after three years, using its own formula to determine the distributions.

Legal issues:

• The agency is currently facing legal action regarding that distribution of black box funds.

• In April 2024 Blur drummer Dave Rowntree led a class action against PRS claiming it misallocated “hundreds of millions of pounds in royalties” from its black box income.

• PRS dismissed the claims as “factually incorrect.”

• The competition appeal tribunal is currently determining whether Rowntree’s case will be certified as a class action.

• A separate suit launched last June by Pace Rights Management also pertains to how PRS distributes its black box money.

• The case is proceeding at the High Court, with an alternative dispute resolution meeting scheduled for 25 September.

From PRS:

• PRS claims to have paid out a record £1.02 billion ($1.39bn) to rights holders in 2024, up 8% on 2023.

• In a statement to The Guardian, PRS said it “dedicated significant resources to match live performances to works, and ensure songwriters and composers receive the royalties they are due.”

• Those efforts include piloting a tool that turns photos of handwritten setlists into readable text. It also sends staff to events to collect setlists, even though venues and promoters are obliged to provide the agency with setlists from each show.