What do MCPS and PRS do?
MCPS (Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society) and PRS (Performing Right Society) are not-for-profit collecting societies. Both organisations have been formed by copyright owners (composers, songwriters and music publishers) to license their music and to collect and distribute the subsequent royalties.
When do you need an MCPS/PRS licence?
Whenever a piece of music is copied, or a copy of a piece of music is issued to the public (MCPS), or whenever a piece of music is broadcast or performed publicly (PRS).
What's the difference between MCPS and PRS?
MCPS is a not-for-profit organisation, which collects and distributes royalties for its composer and publisher members whenever a piece of music is copied or that copy is issued to the public.
PRS is a not-for-profit organisation, which collects and distributes public performance royalties for its composers, songwriters and music publishers.
What constitutes a public performance?
Any performance of copyright music, whether live or recorded, that takes place outside the home is regarded as a public performance and will usually require a licence from PRS. Licences are usually issued to the owner of the premises where the music is being performed.
How do we process royalties?
MCPS negotiates and licences those who wish to copy music and then pays the royalties that are generated from this process to the copyright owners.
PRS collect a licence fee, assembles information about the use of music in the UK (see survey data in Facts & Figures) and pays royalties to the relevant parties.
Why would you need a music licence?
If you play music in your business or want to include it in a product (e.g. CD, website, toys) you will need to obtain PRS or MCPS clearance. It doesn't matter how little music you play or use, or where you play it, you still need to obtain clearance.
Clearance ensures that the music use is authorised and the relevant copyright owners (songwriter, publisher, record company or artist) receive royalties for the use of their music.
What do we do if people don't pay their licence fees?
If licence fees aren't paid, we can take legal action. Everyone who is considering using music is encouraged to contact us beforehand to arrange the appropriate licence. We can talk to them about their responsibilites and the costs involved so they can build these into any business plan.
MCPS operates an anti-piracy unit that carries out investigations into the illegal copying of music in the UK. The unit works alongside UK police forces and trading standards services, accompanying them on raids and providing evidence for subsequent legal actions.
Are we licensing online music?
Yes. Our licences cover all current online music activity and our approach has been developed in consultation with the online music industry to facilitate a broad range of business models.
For more information on this please refer to our Online Licensing Schemes