What does PRS do?
The PRS primary role is collecting royalties from music users in the UK such as, broadcasters, music in cable production services & mobile DJ’s. PRS also collects royalties from around the world for its members through reciprocal agreements with collecting societies overseas.
PRS collects the royalties by issuing a licence to the music user (usually charged on an annual basis). In order to then make royalty payments to its members, PRS needs to know what music is being played. Major users, such as the BBC and large concert venues, give PRS detailed reports of the music they play. For many other venues including commercial discos, clubs and pubs, PRS sends researchers to obtain first hand information.
With an estimated 8 billion public performances in the UK every year it is not possible to track every one. To pay out these royalties, statistical methods are used based on actual performance information.
