Music royalties firm PPL collects record revenues of £247m for artists
Music licensing company PPL has reported its highest-ever annual revenues as it paid out to a record number of musicians and rights holders.
PPL, which is one of the UK’s two main royalties agencies, collected revenues for its members of £246.8m in 2018, up 13 per cent on the previous year.
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The growth was driven by a surge in revenues from its international collections, which soared 43 per cent to £70.9m.
Revenues from broadcast and online also ticked up five per cent, while public performance and dubbing rose three per cent.
It came as PPL distributed royalties to 105,000 performers and recording rights holders, the first time the company has paid out to more than 100,000 people in one financial year. In the last 12 months the firm has signed deals with artists including Rita Ora, Emeli Sande and Plan B.
Chief executive Peter Leathem said: “2018 was another positive year for collections at PPL and we have continued to grow the number of performers and recording rights holders that benefit from our collections.
“In 2019 we will continue to invest in our people, our technology and our data, and with further innovation will aim to deliver another year of high quality service to our members.”
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Figures published by trade body BPI showed UK record label revenues hit their highest level in almost a decade last year, as subscriptions to streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music continue to grow.
But industry figures have warned about a so-called value gap and have called for more stringent copyright measures to ensure revenues are returned to musicians and producers.