PPL, the licensing body for U.K. performers and labels, has responded to comments by Global Radio chief executive Ashley Tabor in which he called for a “new balance” in the amount of revenue spent on music royalties.
Commercial radio stations are set to begin negotiations on royalty rates with PPL and the MCPS and PRS collecting societies early next year.
Ahead of the talks, Ashley Tabor, group chief executive of Global Radio, told Media Week that 9% of commercial radio revenue being spent on music royalties was not sustainable. “A new balance needs to be struck,” he said. “We play the material the record companies make, but the huge promotional value the music gets from airplay is worth more than is currently valued.”
In response, PPL issued the following statement: “We look forward to our dialogue with the Radio Centre next year but PPL never discusses its negotiations with licensees in public.
“Our many thousands of record company members and our tens of thousands of performer members make a substantial personal and financial investment in their music. That music, in turn, is a central part of radio programming and the rates stations pay must reflect, in a fair way, its value to their business.”
The commercial sector will be represented in the talks by its marketing body, RadioCentre. Andrew Harrison, chief executive of RadioCentre, will lead negotiations for commercial stations.
