[cma-l] Music Royalties

Fri Feb 25 15:55:57 GMT 2011

Ian

Many thanks for your email. I will try to answer your points in turn.

The CMA is not a licence fee collection agency and we do not enforce
MCPS licensing.  The CMA has argued and continues to argue for a
complete and total review of the music licensing system as it is
applied to the community radio sector by PPL and PRS for Music.

It is the CMA's argument that all music licensing fees should be
reduced for the sector on the basis that under the terms of the
Community Radio Order 2004 community stations are defined as a local
amenity provided primarily for the good of the members of the public
or for a particular community, rather than primarily for commercial
reasons. They are also required to deliver social gain, be run on a
not-for-profit basis, involve members of their target communities and
be accountable to the communities that they serve.

The CMA would also like to see a distinction made between those
stations that carry advertising and those that do not - with a lower
licence fee applying to those stations that do not carry advertising.
We have also made the case that the Annual Net Broadcasting Revenue
bands for both PRS for Music and PPL should be revised upwards in
order to allow community stations to generate more advertising and
sponsorship revenue before the higher licensing tariffs are applied.

The CMA does not act for the retail sector and so we would not wish to
represent their interests to PPL and PRS for Music.

PRS for Music and PPL operate in accordance with the 1988 Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act and collect and distribute music royalties on
behalf of their members - and this is not within Ofcom's remit to
enforce.

The CMA continues to seek independent legal counsel with regard to
music licensing for the sector and we will keep making the case to PPL
and PRS for Music for fair treatment for community broadcasters.

Hope that helps and best regards

Bill
-- 
Community Media Association
http://www.commedia.org.uk/
http://twitter.com/community_media
Facebook Fans: http://bit.ly/cog8n5

Canstream Internet Radio & Video
http://www.canstream.co.uk/

On 25 February 2011 14:59, Ian Hickling <transplanfm at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> Bill
> Do you really believe that anyone should have to pay for simply copying
> music from one format to another?
> At all?
> Surely - people who use music for gain should be the only ones who pay - and
> they should pay as and when they use it.
> Simply having music stored in a retrieval system should not require any
> payment to anyone.
> It's not actually doing anything.
> This would make MCPS entirely redundant in a broadcasting environment.
> Paying to record output for mandatory logging is utterly ridiculous.
> Demanding that shop owners pay Royalties again when they are providing music
> from radio for which Royalties have aready been paid once - not as a "Public
> Performance" but on private premises - is fraudulent.
> Radio stations should pay when they play, yes, but according to a realsitic
> measure of how many consumers they are serving.
> This would mean that CR stations will be paying very little.
> Oh dear - how sad - never mind.
> I've always said that Ofcom should deal with this - as they are all
> apparently legal requirements to broadcast - and bill with Licence Fees all
> in one go.
> Surely not too much to ask?
>
> ________________________________
>
>
>> From: bill.best at commedia.org.uk
>> Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2011 13:10:50 +0000
>> To: cma-l at commedia.org.uk
>> Subject: Re: [cma-l] does anyone know ?
>>
>> Hi Nick
>>
>> Thanks for your email.
>>
>> Not quite sure what you are on about here but I'm guessing it is the
>> recent introduction of the mechanical rights licence (MCPS) at a flat
>> fee of £182.48 (plus VAT) for the period 1st October 2010 – 30th
>> September 2011.
>>
>> The situation was that up until this current licensing period, PRS for
>> Music did not have a scheme in place to cover the mechanical rights
>> licence. All previous licences from PRS for Music included the
>> following wording regarding the MCPS licence:
>>
>> "Your details will be held on file, and contact will be made once PRS
>> for Music is in a position to issue the licence. For budgeting please
>> allow the same minimum fee as PRS for Music, £607 plus VAT per licence
>> year."
>>
>> The CMA received news that PRS for Music was considering plans to
>> introduce a charge for the MCPS licence at a cost of up to the same
>> amount for the Performing Rights Licence (PRS) which is £636 for 1st
>> October 2010 – 30th September 2011 - effectively a 100% increase in
>> licence fees for community radio stations.
>>
>> The CMA vigorously argued against this 100% increase in the licence
>> fee for community radio stations and PRS for Music conceded to charge
>> a fee of £182.48 plus VAT for MCPS.
>>
>> The CMA will continue to argue for fair treatment of non-for-profit
>> community radio stations with regard to the licensing fees. For
>> example, only this week I attended a meeting of the Community Sector
>> Law Monitoring Group to discuss how copyright law is applied to our
>> sector and the CMA is still seeking further legal opinion to ensure
>> that community radio stations are treated fairly in comparison to
>> other voluntary and community sector organisations.
>>
>> Hope that helps and best regards
>>
>> Bill
>> --
>> Community Media Association
>> http://www.commedia.org.uk/
>> http://twitter.com/community_media
>> Facebook Fans: http://bit.ly/cog8n5
>>
>> Canstream Internet Radio & Video
>> http://www.canstream.co.uk/
>>
>> On 25 February 2011 11:33, Office - ccr-fm <office at ccr-fm.co.uk> wrote:
>> > Dear All
>> >
>> > As it now seems to be ‘’’kicking off’’’ on yet another front ……… (PRS)
>> > could someone (preferably from the CMA) (Jaqui / Bill ??)    enlighten
>> > me as
>> > to what was actually negotiated with the PRS …..
>> > ?                            I was on the understand it was a bogged
>> > standard rate agreed by all parties.
>> >
>> > On the bureaucratic front would it not be sensible and easier for all
>> > concerned to simply be invoiced for the ‘agreed’ amount …… return the
>> > invoice with a signature and a cheque.
>> >
>> > Has something been agreed or has it not been agreed
>> > ??                    or
>> > …………… was it negotiated with an option left in small print for the Ivory
>> > Towers troop to move the goalposts, as this is how it appears to me.
>> >
>> > I’m just trying to establish what we are meant to be paying as a none
>> > business, not-for-profit group ?     ( we could be very soon a charity
>> > as
>> > well.)          The payments for the PRS are related to music used for
>> > our
>> > broadcasting              I think
>> > ?????????                                             so, I ask the
>> > question
>> > again …. Has anyone paid above the £700 ?        How much ?      and Why
>> > ?
>> >
>> > As a fraturnity and brotherhood can we also stop hiding in the trench
>> > waiting for others to fire the bullets and get a bad name for themselves
>> > …………… ie:-   moi’   !            All I am attempting to do is to fight
>> > for a
>> > fair and simple system for everyone so that everyone is charged and pays
>> > their dues according to ability to pay. In fact I could go one further
>> > on
>> > this topic and ask why the CMA hasn’t negotiated a special rate for
>> > those 16
>> > stations who are already struggling for funding regarding the adverts on
>> > air
>> > / sponsorship debacle as we appear to be getting ‘crapped on’ from all
>> > angles …………………………. We are not allowed to earn the money but have to fork
>> > out
>> > the same as everyone else …………… one rule for one and different rules for
>> > others.
>> >
>> > Well I ain’t certainly rolling over and dieing ……     I’ll stand up and
>> > be
>> > counted. Once it is all put to bed maybe I will be able to join in the
>> > message board comminications on a positive note as opposed to negative
>> > angst
>> > all the time ……………….. not caused by me by the way.
>> >
>> > Nick