UK collecting society PRS for Music is in the spotlight again – this time thanks to a letter from some prominent songwriters asking it to justify its expenses.
Bloomberg reported on the letter, signed by songwriters including Thom Yorke, Paul McCartney and Elton John, which asked for a review of the collecting society’s administration costs. “This request is prompted by growing concerns about the transparency, accuracy and overall representation of members’ interests,” explained the letter.
For its part, PRS for Music said that the letter “highlights the challenges of collecting data from hundreds of thousands of businesses and matching against millions of individual works to accurately pay royalties”. It added that it has met with representatives of the songwriters who signed the letter to discuss potential changes.
A separate legal action against PRS for Music led by Blur drummer Dave Rowntree, focusing on ‘black box’ royalties, was recently rejected by the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal.
