In 2022, PPL paid 244.9 million pounds (303.6 million dollars) to 165,000 performers and copyright holders.
The British music licensing company PPL announced that in 2022 the company paid 244.9 million pounds (303.6 million US dollars) to 165,000 artists and recording rights holders, which is more than 7% more than 228.7 pounds in 2021.
In addition, this is 12.2% more than 147,000 performers and copyright holders in 2021, either as direct members of the PPL or indirectly through other collective management organizations (CMO). The money paid was collected by PPL for the use of recorded music in the UK and abroad and paid through four quarterly distributions to the company in 2022.
This feat marks the largest number of performers and recording rights holders ever paid by PPL in a calendar year, and the second highest amount of money paid by PPL in a calendar year after 2020 – thanks to the collection of records in 2019 before the devastating impact of the COVID pandemic.
The record number of performers and recording rights holders receiving payments reflects the significant technological and operational investments made by PPL and the related rights industry over the past decade, as well as the growing number of PPL participants.
“Over the past decade, PPL has become one of the most successful related rights companies in the world,” says Peter Litem, CEO of PPL. “Not only are we raising hundreds of millions of pounds in the UK and around the world, but every year we distribute this money to more artists and record rights holders than before.”
PPL has one of the most comprehensive repertoire databases of its kind in the world, containing detailed information about performers and rights holders for more than 20 million records. Over the past three years, an average of 45,000 new records have been received every week.
It also works closely with partner organizations in the music industry to develop technologies and operations affecting the related rights sector, and helps improve the quality of metadata recording and the definition of recording usage.
“This is evidence of both the team of experts we have at PPL and the efforts of the sector as a whole. Initiatives such as VRDB and IFPI from SCAPR, as well as RDx from WIN, improve technologies and data that support the global distribution of related rights, thereby ensuring payment to the right people and organizations when playing their recordings,” explains Lytham.
“It’s also nice to be able to pay out more money to performers and copyright holders of recordings than we did in 2021. COVID-19 has naturally affected related rights, but the sector continues to recover well, and more growth is expected in 2023.”.
