PPL has reported its revenue figures for 2025, with international as the star performer.
The music licensing company’s revenue rose to £315.3 million in 2025, an increase of 4.75% year-on-year. That’s not far off the 6% growth in 2024 and an improvement on the 4% in 2023.
PPL’s income includes sound recording, public performance and broadcast revenues collected in the UK and globally.
Growth was driven by that strong international performance, alongside stable income across public performance, broadcast and online licensing in the UK.
Net revenue after operating costs and other deductions was £273.0m, while the cost-to-revenue ratio decreased slightly to 13.1%.
Last year, the company paid over 182,000 performers and recording rights-holders (ranging from record companies to self-releasing artists), including 16,000 for the first time.
International revenue breaks rights-holder record
PPL’s international revenue has seen strong growth in the last two years. Following an increase of 7% in 2024, the company more than doubled that with a 16% year-on-year boost in 2025 to £94m. That includes PPL’s highest ever year for international recording rights-holder collections at £10.8m.
It marks quite the turnaround from 2023 when international collections dipped by 3.1% year-on-year, a result partly blamed on disruption to collections during the pandemic and subsequent years.
Since launching its international arm 20 years ago, PPL has collected more than £1 billion in international revenue and collections have almost doubled in the past decade.
PPL has become one of the key global players in neighbouring rights through the proactive monetisation of the 117 agreements it has secured with other collective management organisations (CMOs) across 55 countries. In terms of global rankings, PPL is now potentially one of the biggest (SoundExchange claims to be No.1 globally for neighbouring rights).
Spanning more than 95% of the market by value, PPL continues to expand its reach. Last year, PPL added collections for recording rights-holders in Argentina to its portfolio.
In a statement, the company said it “maximises international collections through a deep and collaborative understanding of partner CMO systems, data and operational processes”.
PPL’s international growth was fuelled by an increase in newly represented performers, the development of new revenue streams, and operational improvements both at PPL and globally. New revenue streams included a successful trial of international production music collections, which generated impressive returns from Germany, France and Belgium.
The company’s continued investment in data and technology was credited with further accelerating payment processing for members, while favourable exchange rates provided an additional uplift to international revenue.
2025 was a strong year that saw our international business turn 20 and deliver more than £1 billion in revenue since its inception
Peter Leathem
Tens of thousands of performers are signed to PPL for international collections. Last year, hundreds of new mandates were signed with established and emerging artists including Mariah Carey, Charli XCX, Alex Warren and Myles Smith.
PPL also retained over 99% of its existing mandates and renewed agreements with performers including Lola Young and Sigala.
Public performance represents 40% of revenue
PPL’s public performance revenue (licensing of recorded music in public places such as shops, bars, restaurants, gyms, offices and warehouses) and dubbing income (licensing of B2B services providing equipment and music to public performance venues) grew by 1% to £122.9m in 2025.
“These results were delivered against a challenging economic backdrop and increased churn in some key licensing sectors, including hospitality, where the number of UK pubs reduced in 2025,” said a statement.
Hundreds of thousands of premises are licensed through Leicester-based PPL PRS, a joint venture between PPL and PRS For Music (the latter representing composers, songwriters and music publishers).
PPL said it highlights the ongoing investment in music by a broad range of businesses to enhance the customer and employee experience. This includes brands such as Amazon, B&Q, British Airways, British Land, DHL, Jaguar Land Rover, Marks & Spencer, Oliver Bonas and Sofology.
PPL’s revenue from fitness venues maintained its growth trajectory reflecting shifts in consumer behaviour, rising 5.6% year-on-year, while income from small businesses grew by 7.2%, as “increasing numbers of employers recognise the value of licensing music in their workplaces”, added the statement. A new jukebox tariff introduced mid-year resulted in a 22% increase in jukebox revenue in the second half of 2025.
Broadcast & online revenues steady
Broadcast and online licensing revenue growth was flat at £98.5m (2024: £98.6m), with PPL licensing music across linear and on-demand TV services, as well as radio and online stations broadcasting in the UK.
In 2025, PPL signed several broadcast deals, including licences with BBC Studios, UKTV and TNT Sports. A number of PPL’s larger broadcast deals were in the middle of their terms, with PPL seeing revenue growth from the adjustment mechanisms contained within these deals due to a combination of inflation and growth in the broadcasters’ online services.
However, this growth was offset by declining linear audiences across the rest of the television market and channels being closed as a result. Paramount Global shuttered MTV music channels in October 2025.
Income from commercial radio was in line with the previous year, against a backdrop of “cautious advertiser spending due to economic headwinds and continued shifts in media consumption”, according to PPL.
PPL increased the number of radio stations it licenses, with over 60 new FM/DAB stations licensed in 2025, in part due to Ofcom’s rollout of small-scale DAB multiplex licences, providing a lower-cost route to market.
On March 31, 2026, PPL distributed £77.7m to more than 28,000 performers and recording rights-holders.
The Q1 distribution constitutes UK and international income collected in the latter part of 2025 and the first few months of 2026.
The Q1 2026 revenue also includes revenue from VPL, PPL’s sister company, which licenses music videos when they are played in public or broadcast on TV.
This quarter’s distribution includes initial payments from CAPIF in Argentina for recording rights-holders.
Peter Leathem OBE, CEO of PPL, said: “2025 was a strong year that saw our international business turn 20 and deliver more than £1 billion in revenue since its inception. These results demonstrate solid overall growth, driven by the continued strength of our international business and the resilience of our core licensing revenues.
“More performers and recording rights-holders are choosing PPL to represent them, and our teams work tirelessly to maximise royalty collections for our members and ensure that revenue flows back to them in a timely manner. PPL’s vision is to be the first choice globally for neighbouring rights and lead the way in innovation and collaboration in the global ecosystem.”
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