Music Venue Trust (MVT) has launched a new campaign entitled Set The Record Straight: Fair Licensing Fees.
The charity’s initiative focuses on how PRS For Music licensing fees are calculated, applied and enforced across the UK grassroots music venue sector.
The initiative, led by MVT’s rights management specialist Gareth Kelly, focuses on what the organisation describes as “systemic issues” in the way PRS-related charges are assessed, including the use of estimated data, incorrect capacity calculations and unclear liability between promoters and venues.
Music Venue Trust stressed that the campaign is not a challenge to the principle of PRS licensing itself. However, it argued that inaccuracies in how those fees are calculated and enforced are creating “significant and unnecessary financial pressure within a sector already operating on extremely tight margins”.
Recent work by MVT has identified more than £666,000 in discrepancies linked to PRS-related licensing charges, spanning venues across England, Scotland and Wales. In one case alone, it identified a £90,000 error, a figure MVT says could be enough to permanently close a grassroots venue.
Gareth Kelly said: “PRS licensing should work for everybody – venues, promoters, artists and songwriters. The issue is not whether fees should be paid, they absolutely should. The issue is whether those fees are being calculated accurately, applied fairly and charged to the right party. What we’re seeing too often is a system that relies on assumptions rather than reality, and that can create serious financial consequences for grassroots venues.”
According to MVT, discrepancies have been identified across multiple regions, including more than £56,000 in the North West, over £20,000 in the South West, close to £50,000 in London, more than £80,000 in Wales and over £75,000 in Scotland.
The organisation said that these figures reflect a broader pattern of billing based on estimated rather than actual usage, with charges in some cases linked to maximum theoretical capacity rather than real attendance or sellable space.
PRS licensing should work for everybody – venues, promoters, artists and songwriters
Gareth Kelly
MVT also highlighted ongoing concerns around liability, particularly in cases where grassroots venues are held responsible for PRS fees on promoter-led events. The organisation argues that where promoters control ticket income and event delivery, responsibility for performance rights fees should be more clearly aligned.
MVT said that automated processes linked to disputed or inaccurate fee assessments have resulted in five grassroots venues receiving County Court Judgments, with more than 50 venues facing legal threats.
“The campaign launches at a time when PRS For Music’s Live Popular tariff remains a significant cost for grassroots venues and promoters and with no specific date in the calendar for the full review and significant overhaul of tariffs in the grassroots sector required,” added the statement.
MVT said there is now a “key opportunity to address long-standing concerns around how licensing fees are applied at the grassroots level”.
As part of it its new campaign MVT will roll out a series of explanatory content, case studies and data-led insights designed to improve understanding of licensing practices and highlight where reform is needed. The organisation is also calling for greater transparency in fee calculation, improved data accuracy and a clearer framework around responsibility for licensing payments within the live music ecosystem.
Mark Davyd, CEO of MVT, added: “Licensing systems are complex, and too often they operate in a space that people don’t fully understand. That lack of clarity makes it harder to challenge inaccuracies and easier for problems to persist. This campaign is about bringing transparency into that space and making sure the system works as it should; fairly, accurately and in a way that reflects how grassroots music actually operates.”
A PRS For Music spokesperson said: “Live royalties are the result of a chain of activity — from the writing and performance of a work to the licensing of the venue, the provision of accurate event data, and the submission of set lists. Every link in that chain matters in ensuring writers are paid when their works are performed live.
“PRS licenses venues for the use of music and relies on the data they provide, including capacity and event information. Estimations are only used when the relevant data has not been provided. However, we are continuously investing in and improving the collection of live data to accelerate accurate payment of royalties, including improving setlist collection tools and exploring AI tools to find fan generated setlists to supplement missing data.
“The most effective way to improve outcomes for songwriters is through shared responsibility across the live music ecosystem, and we will continue to work with all parties across the live sector to strengthen every part of that process.”
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