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jon

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Guest idol_wild
PRS is bloody brilliant, free money. It used to be a 100 pound lifetime payment for membership but these days they just take 10 pounds from your first royalty payment.

Nice.

Can anyone else offer some positive or negative opinions about PRS? It's something I'm seriously considering looking into as I am releasing a couple of things this year and I've already been getting airplay and it'd be nice to know if I'd be entitled to anything or whether it is even worth spending the time to bother applying, and such like.

Penny for your thoughts and experiences.

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Nice.

Can anyone else offer some positive or negative opinions about PRS? It's something I'm seriously considering looking into as I am releasing a couple of things this year and I've already been getting airplay and it'd be nice to know if I'd be entitled to anything or whether it is even worth spending the time to bother applying, and such like.

Penny for your thoughts and experiences.

Get signed up Phil. Mainstream radio is roughly 70 pounds a play. There is also the gigs and club scheme, which entitles you to money from just playing gigs in small bars ect. Festivals are great earners as well.

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Jon, you'd be best signed up for the PRS writer membership. For performers on music they didn't write, don't forget the PPL.

PPL : Performers

"PPL GENERATES REVENUE FOR OUR MEMBERS BY LICENSING THE USE OF SOUND RECORDINGS OF:


  • UK television and radio stations for their terrestrial, online and mobile broadcasting.

  • UK public performance (sound recordings used in public places such as pubs, shops, nightclubs, restaurants, etc.)

It is a legal requirement for all public performance premises and broadcasters to obtain a licence for the use of sound recordings.

This is where PPL comes in.

We represent tens of thousands of performers, record companies and rights holders for the vast majority of all sound recordings used in the UK and so can therefore provide a single licence to each public performance location and each broadcaster which enables them to play any recordings they want to, in return for the payment of a licence fee.

As a performer you are entitled to your qualifying share of 50% of this licence fee whenever a recording you performed on is used."

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What's the difference between the two?

PRS collect money when your music is performed live or played on radio,tv, and in bars restaurants etc.Where MCPS licenses your mechanical (reproduction) rights and pays your mechanical royalties.Since i have had music played on both national tv and independent radio and the fee has dropped to 10 i am now a member of both.To join PRS you must have at least one piece of music that has been: * broadcast on radio/TV * used online * performed live in concert * otherwise played in public[in PRS registered venues]. Hope that helps you Phil.:up:

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No excuse not to join now that its is next to free to sign up. Especially if gigging.

Photocopy of passport, some proof of gigging or radio play, a set list or two signed by a promoter will work here, and a completed form and wehey... Unless they have changed anything of late. MCPS will advise you only join when getting reproductions of recordings done by a label etc... Labels need to sign up to MCPS too and pay, put aside, around 8% of each copy that is then paid to MCPS for distribution to bands.

It is also worth thinking about band splits etc if there is more than one writer/composer.

oh and rule of thumb for lyricist is they are 50% of the royalty split... with the remaining split divvied between the band as appropriate.

Things you do to stay off of Facebook :)

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PRS collect money when your music is performed live or played on radio,tv, and in bars restaurants etc.Where MCPS licenses your mechanical (reproduction) rights and pays your mechanical royalties.Since i have had music played on both national tv and independent radio and the fee has dropped to 10 i am now a member of both.To join PRS you must have at least one piece of music that has been: * broadcast on radio/TV * used online * performed live in concert * otherwise played in public[in PRS registered venues]. Hope that helps you Phil.:up:

Cheers. That makes total sense. :up:

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Sounds like a whole lot of fannying about. Getting setlists signed, photocopy of your passport? Christ. Fuck that.

Don't know about set list getting signed,that's a new one on me...might be correct though.In my experience in the past venues should have PRS forms that they get bands to fill in.You only need a copy of your passport to join!

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Personally i would only give a lyricist 50% if they were also writing the vocal melody.In saying,that as a rule of thumb i generally split co-writes equally.

Yeah and that is to be agreed with between the band. The PRS stance is lyrics are generally seen as the top line, melody, of a song and that is what defines the song and is therefore to be considered half of the song. That's what they advice.

A band agreement is often a good, and vital way, of agreeing these things prior to signing up ...

Our set up is a three piece and what could be seen as third third third spilt however, Andy writes the lyrics and and we all contribute differently to certain songs so each song 'could' have an separate split for royalty purposes. So Andy could have a 75% split of a tune, if I tell him all this of course. ;)

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Don't know about set list getting signed,that's a new one on me...might be correct though.In my experience in the past venues should have PRS forms that they get bands to fill in.You only need a copy of your passport to join!

Proof of gigging or radio play etc is required. What you can provide is laid out in the PRS guidelines. Bands may not have played in PRS performance registered venue, Tunnels, Drummonds...

Not hard to rattle out a set list with a date and venue on it and get someone to sign it...

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The PRS stance is lyrics are generally seen as the top line, melody, of a song and that is what defines the song and is therefore to be considered half of the song. That's what they advice.

Regardless of what PRS advise,if someone is only writing lyrics as part of a co-write with me,the are not going to get 50% of the song.How can you possibly say that lyrics themselves are also the melody and topline of a song,that's daft.There are professional lyricists out there who purely write the lyrics for the tune and leave the melody to someone else.When i co write,everyone is given an equal share as generally everyone is integral to the finished song.All in my opinion of course.:up:

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It is absolutely worth signing up to PRS if you are a touring musician and releasing material. I will admit, at first I did find the process a little daunting - the website is a touch confusing. However top marks for customer support - if you call them with a problem they will talk you through each step of the process. They are really friendly and don't make you feel like an idiotic time-waster. I must have called them 5 times in the space of an hour!

Since we signed up to PRS, we have received decent money for our festival appearances last year, live BBC sessions + every single time your song is played on podcasts/radio stations etc you get a royalty payment. It has really helped us in times where we need money for recording - as I am sure you know Phil, every little helps when you are on the road, if your van breaks down/fails MOT and all the rest!!

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Do you have a link for this,i'm interested to have a look at these?:up:

I don't have a link as such. Just stuff I know from over the years and mates with a PRS chap.

Oh and I was just referring to the application notes and guidelines by the by

As mentioned the PRS understanding is lyrics are 50% of the royalty. What each writer, band, musician decides in a contract/agreement is up to them. In a disagreement that doesn't have legal back up the aforementioned royalty split would probably stand.

Plenty of cases in the press where these arguments have been battered out due to no agreement being written up to clarify things.

There is some good music management literature around that can help with this stuff.

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Equal share, definitely! I've been in bands writing the whole song out on, vocals and lyrics then the bass and drums being added to them at practice and i wouldn't dream of turning round to my mates and telling them they're getting less than me just because i wrote the parts i play, they made the song what it is too

They would be entitled to an Arrangers fee/split.

Hypothetically

You are in a band, the drummer makes up a beat for your song, the song becomes a major success, the drummer has long gone and been replaced 4 times with better guys that just play, yet original drummer dude that you now hate and offered little gets 25% of the royalty for the rest of his days...

That's all I'm saying. Best to be careful early on and seek advice on this if unsure.

Just saying by the way of example by the way... :)

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When Genevieve were considering signing up a number of years ago we agreed on a 25% share each as there was a lot of effort put in from all parties when we were coming up with songs. In truth as Kenny wrote the majority of the lyrics he probably should've ended up with 50% in all actuality but he is a nice guy and appreciated that we all played a massive part in the way things came out.

I'd be much happier with that sort of arrangement against somebody taking a lions share, even if i was the major contributor on the songs.

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