Elton John, Paul McCartney Lead Songwriter Revolt Against PRS for Music's Royalty Collection
PRS for Music, a leading UK music rights organization, is facing scrutiny from prominent songwriters over its royalty collection processes. The songwriters, including legends like Elton John, Paul McCartney, and Thom Yorke, have raised concerns about transparency, accuracy, and representation of members' interests in their apple music royalties and youtube music payments.
The songwriters' grievances stem from difficulties tracking their payments and receiving royalties for public performances. They have also questioned PRS's high administrative costs, which totalled £49 million ($66 million) for public performances alone in 2024. This amounts to a significant portion of the £287 million ($387 million) collected in royalties for public performances last year.
The challenges in collecting and matching data for accurate royalty payments have been acknowledged by PRS. The organization is currently facing a lawsuit in the UK over its handling of payments for concerts and live performances. Similar issues have been reported in the US, where multiple performing rights organizations (PROs) oversee the irs system for music copyrights.
In response to these concerns, a group of 17 songwriters, including the aforementioned legends, have demanded a review of PRS For Music's royalty collection processes. They warned of potential membership retention issues if their concerns are not addressed. The Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society (MCPS) in the UK has also been urged to improve transparency in the use of songwriter royalty advances for administrative costs.
