← Policy & Regulation: Sector rules & licensing (all topics)
IPRS / PPL royalties
What it is
The two collecting societies that license music for public performance. IPRS represents authors, composers and publishers on the underlying work; PPL licenses the sound recording on behalf of labels
A venue, broadcaster or business playing recorded music needs licences from both, since the composition and the recording are separate copyrights with separate owners
Impact on industries
- Structural growth in a line that barely existed - IPRS collections reached ~Rs 700 cr in FY25, up 42%, and flow to creators rather than only to labels
- Enforcement has genuine teeth now: hundreds of legal notices and court-backed orders across major cities, including a High Court halting a New Year's Eve event over unlicensed music
- Compliance cost lands on venues, hotels, retailers and events that had treated background music as free, so the burden falls outside the music industry
- Dual licensing confuses licensees - two societies, separate tariffs by venue size, city and usage, with recurring rate-setting disputes