This Tariff is effective from 1 January 2023 and applies to events falling within a customer’s Licence Year, where that Licence Year starts between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2023.
1. Scope of tariff
Activities: this tariff is for the public use of sound recordings as Specially Featured Entertainment (“SFE”) save where the public performances are specifically covered by another of PPL’s tariffs. Examples of SFE include discos, dances and DJ sets/presentations (the latter is where a DJ is used to play the sound recordings).
The tariff applies regardless of whether the recordings are played at the venue (for example, from vinyl, CDs and memory devices such as hard drives) or are transmitted to the venue (for example, by an internet stream).
Where sound recordings are also used as background music, the appropriate PPL public performance tariff(s) should also be applied.
Venues: this tariff is for the use of PPL’s sound recordings as SFE in:
- Nightclubs
- Pubs and bars
- Restaurants and cafés
- Hotels.
Licence Years: this tariff applies to all such SFE events within a customer’s Licence Year that starts between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2023. For each customer the start of a Licence Year is the start date of their licence or the anniversary of that date.
Licence Year example: The customer’s licence started on 1 July 2022. The first Licence Year for that customer started on 1 July 2022 and subsequent Licence Years will start on 1 July of each subsequent year.
The fees in this tariff will apply to all the customer’s SFE events held in the Licence Year starting on 1 July 2023 (that is, all events taking place between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2024).
2. Fees
Hourly fee: for each SFE event the fee is £0.88 for every hour of the event and every 1-25 persons attending the event.
Phonographic Performance Limited Registered office 1 Upper James Street London W1F 9DE Registered in England No. 288046 1
Attendances: the fees for SFE events increase in direct proportion to the attendance (in bands of 1-25 persons). The fees for SFE events with attendances of more than 300 persons are subject to the following temporary discounts for a customer’s Licence Year that starts between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2023:
Duration: the fees increase in direct proportion to the duration of the event (in half hour bands after the first hour).
Licence fee examples: the following examples illustrate how the hourly fee is applied for SFE events as the attendances and durations increase (and the Annex to this tariff sets out a table with the fees for events with attendances of up to 600 persons and durations of up to 6 hours).
Example 1
The attendance is 135 (which equates to 6 units of 1-25 persons). The duration is 4 hours. The fee for the event will be £21.12 (the fee for 1 hour and 1-25 persons of £0.88 x 6 units of 1-25 persons x 4 hours).
Example 2
The attendance is 440 (which equates to 18 units of 1-25 persons). The duration is 5 hours. The fee for the event will be £71.28 (the fee for 1 hour and 1-25 persons of £0.88 x 18 units of 1-25 persons x 5 hours, subject to the temporary discount of 10% for events with attendances of 401-500 persons).
Surcharge: where sound recordings have been played in public as part of an SFE event without first obtaining a licence or paying the licence fees for that Licence Year in accordance with the terms of this tariff, the fees for that Licence Year may be subject to a surcharge.
For Licence Years starting between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2023 there will be no surcharge.
For Licence Years starting on or after 1 January 2024, a surcharge will be applied at 50% of the standard fee, subject to a cap of £1,000 (adjusted by indexation) for each site at which SFE events took place in that Licence Year.
Future Licence Years: this document only sets out the fees for all SFE events within a customer’s Licence Year that starts between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2023. Details of the fees for future Licence Years can be found here https://pplprs.co.uk/tariff-consultations/
3. VAT
VAT will be added at the prevailing rate to all charges under this tariff.
4. Minimum Fee
The fees in this tariff are subject to PPL’s minimum annual fee per licensee. [reference to be provided on publication]
5. Reporting
Attendance reporting: the attendance for each SFE event is to be reported on the basis of actual admission figures.
The total number of persons admitted for an SFE event includes all persons admitted to the premises for the SFE event, both those present at the start of the event and those admitted during the course of the events, and excludes staff on duty at the event.
Duration reporting: the duration of an SFE event shall be the time period from the start of the SFE event to the finish of the SFE event.
The duration should be rounded up to one hour (for SFE events with a duration of less than 1 hour) or up to the nearest half hour (for all other SFE events).
Record keeping: licensees must keep written records of the attendance and duration information required under this tariff for all SFE events that take place in each Licence Year and provide them on request. PPL will also use the capacity information provided by licensees to PPL PRS Ltd to check the attendance data provided.
6. Terms and conditions
Licences granted under this tariff are subject to the “TheMusicLicence Terms and Conditions”, a copy of which can be found on the PPL PRS Ltd website.
PPL’s New Specially Featured Entertainment (“SFE”) tariff FAQs
Full details of the new SFE tariff and more detailed guidance notes can be found at: https://pplprs.co.uk/tariff-consultations/
What types of premises does the new PPL SFE tariff PPLPP299 apply to?
It will apply to SFE events taking place at pubs/bars, nightclubs, hotels, restaurants and cafes.
SFE events at other types of premises will continue to be licensed under the existing PPL SFE tariff PPLPP001
What is an SFE Event?
SFE events include playing sound recordings in public as part of discos, dances and DJ sets/presentations (the latter is where a DJ is used to play the sound recordings).
The tariff applies regardless of whether the recordings are played at the venue (for example, from vinyl, CDs and memory devices such as hard drives) or are transmitted to the venue (for example, by an internet stream).
When will the new SFE tariff apply?
The new SFE tariff comes into force on 1 January 2023.
Fees for SFE events at pubs/bars, nightclubs, hotels, restaurants, and cafes will be charged under the new SFE tariff if they take place in a customer’s Licence Year that starts on or after 1 January 2023.
For example, if the start date for a customer’s licence is 1 July 2022, the new SFE tariff will first apply to SFE events taking place at their site(s) from 1 July 2023 onwards.
How are the fees calculated?
In both Tariff 001 and the new SFE tariff, the fees are based on the attendance at and the duration of the event. The way that attendance is calculated under the new tariff is however changing (see below)
What records do I need to keep?
For each SFE event you need to record the duration of the event and the total attendance at the event
To calculate the total attendance at an event, you must count all persons in the premises (including guests but excluding staff) when the SFE event starts and then count every additional person (excluding staff), subject to the guidance below, that enters the premises during the SFE event. The total attendance for that event is the sum of the original persons in the venue plus any additional attendees who arrive throughout the event.
For example, if you have 50 persons in the venue when the SFE event starts and over the course of the event a further 125 people visit the premises, the total attendance for the SFE event is 175 people (50 + 125).
If a person exits the premises, or relevant area within a premises, during an SFE event for a brief time, e.g.: to smoke or to use their mobile phone, they should not be counted as an additional attendee at that event on their return to the premises or relevant area of the premises. Save for these situations, each person entering the premises, or relevant area of the premises, must be added to the count for the attendance record.
For SFE events where it is not possible to count all persons attending the event you should make your best assessment of the total attendance at the event and record this figure once the event is finished.
PPL PRS will be providing an excel spreadsheet, in advance of 1 January 2023, to assist you with recording and providing the information required under the tariff. If you do not wish to use the spreadsheet, please keep a written/digital record of the total attendance and duration of the event for each event
How will PPL PRS calculate my fees in the first year?
As part of your licence review process, PPL PRS will firstly review the events that you held in the last year for which you were charged under the existing SFE tariff. The purpose of this review is to check whether the number of events held and the attendance at and duration of these events were in line with the licensing detail used to calculate the charges for that year.
PPL PRS will then use these figures, subject to any anticipated changes, to provide an estimate for the year going forwards. You will need to take into account the changes in the way that attendance is reported under the new tariff when providing estimates of attendance for the forthcoming year.
Throughout the year PPL PRS will ask you to keep a record for each event of the total attendance at the event and the duration of the event.
As part of your annual review PPL PRS will then compare the actual figures to the original estimate and an additional invoice/credit note will be raised as required.
Your Licensing is carried out via David Newham Associates and if you have any questions or issues concerning the new tariff or the renewal process generally, please contact David.
David Newham Associates (DNA) Tel: 07967 681908
Website: www.davidnewham.co.uk Email: [email protected]
SFE Record Keeping Template:
