Hold music is important for your customers’ experience.

However, the process of researching and purchasing the necessary licenses to play hold music in your business phone line can be confusing and quite expensive.

Our clients often ask:

Do I need PRS (Performing Right Society) and PPL (Phonographic Performance Limited) licenses to legally play music on hold in my business?

However, the real question is:

Can I legally avoid buying PRS / PPL licenses if I just want a couple of songs for my business phone line?

In this blog post, we’ll explore whether you need to purchase a PRS license for music on hold, look at the requirements imposed by the UK government, and discuss the alternative solutions that can save you a substantial amount in licensing fees.

Keep reading!

What is PRS?

PRS (Performing Right Society) for Music is a UK-based Performing Rights Organization (PRO) that represents songwriters, composers, and music publishers.

PRS for Music is tasked with licensing the music that belongs to its members for public performance and broadcasting.

Do UK based businesses need PRS / PPL license for music on hold?

According to UK government, UK businesses typically need a joint license from PPL PRS Ltd to play music publicly, which includes music on hold.

What are the cost of PRS / PPL music licenses?

The costs for these licenses vary depending on factors such as the size of the business, the type of music used, and the frequency of music playback.

Generally, businesses can expect to pay annual fees ranging from a few hundred pounds to several thousand pounds for both PRS and PPL licenses, with costs increasing for larger businesses or those with extensive music usage.

PRS for Music licenses start from £100 per year; and PPL licenses can cost up to £350 per year depending on your business type and size.

Can I avoid buying PRS music license if I use music by non-UK musicians?

If you use music created by non-UK based musicians, you may still need a PRS license if the music is protected by copyright and falls under the repertoire managed by PRS for Music.

And that brings us to the final question.

Can I legally avoid PRS / PPL licenses if I use music that isn’t under PRS control?

How to avoid buying costly PRS licenses for music on hold

If you want to avoid dealing with PRS, here are the alternatives:

a) Direct Licensing. Find music producers (preferably those that are not affiliated with any PRO) and ask to create exclusive music for you.

While this is a valid option, this may not be any cheaper than getting a PRS license. However, you’ll end up with a unique music piece that no other organization is using.

b) Royalty-Free Licensing. Look for services offering music specifically licensed for commercial use. Check that music isn’t linked to any PRO in any country. So no PRS, BMI, ASCAP, and so on. Read the terms carefully.

Don’t want to pay PRS / PPL fees? License music that isn’t affiliated with any PRO.

Quick tip: When browsing our music catalog make sure to enable “No PRO” filter, in order to hide all PRO affiliated music.

Is this legal?

Excellent question!

Here’s what PRS has to say on this on their own Web site:

Pay attention to the cases where you do not require a PRS for Music license.

Specifically:

You do not need the PRS license for copyrighted music if the rights holders have not assigned or licensed the performing rights to PRS for Music or to one of PRS overseas affiliates.

Source: PRS music licensing

So, as you can see, it is perfectly legal to use no-PRO music without buying the PRS license.

music on hold that’s not linked to any PRO

Here are some on hold music examples that our customers used picked for their telephone systems:

Listen to our best on hold music (top 10 most popular).

Or pick from thousands more with this simple oh hold music starter pack:

Takeaway

Licensing music for your business phone can be complex and expensive.

If you want to use copyrighted music, there is a good chance you will need purchase a PRS / PPL license.

However, licensing non-affiliated music (that is, music that isn’t linked to any PRO) from a vendor specializing in music for commercial use, can offer substantial savings (and simplify the process).

Disclaimer: The solutions discussed in this post are based on our 10+ years of experience in the music licensing industry but, since we are not lawyers, cannot be considered legal advice.

Questions or comments?

Any questions about licensing on hold music for your business phone line? Post a comment or contact us.