By Monk

The organization charged with ensuring artists are paid fairly for their work has been accused of actually damaging the music industry by financially harming the very venues in which they perform and earn their livings.

According to research published today by the Music Venue Trust (MVT), discrepancies in how licensing fees levied by the Performing Rights Society (PRS) are calculated, applied and enforced across the  grassroots music venue sector in England, Scotland and Wales amounted to more than £666,000.

In one case, the MVT found that the PRS had over-charged one venue by a massive £90,000.

Launching its ‘Set The Record Straight’ campaign, MVT has called for a systematic overhaul in the way PRS-related charges are assessed, including the use of estimated data, incorrect capacity calculations and unclear liability between promoters and venues.

MVT is clear that the campaign is not a challenge to the principle of PRS licensing itself. It says fair licensing is fundamental to ensuring songwriters and composers are paid when their work is performed. However, it argues that inaccuracies in how those fees are calculated and enforced are creating significant and unnecessary financial pressure within a sector already operating on extremely tight margins.

Gareth Kelly, MVT’s Rights Management Specialist, said:

PRS licensing should work for everybody – venues, promoters, artists and songwriters. The issue is not whether fees should be paid, they absolutely should. The issue is whether those fees are being calculated accurately, applied fairly and charged to the right party.

What we’re seeing too often is a system that relies on assumptions rather than reality, and that can create serious financial consequences for grassroots venues.

According to MVT, discrepancies have been identified across multiple regions, including more than £56,000 in the North West, over £20,000 in the South West, close to £50,000 in London, more than £80,000 in Wales and over £75,000 in Scotland. Unfortunately, MVT did not publish any figures for Northern Ireland.

The organization says these figures reflect a broader pattern of billing based on estimated rather than actual usage, with charges in some cases linked to maximum theoretical capacity rather than real attendance or sellable space.

MVT also highlights ongoing concerns around liability, particularly in cases where grassroots venues are held responsible for PRS fees on promoter-led events. The organisation argues that where promoters control ticket income and event delivery, responsibility for performance rights fees should be more clearly aligned.

The campaign further raises questions around enforcement practices. MVT says that automated processes linked to disputed or inaccurate fee assessments have resulted in five grassroots venues receiving County Court Judgments, with more than 50 venues facing legal threats, outcomes it says can have serious consequences for credit ratings, financial stability and operator wellbeing.

The campaign launches at a time when PRS for Music’s Live Popular tariff remains a significant cost for grassroots venues and promoters and with no specific date in the calendar for the full review and significant overhaul of tariffs in the grassroots sector required.

MVT says this represents a key opportunity to address long-standing concerns around how licensing fees are applied at the grassroots level. As part of it its new campaign MVT will roll out a series of explanatory content, case studies and data-led insights designed to improve understanding of licensing practices and highlight where reform is needed. The organisation is also calling for greater transparency in fee calculation, improved data accuracy and a clearer framework around responsibility for licensing payments within the live music ecosystem.

Mark Davyd, CEO of MVT, who highlighted the issue in a recent, in-depth four part feature on his Substack, concluded:

Licensing systems are complex, and too often they operate in a space that people don’t fully understand. That lack of clarity makes it harder to challenge inaccuracies and easier for problems to persist.

This campaign is about bringing transparency into that space and making sure the system works as it should; fairly, accurately and in a way that reflects how grassroots music actually operates.