The Copyright Tribunal has ruled that all businesses should pay the same tariff to the PPL.

A Tribunal ruling in favour of capping the music fees that retailers are forced to pay to play music has angered Public Performance Limited (PPL), which says it will appeal the decision at the High Court.

Shops, pubs, restaurants and other businesses which play recorded music are required to pay a licence to the PPL, which distribute the moneys to record companies. However, in 2005 PPL increased the licence fee, with some businesses seeing costs more than double.

In 2008 alone, PPL received more than £127.6 million in fees from UK businesses of all types, with around £11m from retailers.

In response to the increase, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) began a legal battle on behalf of its members to fight it. Four years later the BRC and those it is representing have won a small victory in court.

The BRC says the decision yesterday (22 October) by the Copyright Tribunal, will result in a saving of nearly £5m a year for shops and could mean a £20m refund of excessive charges levied on retailers over the last four years. With the high street continuing to suffer from poor sales, this ruling will come as a welcome relief.

Andrew Opie, BRC Food and Consumer Director, said: “We welcome the Tribunal’s decision which establishes a level of tariffs that’s fair for all parties. This is a great example of the BRC helping retailers large and small to pull together and fight an unfair cost that affects them all.”

The ruling by the Tribunal means that all businesses will now pay a standard tariff – of just over £100 per annum – no matter what size they are. PPL had proposed that the tariff should be fair and relative with larger establishments paying more than smaller ones. 

Fran Nevrkla, PPL’s Chairman and CEO, was extremely disappointed by the decision: “The Tribunal has failed to have proper regard for the real value of music to businesses, ignoring PPL’s extensive consultation with licensees.

“On behalf of our 42,000 performer and 5,000 record company members, many of whom themselves are small businesses, we are appealing this decision in the High Court.”