News

Charity campaigners force concessions on music licensing

Finance | Gareth Jones | 8 Nov 2010

The government has removed the license fee exemption for charities' public use of music, but has agreed a number of concessions.

A statutory instrument was laid before Parliament yesterday removing the exemption, with the changes due to come into effect on 1 January 2011. But charities will be given a further 12 months to prepare, and discussions will continue on fee levels.

In other changes, the lowest tariff for buildings where voluntary groups meet, which stands at £40 a year, will now cover 60 per cent of such buildings rather than the previously mooted 30 per cent.

This has also been extended to cover outdoor events such as village fetes and carnivals.

For the charity shop licence, the government is promising that the “vast majority” will fall in the lowest bracket of £54 a year, and that the licence will cover back offices as well as the shop floor.

The two licensing bodies PPL and PRS for Music will also collaborate to ensure charities will only have to make one application, and a new independent reviewer will be created for those who feel they have been treated unfairly.

“Difficult to satisfy everyone”

Speaking about the discussions between the two licensing bodies and charity representatives, which were brokered by the government, minister for civil society Nick Hurd said: “We have worked hard to ensure that charities, particularly small organisations and charity shops, get extra protection and that the impact of any changes is minimised.  

“It will be difficult to satisfy everyone but we have achieved a fairer balance between the need to reward musicians for their work and the need to protect charities from excessive costs and additional bureaucracy.  

“In addition, we hope that the agreed delay in implementing these changes will give the whole sector time to prepare and will allow discussions to continue.”

NCVO was a vocal opponent of the proposed changes via its ‘Don’t Stop the Music’ campaign.

Chief executive Sir Stuart Etherington said the one-year exemption was “helpful”, adding: “We also understand that PPL intend to continue negotiations on fee levels.

“Given the current difficult financial climate for charities, we expect high-level negotiations to start quickly.”

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Directory: National Council of Voluntary Organisations (NCVO)
Who's Who: Nick Hurd | Sir Stuart Etherington