British music licensing company PPL has announced its Q4 2022 distribution, paying out £43.2m to performers and recording rightsholders. That’s up slightly from the £41.8m paid out this time last year.
However, the bigger story here is a notable increase in the number of payees. In Q4 2021 PPL’s distribution went to 124,000 musicians and rightsholders, but a year later that number has grown to more than 148,000 – a new record for the organisation. Which, of course, means that the average distribution per payee has fallen: from £337 to £292.
PPL stressed the positive side of the increase. “We are able to pay more direct and indirect members than ever before because of the neighbouring rights and technology expertise we have across our business, which helps us to maximise the revenue coming in to and going out of PPL,” said CEO Peter Leathem.
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