Independent music licence checks
Is your music licence bill right? Find out free.
We check what you pay PPL PRS against the published tariffs and how your business really uses music, then explain it in plain English. If it’s right, we’ll say so. If it isn’t, we put it right for you.
No cost, no obligation. Running four or more sites? Get a free estate check →
Matt Mayo, founder. Former Corporate Licensing Manager at PPL PRS, now independent and on your side. About Matt →
Your licence, checked line by line.
Every figure behind the bill, compared with the published tariff and how the venue really runs.
- Tariff for each type of music useCorrect
- Bedroom count matches the rooms you letCorrect
- Audible area includes staff-only spaceNeeds fixing
- First-year 50% uplift still being chargedNeeds fixing
- Live and DJ nights match what you runCorrect
2 things to put right, and we handle it.
Checked by a real person
How it works
Start with a free check.
Send us your latest PPL PRS invoice and we'll check it against the published tariffs and how your business actually uses music. No cost, no commitment, and if your bill is right, we'll tell you.
Free invoice check
Upload your latest invoice and tell us a little about how you use music. We’ll tell you whether it looks right and, if not, what needs changing.
Check my invoiceFree estate check
Send us the invoices for your sites and we’ll review the whole estate: tariffs, declared areas and usage, site by site, with a clear summary of anything that’s off.
Check my sitesSend your invoice
Upload it online or just email it over. A photo of the paper copy is fine.
We check it
We compare your tariff, declared areas and usage with the published rates and how you actually trade.
You get a plain-English answer
What’s right, what isn’t, and your options. If everything checks out, we’ll say so and that’s the end of it.
About MLC
Independent, and on your side.
Music Licence Consulting is an independent UK consultancy. We help businesses make sense of TheMusicLicence, the combined PPL and PRS for Music licence, check whether the bill is right, get you onto the correct, lowest compliant tariff, and explain the whole thing in plain English. The first check is free, whether you run one site or a hundred, and if anything needs putting right we handle it with PPL PRS for you.
MLC was founded by Matt Mayo, who has spent more than a decade in the UK music industry negotiating licensing deals and managing music rights, including two years as a Corporate Licensing Manager at PPL PRS. He started MLC to give businesses an independent, plain-English check of their music-licensing costs. We compare the information used to calculate a bill with the applicable published tariffs and the way each site actually uses music. We're a registered UK company (no. 17350315) and you can check us out before you send us anything.
More about how we workWe're not here to help anyone dodge a licence they genuinely need. We believe artists should be paid fairly, and that you should pay fairly too: the right amount, not a penny more.
Most business owners we speak to are happy to pay their fair share; what they resent is feeling pressured, confused or singled out. So we start by listening.
MLC is an independent consultancy. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or acting on behalf of PPL PRS Ltd, PRS for Music or PPL. “TheMusicLicence” is a registered trademark of its respective owner.
Matt Mayo, founderLinkedInWho we help
For businesses of every size that play music.
From a single café to a fifty-site group. Pick your sector for a plain-English guide to how your bill is worked out.
- Gyms, fitness & leisure Class timetables drive the bill, and the class count is the most over-stated figure on a fitness invoice.
- Hotels & hospitality Bedrooms, function rooms, bars and spas: the most concession-heavy tariff, so the most places to be over-charged.
- Car dealerships Showroom, workshop and valeting bays billed as one: retail rates applied to space the tariff doesn’t cover.
- Restaurants, bars & pubs A single venue or a multi-site group: background, live and event music, each priced differently.
- Late-night venues & DJ nights The SFE tariff charges per hour, per 25 people, per event, from attendance and hours that are usually estimated.
- Retail & multi-site chains One wrong tariff or over-measured area, repeated across every store, adds up fast.
- Salons, offices & independents Smaller single sites too, where one wrong band or a backdated bill really hurts.
- Cafés & coffee shops Seats and equipment set the PRS half, floor area the PPL half. A small café playing the radio pays about £401 a year.
- Every other kind of business Nurseries, schools, churches, clinics and event venues: sector guides with the published rates for each.
FAQ
Questions we get a lot.
Still curious? Read our guides, including the complete UK music licence guide.
Yes. You are entitled to have an independent expert review your licence costs and request corrections or alternative options on your behalf.
If you're playing commercial music for employees or customers, you usually still need a licence. We make sure you're paying the right amount, and explore compliant alternatives where appropriate.
For groups of four or more sites, you pay nothing. For 1 to 3 sites, the check is free too, and gets you a written clean bill of health, which is worth having before you pay a renewal.
It varies with the size and complexity of your account: a single site is quicker than a multi-site estate with years of history. We'll give you a realistic timeline once we've seen your documents, and keep you updated throughout.
Yes. A business with 1 to 3 sites can get a free written invoice check and receive a verdict either way. For groups of four or more sites, the initial estate review is free; we agree any success fee for follow-on work in writing before it starts. If the bill is right, we'll say so.
Yes. Our Opening Package sets up a new licence: £199 for background music, or £399 if you'll have live music, DJs, classes or functions. We tell you exactly what to declare and which tariffs apply, handle the PPL PRS application for you, make sure you're on the right tariffs from day one, and your first year of Licence Watch is included.
It depends on premises size, number of sites, how music is used and the tariffs applied, which is exactly why overcharges are so common. TheMusicLicence is priced per site on factors like audible area and usage type, so a quick look at your invoices tells us whether you're on the right tariff.
If you play commercial music for staff or customers you almost always need a licence, and trying to avoid it risks enforcement action. Our job isn't to help you dodge it: it's to make sure you're on the correct, lowest compliant tariff and not paying a penny more than you should.
1 to 3 sites: the check is free. If it finds a problem you can fix it yourself and keep everything, or join Licence Watch and we'll deal with PPL PRS for you, handle any letter or change during the year and check next year's renewal: £99 a year for background music, or £249 if you have live music, DJs, classes or functions, plus a smaller fee for each extra site. You keep 100% of any saving. Opening a venue? Set-up and your first year cost £199 or £399. Backdated claims: a £249 Claim Review. Groups of four or more: a free review, then 20% of refunds and of realised savings for 24 months, billed as they happen. Nothing if we find nothing. Full details are on our pricing page.
Find out if your bill is right.
Send us your latest invoice and we'll check it, free. If it's right, we'll tell you. If it isn't, we'll explain why and put it right with PPL PRS for you.
Four or more sites? Free estate check →Prefer email? matt@musiclicenceconsulting.com