PPL PRS keeps calling, but we don't play music. What should we do?

If no recorded music, radio, TV, hold music or live music is played or can be heard anywhere at your premises, you normally don't need TheMusicLicence, and you can say so. Being contacted doesn't mean you owe anything. The most effective thing you can do is check the whole premises honestly, then tell PPL PRS once, clearly and in writing, and keep a copy.

It's one of the most common complaints we see. Business owners who have never played a note describe repeated calls, letters that assume they do, and invoices raised anyway. It's understandably stressful, particularly when the calls ask for a director by name. You don't have to argue on the phone.

First, check it really is no music#

PPL PRS treats music played outside a home as a public performance, even when only staff can hear it. So before you write, walk round and check:

• Customer areas, including waiting areas and reception.
• Staff areas: kitchens, workshops, back offices, canteens and break rooms. A radio on a shelf counts.
• Televisions, including ones showing news or sport. Programmes and adverts contain music, and a TV licence doesn't cover playing it in public.
• Your phone system. Music on hold is licensed separately and is easy to forget.
• Anything staff play from their own phones through a speaker.

If any of those apply, you're not in the no-music position, and the answer is usually to get the right licence on accurate figures rather than to argue. Our radio, TV and Spotify guide covers the grey areas, and the free checker will tell you where you stand in a minute.

Tell them once, in writing#

A phone call leaves no record. A short letter or email does. Say that no music is played or performed at the premises, in customer or staff areas, and ask PPL PRS to record that, close any account or invoice raised on an assumption, and tell you in writing if they believe otherwise. Ask for future contact in writing. There's a ready-made version, "We don't play music", on our help page. Send it through the written contact details on PPL PRS's contact page and keep the confirmation.

Only say it if it's true. If PPL PRS later finds a radio in the kitchen, a letter saying there's no music at all will make the conversation harder, not easier.

If an invoice has already been raised#

Don't ignore it, even if you're sure it's wrong. Unpaid invoices can be passed to debt collection under PPL PRS's own code of conduct. Reply in writing, quoting the invoice number, explain that no music is used and ask for it to be withdrawn. If they won't, use their formal complaints route, which has timescales and an independent ombudsman stage for service complaints.

Stopping the calls#

Ask, in your written reply, for contact to be in writing only. Keep a simple log of any further calls: date, time, number and what was said. If calls continue after you've put the position in writing, include that log in a formal complaint. Registering with the Corporate Telephone Preference Service is worth doing for unwanted sales calls in general, but it may not cover calls about an existing account or an enquiry about whether music is being used.

If you start playing music later#

Get the licence before the music starts. Some PRS for Music tariffs charge a higher rate, the standard rate plus 50%, for the first year if music was playing before a licence was in place. Setting it up first, on the right figures, avoids that. Our new licence guide explains what to declare.

Want someone to look at it with you?#

If you've already written and it hasn't stopped, or an invoice or debt letter has arrived, tell us what happened. A real person replies within 72 hours, free and with no obligation. MLC is independent and is not affiliated with PPL PRS, PPL or PRS for Music.

• Is PPL PRS legitimate? →
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This guide is general information, not legal advice, and MLC is an independent consultancy, not affiliated with PPL PRS Ltd, PRS for Music or PPL.