The 50% higher royalty rate: what it is and when it’s wrong

The higher royalty rate is a surcharge — the standard tariff plus 50% — that applies for the first year only if you were playing music before you got licensed. PPL PRS’s own guidance is explicit: certain PRS for Music tariffs apply a 50% increase on the standard rate, and this ‘would only apply if you were playing music without the appropriate licence before being contacted’. It is meant to end after that first year. When it’s still on your bill in year two or beyond, that’s an overcharge you can have corrected.

Why does the higher royalty rate exist?

It’s a Copyright-Tribunal-approved rate designed to discourage businesses from playing music unlicensed and only paying once they’re caught. The logic is that someone who licensed proactively shouldn’t be worse off than someone who waited to be contacted. Whatever you make of that, it is a legitimate, published rate — the problem is almost never the rate itself; it’s how long it stays applied.

When should it drop off?

The higher rate covers the first licensed year for the period you were previously unlicensed. Once that year passes, your licence should revert to the standard tariff. PRS applies the standard-plus-50% element; PPL applies its own comparable surcharge. Both are first-year mechanisms — neither is meant to be permanent.

How to check whether you’re being overcharged

• Find your first invoice after you were licensed and note whether a higher/first-year rate was applied.
• Compare it with your current invoice. If you’re past the first year but still see a figure around 50% above the standard tariff for your premises, flag it.
• Work out the standard figure for your business from the published tariffs (our cost calculator does this for shops) and compare.
• If the numbers don’t reconcile, it’s worth a formal query — the correction is often backdated as a refund.

Can the higher rate be backdated?

Yes — and this is where the numbers get large. If you were unlicensed for a long period before being contacted, PPL PRS can seek payment for prior use (see our guide on being back-billed up to six years), and the higher rate can apply across that period. Getting the calculation right matters, because errors compound.

What to do next

If you think a higher rate has been carried forward in error, don’t just pay it and hope — and equally, don’t ignore the bill. Send us the invoices and we’ll check the higher-rate element against the published tariffs for free. If it’s been left on incorrectly, we’ll help you get it corrected and any overpayment refunded; if it’s right, we’ll tell you. No savings, no fee.

• How TheMusicLicence is calculated →
• Backdated by up to six years: what to know →
• How to check your music licence invoice →

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.