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Terms of service

Last updated: 17 October 2026

These terms apply when you buy or use a service from Music Licence Consulting Ltd (“MLC”, “we”, “us”), a company registered in England & Wales (company no. 17350315), registered office Suite A, 82 James Carter Road, Mildenhall, IP28 7DE. You can reach us at matt@musiclicenceconsulting.com or 020 8092 0108. Our services are for businesses and organisations, not consumers.

We are an independent consultancy. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by or acting for PPL PRS Ltd, PRS for Music or PPL.

Our services and prices

Current prices are also shown on our pricing page. We are not VAT registered, so no VAT is added to our fees.

  • Invoice Check: free for one to three sites. We carry out a desktop check of your latest PPL PRS TheMusicLicence invoice against the published tariffs and send you a short written verdict, normally within five working days: either that it is correct, or what is wrong and what the correct figure should be. The check is free and creates no contract or obligation. It does not include disputes over backdated or prior-use charges, which are covered by a Claim Review. Groups of four or more sites should use the Estate Review.
  • Licence Watch, for up to 3 sites, in two plans:
    • Essentials: £99 a year for the first site, £49 a year for each additional site, for sites that play background music only;
    • Venue: £249 a year for the first site, £99 a year for each additional site, for sites with live music, DJs, classes, functions or events.
    If a site's music use changes during the year so that it needs the Venue plan, we will tell you before the change affects your next renewal. While your subscription is active we will:
    • act as your authorised representative with PPL PRS under a Letter of Authority you sign;
    • take up with PPL PRS anything our Invoice Check finds, and see it through;
    • handle PPL PRS letters, queries and changes you forward to us, such as new classes, rooms, events, a move or a site closing;
    • check your next renewal before it is due for payment;
    • reply to you within 72 hours (working days).
    You keep 100% of any refund or saving. Licence Watch does not include setting up a new licence (see the Opening Package), disputes over backdated or prior-use claims (see the Claim Review), or estate work for four or more sites.
  • Opening Package: £199 for a site with background music only, or £399 for a site with live music, DJs, classes, functions or events. For a new venue or a new operator, we tell you what to declare and the expected annual cost in writing, make the PPL PRS application with your authority and check the quote, and provide the first year of Licence Watch Essentials or Venue as applicable. After the first year it continues as Licence Watch at the price for that plan, under the renewal and cancellation terms below. We cannot guarantee how quickly PPL PRS processes an application.
  • Claim Review: £249 per licence account, agreed in writing before we start. We assess a backdated, prior-use or higher-rate charge and give you a written plan. Representing you on the claim, or any appeal, is quoted separately before we act. If the same issue later leads to a success fee, the £249 is credited against it.
  • Estate Review: free initial review for four or more sites. If we find something worth correcting and you instruct us, our fee is 20% of any refund or credit obtained, plus 20% of the saving actually realised over the first 24 months after the correction takes effect, measured against a baseline we agree with you in writing before work begins. Closures, reduced music use and tariff changes do not count as savings. We invoice the refund or credit fee once PPL PRS has paid or applied it, and the savings fee at each renewal as the saving is realised, never in advance. There is no minimum fee. Nothing is charged on savings after 24 months, or for any site that closes, is sold or no longer needs a licence. If nothing is found, there is no fee. A cap on the total success fee can be agreed in writing on request. The full terms are set out in a written engagement agreement before any work begins.
  • Estate Watch: £600 a year plus £75 a year per site, for groups of four or more sites that want ongoing management of their licences. Complex estates are quoted individually, from £350 a month, after we have scoped the work. The scope is agreed in writing. We never charge Estate Watch and a success fee for the same correction.

What we need from you

  • Your latest PPL PRS invoice and, where you have it, the Usage Summary that goes with it. If you don't have the Usage Summary we'll tell you how to get it.
  • Accurate information about your premises and how you use music, and prompt answers to our questions.
  • For Licence Watch, a signed Letter of Authority so that PPL PRS will deal with us on your behalf.
  • You remain responsible for your licence and for paying PPL PRS invoices when due. Your licence fee is paid by you directly to PPL PRS and is separate from our fees. We will never advise you to play music without the correct licence or to ignore an invoice.

Licence Watch and the Opening Package: renewal and cancellation

  • Term and renewal: Licence Watch runs for 12 months from the date you join, or from the date you buy the Opening Package, and renews automatically each year at the Licence Watch price for your plan then shown on our pricing page. We will remind you before it renews.
  • Cancelling: to stop the next renewal, email us or use the billing link in your receipt before your renewal date. The service continues until the end of the year you have paid for.
  • Change of mind: if you cancel within 14 days of joining and before we have contacted PPL PRS for you, we will refund you in full.
  • If we can't do the work: if we can't carry out the service, for example because we don't cover the type of licence involved, we'll tell you promptly and refund you in full.
  • Refunds go back to the original payment method, usually within 5 to 10 working days.

No guarantee of savings

Figures on this website are examples. Whether you can save money depends on your circumstances and on PPL PRS accepting any correction, so we can’t guarantee a saving or refund. PPL PRS normally applies a reduction from the date it is told about a change, not retrospectively.

Payment

Licence Watch and the Opening Package are paid in advance by card through Stripe, or by bank transfer against our invoice. Success fees, Estate Watch and any Claim Review are invoiced as described above. Invoices are payable within 14 days.

Liability

We take care in our work, but our advice relies on the information you and PPL PRS provide. Our total liability to you in connection with a service is limited to the fees you have paid us for that service. We are not liable for indirect or consequential losses, or for loss of profit or anticipated savings. Nothing in these terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot be limited by law.

Confidentiality and your data

We keep your documents and information confidential and use them only to provide the service. Our privacy policy explains how we handle personal data.

Complaints

If you’re unhappy with anything we’ve done, email matt@musiclicenceconsulting.com. We’ll reply within five working days and try to put it right.

General

Where we agree a written engagement agreement with you, it takes priority over these terms if they differ. We may update these terms from time to time; the version in force when you place an order applies to that order. These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction.