Pub owners rally to fight proposed PPL fee increase
The Association for Licensed Multiple Retailers announces that it has raised an additional £7000 in an attempt to oppose a planned 4000% royalty fee increase for pubs holding special music based events.
AMLR’s BEDA Late Night Working Group chairman, John Hayes, comments, “We are doing all we can to raise more money to fight this because it is going to be a battle. The good operators will not be able to run their business if they (PPL) bring in the fees.”
The latest fundraising milestone comes as part of a wider campaign against the changes announced earlier this year, which senior industry figures described as ‘devastating’ and ‘unsustainable.’ In essence, the new fee structure proposed by public music licensing firm PPL would equate to an increase from £30 to £380 for a single event including specially featured musical entertainment, such as a DJ or disco, if held in a pub with capacity of 200-250.
This astronomical rise leads ALMR strategic affairs director Kate Nicholls to refer to the altered charges as “nothing less than a dawn raid on an industry that is already suffering a squeeze on margins.” Nicholls’ view is mirrored by British Beer and Pub Association chief executive Brigid Simmons, who similarly describes the increase as, “unacceptable and off the scale.”
Despite the concerted effort the ALMR continues to dedicate towards fighting for more reasonable special event broadcasting fees for pubs and bars, however, it remains to be seen whether PPL will yield on the issue.
Under such uncertain terms for the future, landlords must therefore cater for all eventualities, by looking into more cost-effective avenues for offering customers a source of musical entertainment. Hired jukeboxes offer perhaps one of the most convenient, and also lucrative, methods of achieving this goal, costing as little as 82 pence per day for a fully managed and completely legal music system.
For further advice on creating a welcoming ambiance for your pub on a limited budget, contact a Soundnet representative for detailed information on the various digital music packages available.
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