Why has my music licence gone up this year?

Most years, TheMusicLicence rises a little because PPL and PRS re-index their tariffs — usually broadly in line with inflation. A small, single-digit percentage increase is normal and expected. A much bigger jump, with no change to your premises or how you use music, is worth questioning.

Normal: annual re-indexing

PPL and PRS adjust their rates each year on staggered dates (the PRS shops tariff each January, for example). This is a routine uplift, not a re-assessment of your account.

Worth questioning: a bigger jump

• A first-year higher rate (standard + 50%) that should have dropped off after year one but hasn’t.
• A change in how your usage or floor area is recorded — a reclassification you didn’t ask for.
• A move onto a different (more expensive) tariff for your business type.
• Sites, seats or staff numbers added or overstated in error.

How to check

Compare this year’s invoice with last year’s and note exactly what changed. Work out the standard published figure for your setup (our cost calculator does this for shops), and query anything that doesn’t reconcile. Or run it through the free Bill Health Check — if a rise looks bigger than a normal re-index, that’s exactly the kind of thing we check.

This is also why an annual re-check is worth having: rates and businesses both change, and a yearly once-over keeps you on the correct, lowest compliant tariff. Send us this year’s invoice for a free look. No savings, no fee.

• The 50% higher royalty rate explained →
• How TheMusicLicence is calculated →
• How to reduce your music licence cost →

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.