[4] PPL continues to be owned by record companies, which it refers to as "rights holders", who are legally the only "members" and the only ones entitled to attend the annual general meeting.
PPL members range from session musicians and emerging artists to major record labels and globally successful performers.
EMI, then called The Gramophone Company, argued it was against the law to play the record in public without first receiving the permission of the copyright owners.
EMI and Decca formed Phonographic Performance Ltd (PPL) to carry out this licensing role, and opened the first office in London.
The Copyright Act 1956 led to the expansion of PPL's role to also cover the licensing of broadcasters that played recorded music.
[19] Unlike its German counterpart GVL, PPL do not collect Secondary Exploitation Rights for performers; in the UK this is currently within the remit of the Musicians Union.
[27][22] PPL has international agreements, sometimes referred to as "Reciprocal Deals",[28][29][30][31][32] with 95 music copyright collection societies, including Phonographic Performance Company of Australia (PPCA) in Australia, Gesellschaft zur Verwertung von Leistungsschutzrechten GmbH (GVL) in Germany, and AARC, AFM & SAG-AFTRA, and SoundExchange (P & R) in the US.
[33][34] PPL is one of 44 ordinary members of the Societies’ Council for the Collective Management of Performers’ Rights (SCAPR), which was founded in 1986 and is based in Brussels, Belgium.
[35] It operates as an international platform for the development of the practical cooperation between copyright collection societies that represent performers.
Other ordinary members include GVL (Germany), SENA (The Netherlands), ADAMI (France)[36] and RAAP (Ireland).
Exceptions are hotels, guest houses and bed and breakfast accommodation that have fewer than 25 rooms and have no areas that are open to non-residents, such as a bar or restaurant.
The playing of recorded music as part of domestic home life, or when the audience consists entirely of friends and/or family does not require a PPL licence.
This includes lead singers, choir members and musicians who have contributed to a recording, and could be eligible for PPL royalties.
As of 2018 both organisations have launched a joint venture via formation of a new Private limited company called PPL PRS Ltd which aims to streamline the process of obtaining a Music license in the UK.