LEGAL COMPLIANCE / COPYRIGHT 

With the exception of Non-Copyright music, or NCM (commonly known as 'elevator music'), any playing of music in public requires a copyright license.

In the UK, there are two categories of license required. One (PRS) covers royalties due to composers and publishers. The other (PPL) covers royalties due to record companies (and through them, the artists).

If you are only playing 'cover-versions', only a PRS license is required. Otherwise, you require both licenses. If you have a PPL license, you will also need a PRS license. These licenses are required regardless of the equipment used to play the music. This includes CDs, TVs and radios.

Prices are calculated according to criteria set for your industry. Price-lists for each industry can be found on the PRS and PPL websites, along with other relevant information. Contact details for both organisations are also available on their websites. If you have any questions about getting a license for using music4Uonline, please get in touch.

Dubbing Licenses

The above licenses do not allow the copying of music. They also do not allow the creation of compilations. Both of these actions require a third category of license: the 'dubbing' license. This applies whether you are creating a duplicate CD or putting together a customised playlist on your PC. Carrying out such activities without a license will incur heavy penalties.

Like the site licenses, a dubbing license is required to cover both composers and labels. These licenses are issued at the discretion of the licensing bodies. They are generally only given to music providers, such as ourselves. We have dubbing licenses from both MCPS (linked to PRS) and PPL. These cover us for offering customised playlists on CD and hard disk. They also allow us to store music and playlists on our web server and deliver them via the Internet.