To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what his most recent assessment is of the impact on small businesses of the licensing enforcement regime for the use of music in public spaces.
This answer is the replacement for a previous holding answer.
Answered on
8 September 2014
My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has not assessed the impact on small businesses of the licensing enforcement regime for the use of music in public spaces. This regime is not run or approved by government.
The collecting societies ‘PRS for Music’ and ‘Phonographic Performance Limited’ (PPL), which represent copyright owners in the music sector, enforce their licensing requirements themselves. Since April 2014, their conduct towards licensees and potential licensees has been governed by minimum standards that can be enforced by Government through the Copyright (Regulation of Relevant Licensing Bodies) Regulations 2014.