PPL CEO Peter Leathem. Photo Credit: PPL
Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) revenue hit a record £283.5 million (currently $355.9 million) in 2023, when income attributable to usages in U.K. public establishments experienced a double-digit increase, per a new report.
The London-based collective management organization posted its complete 2023 financials today, after shedding light on the year’s evidently distinct distribution details ($351 million/£279.6 million paid out to performers and rightsholders) in early February.
Behind the mentioned 2023 revenue total, the PPL said that public performances in shops, restaurants, clubs, and more had contributed $139.36 million (£111 million), up about 11 percent from 2022. Those payments were collected specifically via the six-year-old PPL PRS joint venture.
On the broadcast side, recorded music usages on TV, radio, and the internet accounted for $121 million (£96.4 million), per the Lewis Capaldi-partnered company, up a comparatively modest 2.6 percent or so year over year.
Renewed licensing agreements with the BBC, Discovery, and S4C contributed to the total, which also reflects a radio-advertising downturn, the 90-year-old CMO relayed. Rounding out 2023’s revenue total, the PPL acknowledged a 3.1 percent slip in international royalty collections, which finished at $94.7 million (£75.4 million).
Notwithstanding the latter, the PPL “saw annual growth in collections from the majority of CMOs in 2023,” with first-time payments having derived from Guatemala (population 17.4 million) and Indonesia (276 million). All told, the almost century-old organization has over 110 deals in place with CMOs based out of more than 50 countries.
Nevertheless, “declining revenues from monies for past periods” and “the residual effect of several years of” COVID-disrupted collections offset the growth, the PPL Giving organizer relayed.
Lastly, net revenue (collections minus operating costs as well as “other deductions”) grew five percent year over year, with costs as a percentage of revenue having dipped from 13.3 percent to 13 percent, according to the PPL.
Addressing the annual results, PPL CEO Peter Leathem underscored music’s perceived potential “to drive commercial value for businesses in the UK and beyond,” including by boosting “both consumer dwell time and propensity to buy” and by enhancing “productivity and attention to detail in the workplace.”
“In these somewhat precarious times for performers,” proceeded the more than two-decade PPL higher-up Leathem, “we are proud to deliver a consistent stream of income for them and recording rights holders – over £1 billion [$1.26 billion] distributed in the past five years alone. As the world leader in international collections, we will continue to advocate for neighbouring rights in new markets to maximise revenue opportunities for all our members.”
