MUSIC
The song and the recording
PRS for Music covers songwriters, composers and publishers. PPL covers performers and record producers.
Try the check- Songs: PRS
- Recordings: PPL
- Writing: ALCS
- Library loans: PLR
00BOOKS AND MUSIC, EXPLAINED
Who pays when
your work is used?
A royalty is the payment a creator earns each time their work is used.
A song on the radio, a novel borrowed from a library, a chapter copied for a class: each can earn money for the people who made it. In the UK, much of it flows through a few collecting bodies. Here is who does what, in plain English.
An explainer, not legal or financial advice.
Find out who pays01Principles
02THE SHORT ANSWER
One work, several rights.
Each right can be licensed separately,
so one use can pay more than one person.
BOOKS
Library loans
Public Lending Right pays book contributors for each loan from UK public libraries, from government funding.
See the rate
WRITING
Copying and scanning
ALCS passes on to writers money from licensed copying and other secondary uses of their work.
Royalty facts03A QUICK CHECK
Who collects
for this use?
Pick a way a book or a piece of music gets used. The answer comes from GOV.UK’s guide to licensing bodies and from the British Library’s Public Lending Right pages.
This is a simplified picture of the UK. Contracts, territories and the type of use can change who is paid.
04TWO NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING
Small sums,
big totals.
Individual royalties can be pennies.
Across a whole country they add up.
12.40p
Paid per library loan
The rate per loan for the 2024/25 PLR year. Payments run from a £1 minimum to a £6,600 maximum, and 24,992 payments were made for that year.
PUBLIC LENDING RIGHT · 2024/25
£1.02bn
Paid out in one year
PRS for Music reports paying £1.02 billion to songwriters, composers and publishers in 2025.
PRS FOR MUSIC · 2025
Figures are for the years shown, as published by the British Library and PRS for Music. Rates change from year to year.
05FOUR CHECKS
Questions worth asking
about your work.
Is it registered?
Collecting societies can only pay for works they know about. Check that each song, recording, book or article is listed with the right body.
Are your books in the PLR scheme?
Public Lending Right is run by the British Library. Book contributors register their titles to receive payments for library loans.
What does your contract say?
Royalties on sales are set by contract. Read the royalty clauses, and take professional advice before you sign anything you are unsure about.
Is your work used abroad?
Societies work with partners overseas. ALCS, for example, collects income from more than 40 countries.
06ROYALTY FACTS
Five things worth
knowing.
Copyright lasts a long time
In the UK, written and musical works usually stay in copyright for 70 years after the author’s death. Sound recordings usually last 70 years from first publication.
One licence, many rights holders
A collective management organisation grants rights on behalf of many rights holders in a single blanket licence, so users do not need to ask each creator.
The library year
The UK Public Lending Right year runs from 1 July to 30 June, and UK payments are made in February.
Over 100,000 writers paid
In March 2023 ALCS paid £31.8 million to 101,464 people, the first time it paid more than 100,000 writers in a year in its 45-year history.
Recordings have their own society
PPL describes itself as the UK music licensing organisation for over 150,000 performer and recording rightsholder members.
07QUICK QUESTIONS
Royalties, answered.
Short answers to the questions people ask most.
What is a royalty?
A royalty is a payment to the owner of a right, such as a copyright, when their work is sold, played, copied or lent. For many uses in the UK, a collecting society grants one blanket licence on behalf of many rights holders and passes the money on to them.
What is the difference between PRS and PPL?
They cover different rights in the same piece of music. PRS for Music licenses the rights of songwriters, composers and music publishers. PPL licenses the rights of record producers and performers in the recording itself.
What is Public Lending Right?
Public Lending Right is a legal right to payment, funded by government, for book contributors whose books are borrowed from UK public libraries. The rate for the 2024/25 year was 12.40p per loan, with a maximum payment of £6,600.
What does ALCS do?
The Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society collects money for writers from secondary uses of their work, including licensing by the Copyright Licensing Agency, and pays it out to its members.
How long do royalties last?
For as long as the work is in copyright. In the UK, a written or musical work usually stays in copyright for 70 years after the author’s death, and a sound recording for 70 years from when it is first published.
08Sources
Where the facts come from
- How long copyright lastsGOV.UK
- Licensing bodies and collective management organisationsGOV.UK
- UK Public Lending Right: rate per loan and paymentsBritish Library
- Financial results 2025PRS for Music
- About PPLPPL
- Authors receive record pay-out from ALCSALCS press release, March 2023