Hey all

I need a bit of help here please! I composed/ mixed/ produced three tracks, for three different contracts, for a single broadcaster.

All three tracks represented three different contracts. Each one of the tracks was attached to six bumpers.

So in total these tracks was used in 18 sponsorship bumpers. But each one of the bumpers "enjoyed" several slots of air-time.

Here are my questions:

1. What claim can I make from PRS?

2. These bumpers were about 7" long (for the first contract) and 10" seconds for the other two. Is there any money to be made here really?

3. I work for the broadcaster at a different capacity than the one of the composer. And I also have access to their scheduling system hence I have the exact times and dates that these bumpers aired across the channels the broadcaster. Would anyone know if I could submit these to PRS and make a claim from that? I contacted PRS using their online contact form but never heard from them!

4. And a side note here: In the contract, 50% of the publishing goes to the broadcaster (yes, I know, but let's not argue about this here). I looked in the PRS database to check whether the broadcaster might have registered the tracks with PRS but it doesn't seem like it.

How should I proceed?

Any help would be greatly appreciate it!

PS: Someone in the broadcaster mentioned that they are using Soundmouse for the short form stuff and PRS for all the long form license. Does this mean anything to anyone?

Cheers again.

You mention you looked in the PRS database? This suggests you are already a PRS member? (otherwise you wouldn't have a login for the database...)

Quote:

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I contacted PRS using their online contact form but never heard from them!

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Yeah, they're good like that, aren't they?

If the broadcaster is being the "publisher" of the works (and taking 50% of the royalties) it would've made sense for them to register the works with PRS, otherwise there won't BE any royalties lol... but if they haven't, or won't (perhaps check with them, to avoid duplicate registrations?) you're perfectly entitled to register them yourself as you also have an interest in them.

Details of how to submit a usage claim would best be discussed and chased with PRS...

Soundmouse are an "audio fingerprinting" service, who maintain a library database of recordings, and then take an audio stream of broadcasters' output, and their computer system can automatically analyse it for matches and produce a log of recordings broadcast.

Both PRS and PPL are, I gather, currently in the process of trialling the use of Soundmouse to analyse usage on radio and TV, rather than relying on broadcasters sending them in cue sheets and playlists.
Obviously this only works if your recordings are in Soundmouse's library, otherwise their computer can't match them.

I've been trying for some months to get my stuff on Soundmouse's database, they are apparently maybe giving me a beta account to use...

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