SOUND ON SOUND

[ReadySaltedChris]

:(

Dear Member,

I am writing to you because nothing is more important, either to PRS, or to me as its Chief Executive Officer, than the accurate distribution of your money; yet over the past year we have experienced a number of instances where we have, regrettably, fallen short of this requirement.

By way of background, you will no doubt be aware that in recent years we have had to deal with significant growth in the amount of data we process. When I joined PRS at the beginning of 2010, the total number of music usages reported in the previous year was no more than fifteen million, yet this month’s April distribution alone is made up of about two trillion.

In response to the challenges posed by this significant increase, derived not only from the growth of streaming, but also from better reporting in other areas of the business, we introduced new technology, and new business processes, at the end of 2016. These changes, however, were clearly not fully effective, as we have since identified a small, but significant number of errors in both the April and July 2017 distributions.

We worked hard throughout 2017 to eliminate any possible recurrence of such errors, and by December had every reason to believe that we had reached a satisfactory conclusion.
We were devastated, therefore, in the April 2018 distribution, to discover three new errors. We understand how they happened and how they escaped the controls we had put in place, but this is not enough; we need to be in a position to assure members that both our processes and our controls are completely reliable.

I sincerely believe that, despite this most recent setback, we are now gaining control of the situation and that the underlying issues will be resolved. I know how important it is to get this right and have dedicated some of our most senior and experienced staff to resolving the matter. I would also like to assure you that it is my highest personal priority too.

Members will be notified directly of any distribution errors that affect them individually over the course of this week. We will explain in detail, through the usual membership channels, both what we are doing, and any action required of them, on an individual basis.
The period under investigation dates back to the April 2017 distribution. Given the clear progress we made in both the October and December 2017 distributions, and the nature of the errors in both the July 2017 and April 2018 distributions, I am reasonably certain that we have only to complete a successful July 2018 distribution to put these historic problems behind us. In any event, I would like to assure you that this, along with the prevention of any future errors, has our full attention.

I both appreciate, and deeply regret, the impact of this situation on individual members and am determined to resolve the underlying causes as quickly as possible.
I remain confident in our ability to do so and will update you as we make further progress.
Sincerely,

Robert Ashcroft
Chief Executive Officer
PRS for Music

[jpalmer]

It's a pretty poor situation on PRS behalf. I know mistakes happen but this is dating back over a year now after payments were made in good faith to members. I'm waiting to see if I'm one of those who they're going to contact to see if there's any 'action required' from me.

I had quite a good payment last year and have already spent money on various things like, oh you know, mortgage payments and stuff. Anyone have any idea what the legal situation would be for royalty payments made over a year ago and whether they can ask for money back? I can't see anything specific on PRS' website or terms and conditions but the words 'cold dead hands' will likely form part of my response to them...

[blinddrew]

Anyone have any idea what the legal situation would be for royalty payments made over a year ago and whether they can ask for money back? I can't see anything specific on PRS' website or terms and conditions but the words 'cold dead hands' will likely form part of my response to them...

It's a much misunderstood concept, and very rarely stands a solid legal challenge, but this might be one of the few cases where there is a legitimate estoppel argument.

I would guess the increased work load is because of streaming. Is it really worth them collecting £0.0004 from Napster France, which is on my current royalty statement?
One American singer/songwriter had 1 million plays and received $38. It really is not worth the effort. (Of course I would rather we all got more for streaming but that is probably not going to happen).

[blinddrew]

Of course I would rather we all got more for streaming but that is probably not going to happen.

Not while Spotify is controlled by the labels...

[ReadySaltedChris]

I have a friend who is required to pay 13k back (and got the email just as he was going on hols). I have many chums who have to pay several k back. It is very inconvenient. They are a severely mismanaged organization who really need a kick up the a**e.

IMO

[ReadySaltedChris]

I'm waiting to see if I'm one of those who they're going to contact to see if there's any 'action required' from me.

Email the PRS writers guy and he will tell you what you have to pay back. Currently a thread about this on the Scorecast UK group on Facebook.

[jpalmer]

Email the PRS writers guy and he will tell you what you have to pay back. Currently a thread about this on the Scorecast UK group on Facebook.

I know I probably should contact them but I think I'm going to take the ostrich approach until I hear otherwise from them!

[Folderol]

IANAL but as far as I know the only organisation entitled to demand money back due to their mistake is the Inland Revenue.

Mind you, they'd prolly blacklist you at the very least.

IANAL but as far as I know the only organisation entitled to demand money back due to their mistake is the Inland Revenue.

Mind you, they'd prolly blacklist you at the very least.

As far as I know they deduct it from your future earnings, they can't demand you give it back but like you IANAL either.

[ReadySaltedChris]

They often get it wrong and over pay. They just grab it back in the next distribution. This is on a whole different scale though and people are finding out about this a year after the event. Suddenly realizing you have a 5 figure sum to pay back (as some composers have) is going to be a painful experience and no doubt place some people in difficulties.

[ReadySaltedChris]

PRS members, please feel free to sign...

https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/prs ... -emergency

[jpalmer]

Turns out I do have to repay. Close to a grand, so not as bad as others but still not something I should have to be doing (nor had an idea I should be budgeting for due to their incompetence).

Also love the way they worded the email: "How will you fix it?"

Complete bunch of incompetents.

[Marbury]

I have had no email asking for anything so I take it I don't owe anything ?