The United Kingdom’s Copyright Tribunal has ruled in favour of PRS for Music in its cinema licensing dispute with the UK Cinema Association (UKCA), approving a higher royalty rate and a single admissions-based calculation method. The new terms apply to music use dating back to July 1, 2024.
Tariff changes and approved rates#
In an announcement on Monday, October 12, PRS said the Tribunal had approved changes to its cinema tariff, known as Tariff C, including an increase in the royalty rate cinemas pay to use its members’ music. The Tribunal also backed PRS’s proposal to calculate royalties solely on customer admissions. That replaces a dual-metric system under which cinemas could instead pay royalties as a percentage of ticket revenue, according to PRS.
The society’s case rested on the argument that the previous tariff, last negotiated more than 20 years ago, no longer reflected the realities of today’s cinema industry. It said the Tribunal accepted that the volume of music in films, and so in cinemas, has grown since 2005, and approved a higher rate as a result.
The approved terms include:
- Per-admission royalty: 7.9p, up from 7.33p
- Annual minimum fee per screen: £131.50, up from £75
- Concert film royalties: 4% of ticket and booking fee revenue, up from 3%
The approved 7.9p rate is below both the 8.33p and 9.13p rates PRS had sought.
“We welcome the Tribunal’s decision which recognizes the increased value of music in the overall cinema experience,” said Dan Gopal, Chief Commercial Officer at PRS for Music. “The PRS team have worked tirelessly over many years to secure terms which better reflect the enhanced use of music in films and the significant contribution of our members’ work to the enjoyment of the filmgoing experience. This judgment validates those efforts, and will, alongside the recently announced reduction in PRS’s cinema admin rates, ensure that songwriters, composers and their publishers receive more royalties when their works are used in cinemas.”
PRS plans to finalize the updated tariff in consultation with the UKCA. The final version will then need to be approved by the Copyright Tribunal at a further hearing. The rates will be adjusted for inflation at the start of each year, PRS said. The society added that it will work with the UKCA over the coming weeks to help cinema operators move onto the new terms and to adjust interim royalty payments made while the case was before the Tribunal.
Background and consultation#
PRS first set out its plans for a revised Tariff C in a 2023 consultation paper. That paper said the existing tariff dated back to 2005, when it was agreed with the UKCA, then known as the Cinema Exhibitors’ Association. Under those terms, cinemas could choose to pay either 1% of net box office receipts or a fee per admission, which stood at 7.10p in 2023.
An analysis of the 70 highest-grossing films released in the UK each year found that music’s share of film runtimes grew by 22% between 2005 and 2022, a figure PRS has more recently put at 17%. PRS said cinemas tended to pick whichever metric produced the lower royalty, leaving PRS members with an average share of 0.95% of net box office rather than the intended 1%. The society calculated that the shortfall had cost its members £7 million (approximately USD $9.2 million) in distributable royalties between 2005 and 2022.
The consultation proposed a rate of 8.43p per admission, rising to 9.23p where the customer had paid a booking fee. The revised tariff PRS sought to introduce from July 1, 2024, set slightly lower rates of 8.33p per admission, or 9.13p where a booking fee was paid, according to a copy published on its website.
The UKCA referred the dispute to the Tribunal in 2024 under reference CT 133/24. In June, ahead of the hearing, the UKCA argued that the changes would increase the amount its members pay PRS by 42% a year, or around £4 million (approximately USD $5.3 million), with smaller operators most affected. UKCA Chief Executive Phil Clapp said the case was necessary to “challenge what is a completely unreasonable approach taken by the PRS.”
Wider PRS actions and financials#
In August 2025, a separate body, the Competition Appeal Tribunal, rejected a proposed class action against PRS over its distribution of “black box” royalties. That claim had been brought by Blur drummer Dave Rowntree on behalf of the society’s songwriter members. The Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal in June.
In March, PRS launched legal action against Valve Corporation, alleging that Valve has operated its Steam store without a license for PRS members’ music since it launched in 2003.
PRS announced a cut to its admin rate on multi-territory online royalties from 10% to 8% in June 2024, and said at the time it would begin a review of admin rates across all of its revenue streams the following year. That review has since produced further cuts: in September, PRS said that, starting January 1, 2027, it will reduce the admin rate it deducts from cinema royalties from 19% to 16%, alongside lower rates for public performance and broadcast. It expects the changes to add £30 million (approximately USD $39.6 million) to members’ royalties over three years.
The society paid out £1.07 billion (USD $1.41 billion) to songwriters, composers, and publishers in 2025, up 4.9% year on year, according to annual results published in April. Its royalty collections rose 7.7% year on year to £1.24 billion (USD $1.63 billion), including £313.4 million (USD $413 million) in public performance revenues, up 9.1%.
