PRS vs PPL for Music Videos: Who Covers What in the UK

Music manager comparing video rights paperwork

PRS for Music looks after the song (the music and lyrics). PPL looks after the sound recording. VPL, PPL’s sister company, licenses music videos themselves, mostly for broadcast and public spaces. If you are an artist releasing your own track on YouTube, you do not buy any of these licences to upload it. They matter when you use someone else’s music, or when your video is played in public or on TV.

That is the short version. The detail below is about where each body fits, what a video adds to the picture, and what to sort out before you publish.

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TL;DR

PRS for Music represents songwriters, composers and publishers: the composition and lyrics.
PPL represents record companies and performers: the recorded sound. VPL licenses music videos, for example on TV channels and in gyms, shops and offices.
Putting music to pictures can need extra permission, called synchronisation (sync). A PRS or PPL membership or licence does not replace it.
YouTube’s Content ID detecting a track does not mean the use is licensed.
If the song and recording are yours, your job is registration and clean ownership. A ready-made video from us covers the visuals.

What PRS and PPL each do
Do you need both PRS and PPL to upload a video to YouTube?
Why a video adds a layer: synchronisation
YouTube, Content ID and platform licences
A pre-release checklist for artists and labels
Where the video itself fits
Put a finished video behind your track
FAQ
Sources

What PRS and PPL each do

UK copyright treats a song and a recording of it as separate things. The composition (music and lyrics) has one set of rights. The recording has another. PPL explains that PRS for Music collects and distributes money for music and lyrics on behalf of songwriters, composers and music publishers, while PPL does the same for recorded music on behalf of recording rightsholders and performers.

In practice:

	PRS for Music	PPL	VPL
What it covers	The song: music and lyrics	The sound recording	The music video as a video work
Who it represents	Songwriters, composers, publishers	Record companies and performers	Video rightsholders
Typical royalty source	Public performance, broadcast, online	Public performance, broadcast, online	TV channels, public spaces

A track played in public or broadcast will in most cases need a licence from both PRS and PPL. PPL set this out in written evidence to Parliament, and the underlying split between composition and recording has not changed.

Where VPL comes in

VPL is the third name people forget. GOV.UK notes that PPL and VPL administer the rights of record companies and performers in sound recordings and music videos respectively. Per PPL’s page on VPL, VPL licenses music videos used in TV programmes and promotions, including on music television channels, and for public spaces such as gyms, shops and offices. Its day-to-day work is done by PPL, and registering as a video rightsholder through myPPL is free.

PPL and VPL roles in music rights

So if you own a music video and want it to earn when a channel or venue plays it, VPL registration is the step to look at.

Do you need both PRS and PPL to upload a video to YouTube?

Not as the uploader of your own music. The licences described above are for people using music, such as a café playing a playlist. TheMusicLicence is the combined PPL PRS licence for businesses and organisations that play or perform music for staff or customers. PPL and PRS for Music still set their tariffs separately.

What changes the answer is whose music is in the video:

Your own song, your own recording. You are the rightsholder. Nothing to buy from PRS or PPL. You do want to be registered so you get paid when the video is played.
Your song, a recording someone else owns (a label, a previous producer). You need the recording owner’s permission.
Someone else’s song, such as a cover. You need permission from the composition owners. The ISM explains that where the composition is registered with PRS for Music and your recording is a faithful reproduction, you can obtain that permission through PRS by paying a mechanical licence fee.
Someone else’s recording, such as a DJ mix or remix. You need the permission of every relevant rights owner, since the ISM notes that recorded music often involves several parties, including performers.

The pattern is simple: you need clearance for any layer you do not own.

Why a video adds a layer: synchronisation

The biggest surprise for artists is that pictures change the rules. Making Music says that setting music to images or video, even of your own performance, may require extra permissions, often called synchronisation rights. The British Copyright Centre adds that sync use, such as in adverts, TV or film, is often, though not always, approved individually.

That is why a PRS or PPL licence alone rarely answers the question for a video. Those bodies license performance and broadcast use. Sync is usually agreed with the owners of the composition and the recording directly.

For most of our audience this is a non-issue, because the track is theirs. It becomes a real task for:

Labels releasing a catalogue track with a new video, who should check the publishing split on the composition.
DJs and producers using samples or other people’s vocals.
Managers handling releases for artists with co-writers or outside publishers.

YouTube, Content ID and platform licences

A common mistake is treating YouTube’s systems as a licence. They are not. Making Music is clear that automated detection does not mean your use is licensed or legally covered, and a rights holder may restrict playback or monetise the video.

Platform deals exist, but they are narrow. PRS for Music’s YouTube licence guidance described a deal covering PRS-controlled repertoire in videos streamed via YouTube across 130 territories from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2021. It also said the deal excluded repertoire licensed by other societies or third parties, and that some publishers license YouTube directly. Check PRS for the current position on a specific work.

One Dance UK’s guidance makes a related point: a Limited Online Music Licence is for things like on-demand streaming and your own website, and does not cover content on third-party platforms such as YouTube. If PRS or PPL cannot give the clearance, you go to the artist, publisher or label directly, even for a short extract.

The takeaway: a platform arrangement may cover some uses of some repertoire. It is not a substitute for knowing who owns what in your own video.

A pre-release checklist for artists and labels

Before you upload or run ads on a video:

List every element: composition, lyrics, recording, samples, guest performers.
Confirm ownership of each, in writing where more than one party is involved.
Register the song with PRS for Music and the recording with PPL, so royalties from public performance and broadcast reach you. If you hold the video rights, register the video with VPL via myPPL.
Clear anything that is not yours before publishing, including short extracts.
Check the visuals. Footage, locations and people on screen carry their own permissions. Our guide to a location release for a music video covers the UK side of that for shoots.
Keep the paperwork with your release files, since distributors and ad platforms can ask for it.

This is general information, not legal advice. For a contested split, a sample clearance or a catalogue deal, speak to a music solicitor, or to the ISM or Musicians’ Union if you are a member.

Where the video itself fits

The audio side is rights-heavy. The visual side should not be. A video you commission or buy needs its own clear licence, covering what you can do with it: upload to YouTube, cut short clips, run ads. Our music video licensing page explains how licences work on the marketplace.

There is a practical reason this matters for the PRS and PPL question. A fully custom shoot adds people, locations and crew agreements to the list in the checklist above. A ready-made, professionally produced video that you customise with your own audio and branding keeps the chain short: the track is yours, and the visuals come with a licence. If you are weighing the routes, our comparison of premade and custom music videos goes through the trade-offs.

Our view

We built Music Video Marketplace for artists who have finished a track and want a proper long-form video on YouTube without a shoot, a director and a month of waiting.

Rights questions slow releases down more than creative ones. Artists tell themselves they must understand PRS, PPL, VPL and sync before they can publish, and so the song sits. Our position is that you should know your own chain of ownership, register properly, and then make releasing the easy part.

That is why every video on the platform is originally produced by professional filmmakers specifically for music, never created with AI or generic stock footage. You bring the audio and your branding, customise the video, and export it ready for YouTube. The visuals are one less thing to untangle.

Get the song and recording registered. Keep your splits clear. Then put your energy into getting the video seen.

Music

Put a finished video behind your track

If your song and recording are cleared and you want the visuals handled, membership on Music Video Marketplace is £19.99 per month, and recurring extra videos are £9.99 per month per video. You upload your audio and branding, export a YouTube-ready video, make short social clips and launch an ad campaign for the song. See the membership pricing for what is included.

Musicvideomarketplace

Browse the catalogue and pick a video that suits the track. It takes minutes rather than a production schedule.

FAQ

Do I need both PRS and PPL?

If you are playing or broadcasting music in public, you usually need both, because PRS covers the song and PPL covers the recording. If you are an artist uploading your own music, you do not buy either licence. You register with them to collect royalties instead.

Do I need PPL if I have PRS?

Yes, for recorded music used in public or broadcast. PRS membership or licensing covers the composition and lyrics only, and PPL deals with the sound recording. The two set their tariffs separately, even where a combined licence is sold to businesses.

Are music videos covered by PRS and PPL?

Not in full. PRS covers the song inside the video and PPL the recording, but the video as a work is licensed by VPL for TV channels and public spaces. Adding music to visuals can also need separate sync permission from the rights owners.

Does YouTube’s Content ID mean my video is licensed?

No. A Content ID match only means the system found a track. A rights holder may then block it or monetise it. Clearance still comes from the owners of the composition and the recording.

Who should I speak to if my track includes samples or a cover?

Start with the owners of each part: the publisher for the composition and the label or producer for the recording. A music solicitor or the ISM can help with anything contested or unclear.

PRS vs PPL for Music Videos: Who Covers What in the UK

PRS vs PPL for Music Videos: Who Covers What in the UK

TL;DR

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