PPL (Phonographic Performers Limited), the British collection agency of performance royalties to labels and artists, announced its 2013 revenues, showing year-over-year growth in money collected, and clients served.
The bottom line shows a 4% rise in revenue in 2013 over 2012, to 176.9 British pounds. (Billboard did the currency conversion: $296.5-million.) PPL disclosed that about 40% of collected revenue came from broadcast and streaming sources across radio and television.
At the same time, PPL announced a 22% growth in its client list, as 79,000 “performer memberships” are affiliated with the agency.
“Over the years we have seen our revenues grow significantly, as performance rights continue to become a major revenue stream for the music industry,” commented PPL CEO Peter Leathem. “We are delighted that in our 80th year we are now paying out more money, on more recordings, to more performers and record companies than ever before.”
PPL performs a parallel function in Britain’s music ecosystem as SoundExchange does in the U.S.