PRS for Music, a UK collection agency, announced that it paid out record royalties to its members last year. The group’s 2017 payouts totaled £605.1 million, up 14.7% from the 2016 amounts. PRS said that 6.6 trillion performances were reported last year, a 53% on-year increase that led to a record-high collection total of £717 million.
The organization reported that revenue from online platforms increased 52.7% to £122.9 million. Its multi-territory licensing deals with leading digital platforms helped to boost that figure. Streaming revenue spiked 68.6% on-year from 2016. Broadcast revenue rose 8.5% to £134.6 million and public performance revenue increased 8.1% to £198.1 million.
CEO Robert Ashcroft highlighted the digital growth as a positive sign. “There is much, however, still to do and it is critical that we continue to make progress in ensuring fair remuneration for the use of our members’ works on digital music platforms,” he said. “We look forward to an equal marketplace, where all online platforms, including those that host user-generated content, pay music creators fairly for their work.”