PRS for Music reaches record April payouts, launches coronavirus relief fund

PRS for Music, the British collection society, announced that it made a record April royalty distribution. The organization paid out £174 million (~$215 million) to its members for the month, up 15% from April 2018 distributions. PRS for Music has 145,500 members, including songwriters, composers, and music publishers.

The society announced that it has prioritized live performance royalty processing, and that it cut the average turnaround time to three months. That caused the April payouts to see £18.3 million ($23 million) in live royalties for the month.

The shift in live show processing is just the latest effort by the organization to assist artists in financial straights. Late last month, PRS for Music launched an emergency fund to aid members as the coronavirus pandemic rages on worldwide. The PRS Emergency Relief Fund will grant awards based on individual needs, giving applicants as much as £1,000.