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PRS launch code of conduct
By CMU Editorial | Published on Friday 17 July 2009
Collecting society PRS For Music this week launched a code of practice for its customers, which it says it hopes will make the society’s work, procedures and policies more transparent, for the benefit of both their members and, most importantly, people and companies who licence the songs they represent. There will also be an ombudsman process set up for complaints as part of the new code.
The society says the code in some ways addresses concerns raised by the recent ‘Digital Britain’ report that called for more transparency in the way collecting societies work, and maybe a statutory framework to govern some of their operations. Whether it will do anything to placate European Commission types who still reckon collecting societies are too cartel-like remains to be seen.
Speaking about the code before its launch at a shingdig down there at the Houses Of Parliament earlier this week, outgoing PRS boss Steve Porter told Billboard: “We agree [there’s a need for more transparency]. It’s something we’ve been working on and consulting on with our customers over the last few months. I think we’ve been ahead of the curve on this one”.
Meanwhile, PRS’s new interim chief Jeremy Fabinyi said at the launch event: “This is a great step forward for us in our licensing operations and I’m pleased we were ahead of the curve on bringing this Code of Practice out. We’ve made a number of improvements over the last year and I’m delighted so many businesses are choosing to use music and creators are benefiting. We have listened to our customers and their representatives and we hope that the introduction of the code and an ombudsman will assure them that we are making a genuine commitment to good conduct”.
