Music Venue Trust (MVT) has officially launched its Set The Record Straight campaign, a major new initiative aimed at tackling systemic inaccuracies in how PRS for Music licensing fees are billed and enforced across the UK’s grassroots music sector. Led by MVT’s Rights Management Specialist, Gareth Kelly, the campaign exposes a staggering £666,000 in identified discrepancies across England, Scotland, and Wales. These errors—ranging from incorrect capacity calculations to billing based on "estimated" rather than actual usage—are placing immense financial strain on venues already operating on razor-thin margins. In one extreme case, MVT uncovered a £90,000 billing error, a sum the organization warns is large enough to shut a venue down permanently.
Inaccurate Data and Legal Threats
The campaign highlights a worrying trend of "assumptive" billing. MVT reports that fees are frequently linked to a venue’s maximum theoretical capacity rather than real attendance figures. Furthermore, the organization is calling for clearer liability between promoters and venues; currently, many venues are held responsible for fees on promoter-led events where they have no control over ticket income.
The human cost of these systemic failures is also being spotlighted. MVT revealed that:
Five grassroots venues have received County Court Judgments (CCJs) due to disputed or inaccurate assessments.
Over 50 venues are currently facing legal threats.
These outcomes can devastate an operator’s credit rating and overall wellbeing, often over fees that MVT argues were never accurately calculated in the first place.
A Call for Transparency
MVT is clear that it does not oppose the principle of PRS licensing, which is vital for ensuring songwriters are paid. However, CEO Mark Davyd insists that the current application is flawed. "This campaign is about bringing transparency into that space and making sure the system works as it should; fairly, accurately, and in a way that reflects how grassroots music actually operates," Davyd said.
The Trust is now calling for an urgent overhaul of the Live Popular tariff, demanding greater transparency in fee calculation and improved data accuracy to ensure the survival of the UK’s vital grassroots circuit.
