Government changes copyright law for not-for-profit organisations
The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has announced plans to make charities pay for playing music at events, as part of a wider reform on music licensing.
Currently, charities do not have to pay licensing fees to Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL), which collects fees on behalf of performers and music producers. From April next year, charities will have to pay a fixed fee for playing music. The exact fee is yet to be announced, but the IPO has indicated it will be less than £100 a year. Meanwhile, the move to scrap the exemption has been branded "shameful" by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO), which argues the move will divert money intended for charitable causes to licence fees instead.
Read more about the proposals at:
http://www.ipo.gov.uk/press-release-20091112
Read more reaction from the NCVO at:
http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/Channels/Policy/Article/966708/Charities-lose-music-royalties-exemption/
