The world of music is vast and varied and much given to downloadable this and uploadable that. I am sure that collection agencies Phonographic Performance Ltd (PPL) and Performing Rights Society (PRS) have their work cut out. They try to cover all the angles to stop you getting out of paying for the two licences.
However, there are always grey areas. Mukesh Patel found one, albeit rather more colourful. He plays Hindi religious music in his store, Albany News in London’s Enfield. “The DVDs are without copyright,” he says. “They don’t say anything about public performance the way the English ones do.”
When he got a bill for £147 from PPL, he argued his case and the invoice was cancelled, although PPL said it would do random checks.
Both the collecting societies make a good case for playing music in-store, saying it enhances the shopping experience for customers.
But sometimes it is only there for the one-person band running it for all God’s hours when they want a little respite from dusting off the baked beans.
