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collects royalties on behalf of their members in Wales from numerous
different sources. Up to and including April 2007, a large part of the royalty came from
payments for public use (in clubs, pubs, shops and leisure centres for
example). A small percentage of the income (around 10%) came from payments
for songs played on Radio Cymru. Allocations
up to and including April 2007 Before
April 2007, PRS estimated individual payments for the use of songs by
comparing two types of data: 1) data collected for the public use of
songs, that is a census of venues across the UK, such as clubs, pubs,
shops and leisure centres; and 2) radio station play lists. By
comparing which songs appeared in the two sets of data, it was decided
which radio stations best matched the data and on this basis public
performance royalties were paid on the back of these stations' 'analogies.
Payments, or allocations, based
on this type of comparison are called 'analogies.'
Up
to and including April 2007, the system has been rather ambiguous because
the data on Welsh songs was mixed with data for the rest of the UK. For
example, Radio Cymru playlists were included with the playlists of a group
of 50 BBC regional and local radio stations, and the data collected in
venues in Wales was considered as part of the census for the whole of the
UK. Therefore, Welsh members of PRS were receiving analogies payments at a
rate based not only on Radio Cymru and Welsh venues data, but based on an
average of the whole group of 50 stations and data from all UK venues. It
is obvious, therefore, that the data did not reflect the real use of Welsh
songs. Different to the vast majority of Anglo-American music that
dominates the UK media, Welsh music is generally played on one radio
station only, that is Radio Cymru. Allocation
of Analogies after April 2007 After April 2007, PRS began comparing the data collected at venues with individual radio station play lists in stead of as a cluster of 50. The result of this showed that Radio Cymru play lists rarely corresponded with the census data on venues for the whole of the UK. The
consequence of the change in PRS' payments policy is that the data
collected for Welsh music is not substantial enough to be considered for
any analogies payments. Therefore, since April 2007, Welsh PRS members
have relied solely on broadcasts by Radio Cymru, S4C and a few other radio
stations for their income. This is a decrease of around 90% for the whole
of the Welsh music industry. BBC
minute rates Because
Welsh music is no longer considered for analogies payments, we shall
consider the remaining income, the majority of which is royalties from
Radio Cymru. PRS receives a blanket payment by the BBC centrally for their
whole use of music on all of their services, that is television, radio and
on-line. PRS then share this payment amongst their members according to
the rates that they set. Here are the new rates published by PRS in August
2008:
From October 2008 the minute rate will decrease gradualy until December 2010 when it will be 00.47 per minute. As
can be seen, in comparison with Radio 1, 2, 3 and 4, Radio Cymru's rate is
very low. Historically, the degree of analogies payments has hidden the
fact that the payment rate for Radio Cymru was of no real substance. Consequences
of the Changes It
is estimated that the total loss to the Welsh music industry is close
£1.8
million a year. As can be seen, the fall in the total amount of royalties
is enormous, with a decrease of around 95% for the whole industry every
year. In
response to this substantial threat to their income, an ad hoc
alliance was formed by Welsh composers and publishers in October 2007, as
a means of pressurizing PRS to restore the payments lost. During
discussion with PRS it became apparent that the society was totally
unaware of the effect their change in policy has had on the industry in
Wales. The sums of money under consideration are relatively small when
compared to PRS' yearly cash flows. It was very disheartening to realize
that PRS had not once seen the need to consider the effects of these
changes on their Welsh members. Because
of recent lobbying by The Cynghrair, PRS has agreed to gradually reduce
the analogies payments over three years. These gradual payments began in
December 2007 (backdated to July 2007). By December 2010 the fall in income
will have reached 95%, therefore the serious threat to the industry in
Wales continues. The Welsh Music Publishers and Composers Alliance was formally founded in a meeting in Aberystwyth in February 2008, when a steering committee was elected to supervise the PRS campaign and to consider various responses to the disaster that is swiftly approaching. The current members of the steering committee are: Geraint Davies, Kevin Davies - Fflach, Gethin Evans, Bryn Fon, Geraint Griffiths, Osian Gwynedd, Tudur Morgan, Gwilym Morus, Rhys Mwyn, Dafydd Roberts - Sain (Chair), Gai Toms, Kerry Walters - Cofi Bach, Elwyn Williams and Emyr Williams - Ankst. The
Effect in Wales The
Industry in Wales The
dramatic change in income is a massive threat to the Welsh language music
industry, and the future of the whole industry is very uncertain.
Individual composers who have come to rely on this income are facing the
fact that a substantial part of their livelihood will completely disappear
over the next two years. Record
companies, who rely on this income from their publishing departments to
make up for a restricted CD sales market, have to consider making large
cuts in jobs, and in the case of small businesses it is very likely that
they will have to close completely. In truth, a fall in production has
already been seen due to the uncertainty regarding the industry. Without a
meaningful income to promote and secure it, it is certain that the
professional industry will disappear in a short time, with a severe effect
on standard of cultural produce in Wales. The
Culture in Wales It
can not be stressed enough the effect of PRS' new policy. It is only
necessary to consider the further implications of the degradation of the
music industry on the culture of Welsh speakers: Welsh language music is a
cornerstone to their culture, and a daily part of their lives, young and
old. Welsh
music provides access to the wider culture of the Welsh language for the
young, never mind adults and audiences through out the world. Without new
products available for the mass media a meaningful music scene cannot
exist in the Welsh language, and because of this an important cornerstone
of the culture will disappear.
In truth, the situation so dire that any available solution must be considered, including leaving PRS and licensing Welsh works directly, that is, creating a Welsh licensing, collecting and distributing body.
© y gynghrair 2008
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