Provisión de agua en calidad y cantidad.

As previously noted, the PPL is another company which collects rights on behalf of recordings in Wales. It is a smaller company than the PRS for Music but at the same time plays an important role in providing another income stream for the music industry in Wales. The PPL was established in 1934, simply as a society to safeguard the rights of recordings.

According to its present Head of Member Services, Penny White, the PPL works differently to the PRS. In order to process payments, they rely on data sent to them from recording companies.62 If record companies do not supply information relating to a song, then neither the recording nor the performer will receive a payment. Thus the system is more straightforward than the PRS, but there is arguably an overdependence on record companies to act as sole providers of this data. The PPL system is less detailed and comprehensive than the database utilized by the PRS. The above graphs have been based on official figures on rates supplied by the PRS for Music, but the PPL do not publish figures for individual radio stations (such as Radio Cymru) or any of their licences with the BBC or other commercial services. According to the PPL the situation is under review and could be revised at some point.

62 _{Based on notes taken from a meeting held with the PPL on 17 June 2009.} (Members are entitled to submit information reating to recordings directly to the PPL.)

The
PPL
and
Wales


Unlike the PRS for Music, the PPL does not employ a bilingual English-Welsh officer. As part of their future plans, neither did the PPL see it as a priority to employ a bilingual officer because they believed that their systems were providing correct information. Nor is Wales considered a separate geographical region in the PPL’s UK division: North Wales is included as part of North West England and the South with the West of England.

The
BBC
and
PPL


The PPL receives data from the BBC, which it then matches with information provided by record companies such as Sain, Fflach and Ankst. This information is calculated using their Catco system. Research undertaken for this study reveals certain anomalies in the PPL’s structures. For example, in a meeting held with members of the PPL in London, the following issues were raised:

• One member of the research team noted that 30 songs written by him had been played on radio last year for which he had received PRS payments, but nothing had been issued from the PPL. PPL members present at the meeting blamed this situation on record companies for not transmitting accurate information.

• It was suggested that the PPL should employ a research officer to go after information by record companies and conflate this with information provided by BBC playlists in order to increase efficiency for its members. Andrew Radix of the PPL stated that they would not be prepared to go after songs that were played two or three times on radio if the cost of finding this information proved to be more expensive than the song’s worth.

• The PPL did not believe that providing a breakdown of the number of performances was appropriate on payment details at the moment, but this was under review.

• According to Penny White, the PPL planned to re-launch their web service and database next year.

The research team’s impression from having met members of the PPL was that their understanding of Welsh culture and music was basic at best. The locations licensing officer had only a very sketchy notion of the kinds of events and festivals taking place in Wales where public broadcasts of recorded music might be heard, for example. It was said that a member would be sent to the 2009 National Eisteddfod in Bala, however.

The meeting with PPL officers became an exercise in outlining the industry structure in Wales rather than the detailed information about Wales being provided by the PPL. The PPL had not heard of Community Music Wales, for example. In fairness, the PPL is a much smaller company than the PRS for Music, but the research team’s consultations with the PPL suggested that their understanding of the Welsh situation was not only less in comparison with the PRS for Music, but also that there was a lack of transparency and openness about their operational systems. Large gaps appeared on

their databases, suggesting that Welsh musicians may be losing out on potentially thousands of pounds of royalties.

In terms of increasing revenue for Welsh musicians, the PPL would appear to display a number of weaknesses in collecting on behalf of its Welsh members. Neither does it seem to recognise the need to appoint a subject-specific officer to deal with Welsh- language songs. It is therefore important that Welsh members of the PPL and organizations such as the Welsh Composers’ Alliance lobby in order to secure more accountability from the PPL in terms of improving its methods. A KTP (Knowledge Transfer Partnership) scheme was suggested to the PPL in order to employ an officer in charge of developing Welsh (and Celtic) provision within the company, but this idea was not accepted by the PPL. Regrettably, the society was disinterested in forging closer links with their Welsh members and recording companies.

Despite its drastic reduction in royalty payments to Welsh members, at least the PRS attaches value and importance in employing officers with specialist qualifications to deal with Welsh issues. Alas, the PPL does not.