Shoppers in a Black Country town will have to listen to the sound of silence after traders threatened to throw away their radios in protest at demands they pay a licence fee.
The move by traders in Rowley Regis is in protest at demands for a £106-a-year licence fee from every trader to give royalties money to performers.
Businesses say it is “greed” because the performers will already have been paid royalties for the songs’ air play.
Florist Joanne Hadley, on Portway Road, said: “They are doing all they can to squeeze small traders.
“All we have ever done is had the radio on in the shops. The hairdressers have it on in the background for their customers.
“If anything the artists concerned will be better off with us having the radio on because more people will hear their songs.
“This could just keep going until eventually you won’t even be able to carry a passenger in your car without having one of these licences.”
The 45-year-old, who runs Joanne’s Florists, said she was now urging her fellow traders to boycott the radio after they received a letter from the Performing Rights Society.
Rachel Hipkiss, of Hair Flick’s salon next door, said: “I don’t know what to do at the moment. It’s a lot of money and I think the whole thing is a load of rubbish.
“If I have to stop playing the radio it won’t be very nice for my customers just to have silence while they are waiting to get their hair cut.
“We have even thought about getting a Freeview TV and using the music channels but that needs an extra licence as well.”
The PRS says a licence is required to broadcast music anywhere outside the home.
Proceeds from fees are distributed to members of the PRS.
The PRS takes legal action on behalf of all its clients if people do not have the licences but are found to be playing music publicly.
Letters have been sent out to local businesses to remind them of the licence fee.
A PRS spokeswoman said legal action was only taken as a “last resort” because it is a not for profit organisation.
12 Comments
another case of rip off britain somebody has to pay for the asylem seekers
tv licence???radio licence???!!!!DAMN!!!!!!!!!!!!
Get a licence or switch the garbage off.
I’ve tried to find out if Wolves ASDA has got a licence but the management hide behind the staff whom, in turn are unhelpful. I have to walk ’round with ear defenders on to shut out the obnoxious rubbish.
I think you miss the point, this is a great opportunity to increase membership of the Turkey Army. Lots and lots of state employed officials to run around slapping fines on boy racers with loud stereos, I can certainly hear their music even in *my* home.
More self-inflicted extortion. When will it all end? Every day, the spirit of the good people of Britain is ground down a little more.
I cant beleive prats in sorts who have got nothing better to do in there time are insisting of a licence fee! If you think about it, anyone playing music i.e dj’s traders, kids in the park do they need to pay for a licence? The country is getting more expensive to live and they want to rip off hard working people to build more arsenal to bomb iraq!
How many years have the businesses been in breach of their legal requirement by not obtaining a PRS licence?
Brainwave! Get the Performing Rights Society to ride on the buses & get the idiots that play their radios/MP3 players out loud to pay the licence fee - silence…
Bliss.
strongly strongly agree with number 8!!!
If the people who play their radios in public AND the public who hear the radios, can all listen the radio in their own homes for free, what is the point in this charge? As someone previously mentioned, the artists will have already made most of their money from the recording deals they already signed up to plus the sale of their CD’s. Whoever heard of (and who would be dumb enough to sign up for) some kind of “pay by the play” deal?
This legislation has been in place since the 70’s as I found out by running mobile Discos. Most get places and people get ignored until something or someone brings it to the attention of Performing Rights. We have all got too used to having music blaring at us from all directions, wherever we are for good or bad and unfortunately the legal description of public performance would leave most of us the wrong side of the law.
I wonder if poor old Joanne Hadley has heard of the PPL (Phonographic Performance Limited) because she’s got to get one of their licences too!
Licensing is the future of the music industry, soon no-one will pay for the physical product, just the right to play it in public. You can’t enhance your business with music without giving a little back.