Music Licensing for Your Venue
What TheMusicLicence covers, why karaoke and music bingo are charged differently, and what your Let’s Go Games subscription does not include.
This is general information, not legal advice.
What TheMusicLicence covers, why karaoke and music bingo are charged differently, and what your Let’s Go Games subscription does not include.
This is general information, not legal advice.
If you play recorded music where the public can hear it, you normally need TheMusicLicence from PPL PRS Ltd. That is a joint licence covering both the recording and the composition, and it applies to a pub, a club, a village hall, a school fair or a hotel function room.
It is not something Let's Go Games includes, replaces or exempts you from. Your subscription pays for the software that runs the game. The music licence is a separate arrangement between your venue and PPL PRS, and you would need it just the same if you ran the night off a laptop and a speaker.
PPL PRS price by how music is used. Background music in a bar is one thing; a session built around the music is another. Under PRS Tariff P, karaoke and music quizzes are treated as featured music sessions and charged per session rather than folded into a general background rate.
Practically, that means a venue that already holds TheMusicLicence for background music should tell PPL PRS it is starting a weekly music bingo or karaoke night, and expect the licence to be adjusted. Getting that right up front is cheaper than being found later, and PPL PRS are used to the question.
Rates and tariff structures change. Check the current position with PPL PRS rather than relying on a figure from a guide like this one.
Music Bingo and Karaoke play through embedded YouTube. The videos are third-party channels that we do not own or control, and playback is subject to YouTube's own terms of service. You are responsible for using them in a way that is consistent with those terms.
The Custom Music Round lets a host upload their own audio files for a quiz round. That does not change anything above: if the room can hear it, the venue still needs the public performance licence.
Ask your venue whether it already holds TheMusicLicence. Most pubs, clubs and hotels do. If it does, check whether it covers featured music sessions. If it does not, or you are running a one-off event in a hired space, contact PPL PRS before the night.