Pay to play

Editor’s note: Vivian Isert Helm is a freelance writer based in St. Louis.

It’s internationally understood that a songwriter or composer earns a royalty payment each time his/her song is played on the jukebox, radio, or by a DJ or a live performer. In the U.K., the responsibility for this lies mainly with an organization called the Performing Right Society (PRS).

The PRS collects and distributes royalties for virtually all U.K. public performances and broadcasts of music on behalf of its 34,000 songwriters, composers and music publisher members and the members of its affiliated societies around the world. (Its counterparts in the U.S. are the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP); Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI); and SESAC.) Via its affiliated societies, PRS also collects royalties for international usage of U.K.-originated music. In total, £227 million (or about $327 million) is collected by PRS each year.

PRS estimates there are over seven billion individual musical performances each year in the U.K. alone. Yet 60 percent of PRS members receive less than £250 ($360) a year from public performance.

However, a unique, ongoing music survey of performances in venues throughout the U.K. seeks to ensure that royalty payments are accurate.

During its first year, the meticulous PRS Music Survey documented live plays of songs, and music played by DJs throughout the U.K. The study involved personal visits to over 6,000 clubs, pubs, hotels and restaurants by 300+ shoppers for a year-long data collection effort which recorded 160,000 plays of nearly 20,000 songs. It is the first continuous, comprehensive study that documents what people visiting these venues hear. It cuts through assumptions of popularity and demonstrates the clear differences between weekly sales charts, broadcast airplay charts and actual live performance.

Developing the methodology

PRS supplied the music industry specifics for the questionnaire and partnered with Maritz Virtual Customers for advice on how best to gain the information from the venue managers. (A division of St. Louis-based Maritz Marketing Research Inc., Maritz Virtual Customers provides mystery shopping services in the U.K. and the U.S.) Three different questionnaires were developed: one for DJ plays, one for live performance, and a general survey. The DJ and live performance surveys cover four-hour periods; the general survey covers two hours. The general survey takes into account all performance sources: jukebox, radio, TV, CD player, etc. Other pertinent information on the DJ and live performance questionnaires includes the time each act starts and ends, the version of the song, sample lyrics and who originally made the song famous.

How the survey operates

This study is conducted very openly. Since the club, restaurant, pub or hotel has already paid the license fee to PRS, the music survey visit is a means of improving the accuracy of how PRS allocates the royalties it has collected and ultimately the accuracy of payments to its own members and those of its affiliated societies.

Upon receiving the PRS raw data from license fees paid, Maritz makes an initial contact call seeking owner consent and establishing a timeframe for the visit. The assigned shopper conducts the face-to-face visit equipped with a PRS identification card, the relevant questionnaire and a PRS question-and-answer sheet to handle any issues that might arise. All the pertinent information is handwritten on the questionnaire at the site and then sent via mail for keying and editing. The keyed data and sample status report is sent to PRS on a fortnightly basis.

Given that a club might offer a variety of musical options on different nights, it might be visited more than once. The survey is revenue weighted - the more a venue pays PRS, the greater its chance of being visited.

Finding the researchers

Maritz identifies shoppers from the Maritz Virtual Customers database of nearly 6,000 people, from newspaper ads seeking specific skills, from referrals, and from direct mail. All are tested on their music knowledge and undergo face-to-face assignment briefings. They are frequently spot-checked for accuracy.

Armed with sufficient awareness of song titles, a researcher is better able to record what is played and supply the necessary information to be cross-checked against the PRS database of musical works. Flexibility is important, as is being available on short notice to visit a venue in their area. Friendliness and an outgoing personality are key elements of shopper selection since they are required to chat with owners and performers.

One PRS researcher, Sandra, says she found “this job to be the nicest one ever - being paid to listen to music.” She shared some anecdotes from her field work:

“Was encouraged to sing along with the performer.”

“Took over the [turntables] while the DJ went to the [restroom].”

“Visited unusual venues - a five-piece band on a steam train in Wales or a live performance in a Welsh mine.”

“Was mistaken for a talent spotter.”

“Locked in a venue with pint glasses flying and a man with no trousers.”

“Asked not to tell on a guy who was bootlegging recordings at the venue.”

The results

The results are not drastically different from what PRS expected - a pattern with a small number of songs played frequently and another group of songs with one or two plays. The big unknown is which songs will be on each list.

The live lists are very different from the airplay charts and weekly sales charts. Because a song’s popularity outlives its sales chart success, DJs in clubs and live performers play what their audiences want to hear.

Interestingly, in 1999 Paul McCartney and John Lennon were the most-played songwriters, yet only one Beatles song, “I Saw Her Standing There,” was among the Top 20 most-played songs for 1999 in live performance sets. And they were not among the Top 20 most-played songs for 1999 in DJ Sets. The difference is that there were more instances of performance of their whole repertoire as opposed to many performances of a specific song. Raul Malo of the Mavericks topped the 1999 chart with “Dance the Night Away.” On the dance floor, Benny and Bjorn, the songwriters of Abba’s “Dancing Queen,” kept the most people moving.

These 1999 live charts were full of “standards.” Why? We can only surmise that whether it’s a new or old song, what these songs have in common are their catchy tune and easy-to-remember lyrics. There are songs by the Beatles alongside songs by Robbie Williams and it’s because they appeal to all. In the visits throughout the U.K., the entire Beatles repertoire came up - 120 Lennon and McCartney songs were performed. If such songs stand the test of time, it’s fitting that the songwriters should continue to receive royalties (which they do until 70 years after the death of the last surviving writer of the work).

Planning for the future

The PRS Music Survey of 2000 has been underway since January 1, 2000 and initial contacts for the 2001 study are being scheduled. Since this research is being conducted annually, PRS expects there will be minor changes in the live performance results but expects that dance venues and club plays will show more variety.