Music Licensing

If you want to include copyrighted music in your Radio content, you must obtain the appropriate Music Licenses from the UK's two music licensing bodies - PPL and PRS.

We take music licensing seriously. We may place temporary limits on your Myriad Cloud service in response to complaints from copyright owners.

If you plan to broadcast on AM, FM, DAB or SSDAB then you will also need a broadcast license from Ofcom, but if your station broadcasts only on the web, Ofcom licenses are not usually required.

Broadcast Licenses

In the UK, all commercial and community radio broadcasters are regulated by Ofcom which is the independent regulator for the broadcast and communication industries.

Whilst Ofcom license and regulate FM, AM and DAB radio broadcasters, currently their remit does not include web radio stations or radio delivered by closed networks (intranet), downloads or wired speaker systems. In other words, unless you are planning on broadcasting on FM, AM or DAB you will not need a broadcast license from Ofcom for your radio station.

Music Licensing

If you play any type of commercial music as part of your radio station you will most likely need to obtain music licenses from both of the UK music licensing bodies. If you operate outside of the UK, please refer to your local music licensing bodies.

PPL (Phonographic Performance Limited)

PPL is the licensing body that represents the record companies and performers, and all business or public areas in the UK must have PPL licenses if they want to play music. This includes listening to a radio in an office!

For stations that broadcast publicly using the internet (including if you use our Web Player) then the license that is most likely to apply is the Online radio and services - PPL (ppluk.com) license (correct at time of writing) is adequate to cover a small radio station's needs.

PRS (Performing Rights Society)

PRS is the body which represents composers, songwriters & music publishers and collects money on their behalf from any business or organisation that uses copyright music. Just like PPL, PRS offer a small scale web radio license which is idea for small web radio stations. The Limited Online Music License (LOML) (correct at time of writing) is adequate to cover the needs of most small web stations.

This information is provided as a guide only, we strongly recommend speaking directly to PPL and PRS (or the equivalent in your region) about your radio project.

International Licensing

PPL and PRS both have extensive international licensing agreements, but this does not cover all geographic territories. Consider using Broadcast.Radio's Geo Blocking feature to limit access to countries that your license doesn't cover. Geo Blocking is now available on all plans.