Improving royalty distribution for music creators through data from schools

This month marks the launch of Every Copy Counts, a brand new campaign to help schools make the most of the Schools Printed Music Licence.

The Schools Printed Music Licence, which is administered by Printed Music Licensing Limited (PMLL), is a major advantage for schools. It enables teachers to copy and arrange music freely, based on a set of straightforward terms and conditions, without any need to negotiate or fund the licence. It is one of a variety of ways to support a rich and diverse musical offer for all learners, removing many of the financial barriers of purchasing music.

The licence is granted automatically to schools in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland by the Departments for Education, and fees paid by the Education Departments are distributed to music publishers, and then to creators.

However, to date less than 2% of schools have reported what music they are copying and arranging, meaning that the royalty distribution system is currently neither accurate nor fair.

I was engaged by the PMLL to think about and implement a new way of increasing the quality and quantity of data, and as a result move towards a fairer distribution system for music creators.

Our aim, through Every Copy Counts, is to support teachers to collect and share data on the music they are copying and arranging.

In return, teachers can access an exclusive set of resources created by teachers, for teachers, exploring composing and songwriting in the classroom, guidance on licensing and the music publishing industry, and a digital pack containing a poster, certificate and logos for their school.

Having worked in the music education sector for  over 20 years, I know that time-pressed music teachers will not be able to readily place this as a priority, particularly in the current climate!

However, I also know how passionate music teachers are about music, musicians, creators, and making sure the right people get their fair share.

Therefore through a gentle, kind, fun and gradual campaign we hope to help teachers make the most of this important licence, and, over time, show them the value of sharing data on printed music and their vitally important part in the ecology of the creative process.

 For more information on Every Copy Counts and to sign up as a school and share data visit www.everycopycounts.co.uk @EveryCopyCounts. If you would like an information pack to share with schools in your network please contact eleanor@everycopycounts.co.uk