A new partnership between abcd and Printed Music Licensing Ltd
Need a licence to allow your choir to copy music legally and with the minimum of fuss? Why not take a look at the Amateur Choir Licence, now available direct from abcd.
The Amateur Choir Licence allows choir members to legally make photocopies of works and also permits minor arrangements (e.g. change of key) to suit the voices of the choir. The licence is intended to make access to music easier for choirs enabling them to make copies without having to seek permission directly from the publisher, while ensuring that songwriters and composers are fairly paid for the use of their works.
Why was the licence created?
Printed Music Licensing Ltd, which represents the rights of music publishers, wanted to simplify the licensing process for choirs whilst working with music publishers to ensure songwriters and composers are fairly paid.
How does the licence work?
With the PMLL Amateur Choir Licence you can easily and legally make printed copies of licensed songs without contacting publishers individually. All the major publishers are part of the scheme, with just a few exclusions: see the full list below.
You can make copies for your members only and annotate and adapt copies for performance (within reason) from any participating publisher. The work or song must not be more than 16 pages long and the licence does not allow for the copying of larger works or works made up of many individual pieces or movements e.g. an oratorio or other large-scale work. You must own either a physical copy of the work or have paid for a pdf copy from a legitimate website. The copies can’t be shared or sold outside your group. The licence is charged per choir member and there is a range of prices per member according to how many copies per member you want to make in a year.
Each licence is valid for 12 months, from your start date. If you renew your licence the next year, the copies made under the previous year’s licence can be kept for an additional 12 months, but then they must either be re-licenced if you still need them, or disposed of securely.
Find out more about the licence from composer and abcd President Sir John Rutter and music industry experts in this video:
What does it cost?
Pricing is tailored to the size of your choir (you pay per member) and how many pieces you want to sing.
- £2.50+VAT 1 copy per member of up to 5 licensed works
- £5.00+VAT 1 copy per member of up to 10 licensed works
- £10.00+VAT 1 copy per member of up to 25 licensed works
- £15.00+VAT 1 copy per member of up to 50 licensed works
Please note that as the licence is being sold on behalf of PMLL, the usual abcd member discounts do not apply: please make sure you are not logged in when purchasing.
What happens when we purchase a licence?
The confirmation of purchase email will include a link to a licence download. This needs to be completed and returned to PMLL for your licence to be valid.
Information on the works you have copied needs to be reported to PMLL via its portal. This ensures that the correct publishers can be paid, who in turn pay monies to the writers and composers of the works.
PMLL provide stickers for the number of works and choir members covered by your licence. The stickers should be placed on all copies of music made under the licence and details of how to request these are included in your confirmation of purchase.
PMLL have published a useful list of FAQs to answer any questions you may have here.
Licences for other types of choir
If you work in or represent a school or a schools music service, or a higher education institution, where copies are made of printed music then PMLL operates separate licences. Find out more on their website.
Buy your licence online now
If you’d prefer to purchase your licence offline, we’re happy to send an invoice to your choir. Contact us with the details.