The Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society (MCPS) and PPL have joined forces to create the first ever Professional Dubbing Licence (‘ProDub’). ProDub will legitimise the activities of DJs, karaoke jockeys, fitness instructors and others who copy legally-owned music onto a digital format for use in a professional or semi-professional capacity.
Working together for the first time in this particular area, MCPS and PPL – the royalty collection agencies who, combined, represent the rights and interests of songwriters, composers, publishers, performers and record companies – will offer both the copyright of the musical work and the sound recording under the single new ProDub Licence.
Launching on July 1st 2008, the tiered and flexible ProDub Licence scheme carries a starting fee of £250. Neil Jones, MCPS Business Development Director said: "This initial price point grants permission to copy and use up to 5,000 tracks. It covers both sets of copyright in the songs and sound recordings and includes VAT. What’s more, early birds will be encouraged and rewarded for early sign-up with a 25% discount up until mid-August 2008".
PPL’s Director of Legal & Business Affairs and Rights Negotiation, Peter Leathem said: "We are very pleased to be working together with the MCPS on the ProDub Licence and to be able to jointly offer such a user friendly and easy way of clearing rights and facilitating activities the market wants to undertake."
ProDub can be bought quickly and easily, online at www.produb.co.uk. Purchasers of the licence will be added to a ‘Licensed Customer’ searchable database, which will be accessible to venues who wish to ensure that the hired DJ, fitness instructor or performer has the correct and appropriate permissions to play their legal digital recordings.
According to research by MCPS, over a third of all mobile, karaoke and wedding DJs are now using new high-tech digital formats such as MP3 players, flash-drives and laptops to play out, negating the need to carry around hundreds of CDs or vinyl records in heavy flight cases and record bags.
National Association of Disc Jockey (NADJ) member Robbie Earl, who has been representing the association on the DJ Licensing Working Party, called the proposed licence scheme a ‘revolution’.