PRS for Music reaches landmark 100,000th member

In record year for chart success and songwriter royalties, PRS for Music today announced that its membership has reached 100,000.

The society has represented songwriters, composers and music publishers for almost one hundred years and counts amongst its members, iconic names such as Paul McCartney, Queen and Adele.

The 100,000th member to join was a member of unsigned Sheffield band The Gentlemen.  The band comprises Nicholas Rognli-Olsen Noble, Sean D’Souza Walsh, Josh Cana and Joel Cana and has already supported Sheffield luminary, Jarvis Cocker as well as appearing recently on Dermot O'Leary's BBC Radio 2 show.

I can’t believe I am PRS for Music's 100,000th member! My dad, Keith is a songwriter too. He sang in the Screaming Abdabs who went on to be known as Pink Floyd - he has been nagging me for years to join after one of his songs in the 60s achieved PRS for Music awards and several million radio plays. The Gentlemen has recently released a new single, Lights of Tokyo which is getting some great support. We're proud to be members of such a key music institution - this is really important right now.

As a local MP I know Sheffield has an outstanding record of producing chart topping musicians, so it’s appropriate that a Sheffield band has helped PRS for Music reach this important milestone. Music from our country is successfully exported around the world and PRS for Music do an important job in ensuring the rights of our home-grown musicians are protected.

British songwriters have dominated the worldwide charts in the past 18 months including newly signed-up PRS for Music members, Rudimental. The quartet from East London has enjoyed enormous success and a heavy festival schedule after their D&B single, Feel the Love topped the UK singles chart.

Because PRS for Music is run by publishers and songwriters they understand the crafting that goes into making a really good tune. It’s been a phenomenal year for us and we rely on our PRS for Music cheques so we can keep writing music and touring.

This is a historic milestone for PRS for Music and reminds us what has been achieved in almost 100 years of operating.  Our songwriters are a global success story, being heard in more places than ever – across TV, radio, live and online. Whether they are producing film soundtracks, writing a Number 1 chart hit or playing sold out stadiums around the world –PRS for Music members soundtrack our lives.

PRS for Music members – the facts:

• On average 750 songwriters join PRS for Music each month.
• Currently PRS for Music members are 87% male, 13% female.
• Almost 50% of new members are aged between 20 and 29.
• The top ten regions for the greatest number of songwriters are: 1. London, 2. Surrey, 3. East Sussex, 4. West Midlands, 5. Middlesex, 6. Essex, 7. Kent, 8. West Yorkshire, 9. Manchester, 10. Hertfordshire.
• In 2012 PRS for Music collected £641.8m in royalties for its members of which £153m came from TV and radio, £51.7m from online and £19.3m from the live music sector.
• 31% of PRS for Music members pen pop/rock tunes, 11% write electronic dance music, 6% work in R&B and soul, 5% write folk, while 2% write classical music and a further 2% write jazz.
• Other newly signed-up PRS for Music members include Welsh songwriter, Ryan Elis; Joseph Marinetti who joined Thom Yorke and Nigel Godrich on stage for their Atoms for Peace album launch; BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year, Rua MacMillan and German-British songstress, Georgie Chapple currently plugging her debut EP, You are You.

About PRS for Music

PRS for Music is a world-leading music collective management organisation representing the rights of more than 165,000 talented songwriters, composers and music publishers around the globe. Headquartered in the UK, it works diligently on behalf of its members to grow and protect the value of their rights. With a focus on innovation and integrity, PRS for Music is redefining the global standard for music royalties to ensure creators are paid whenever their musical compositions and songs are streamed, downloaded, broadcast, performed and played in public. In 2022, PRS for Music collected £964m and paid out £836.2m in royalties. prsformusic.com