National radio

Where does the money come from?

All radio stations which broadcast nationally on terrestrial frequencies.

How are royalties calculated?

You will receive a royalty every time your music is played on national terrestrial radio. The value of each play is dependent on the revenue received from and the amount of music played on each station. The current rates are:

What is the administration rate?

View current PRS for Music administration deduction rates

When do we pay?

Royalties are paid quarterly, in accordance to the schedule below:

NB: the top row shows the month the performance took place. The second row shows the target distribution payment month.

If we receive usage information late from the broadcaster, we will pay the resulting royalties in the next available distribution.

Can royalties be backdated?

Yes. You can back-claim royalties up to 3 years after the period they should have been paid in (see schedule above).

Why might I not have been paid for a terrestrial, national radio broadcast?

Are you sure your music has been broadcast?

Contact the broadcaster to find out more.

Are you sure your music has been registered correctly?

Check our database 

Was the broadcast more than 3 months ago?

We pay broadcast royalties quarterly, so your work must have been broadcast at least 3 months ago for you to receive a royalty (see schedule above). If broadcast information was received late, you will receive payment in the next available period.

Have we been able to identify the performance of your music?

Sometimes due to incomplete details being received, we are unable to match broadcasts to music on our database. To find out if any of your music remains unidentified, please use our Check Unpaid Performances service.

Need more help?

If after checking the above you still haven’t received payment, please contact us.