Limited Online Music Licence (LOML)
Who needs this licence?
Small digital services in the UK that offer on demand streaming, permanent downloads, podcasts, webcasting and general entertainment content to a UK audience. We categorise services as small if their annual gross revenue for the service is less than £12,500.
This licence does not cover content on third party websites and social media platforms such as YouTube or Facebook.
Those wishing to live-stream via platforms such as Facebook and YouTube should be covered by the existing licensing agreements in place with those platforms. There are currently no licensing arrangements in place with Twitter or Twitch, negotiations are currently taking place with both of these companies. Please ensure you follow the terms of use and copyright requirements of each respective platform.
Those wishing to host a live-stream via their own website can apply for a limited online music licence (LOML). Please see below for details.
What this licence covers
The Limited Online Music Licence is an annual licence that covers the communication to the public and associated mechanical rights of our members' repertoire through digital services.
Temporary Synchronisation right
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we obtained a mandate to introduce a temporary change to our Limited Online Music Licence (LOML). This was to support customers within the worship, education and fitness and dance sectors who wanted to move more of their activities online during the forced Government closures. The amendment to the licence provided, for an additional fee, the synchronisation rights (allowing the synchronisation of music with visual content) within the LOML.
With the lifting of the Government restrictions for these sectors, the current arrangements will expire. As of 1 July 2021, customers who wish to continue offering classes or services online, will need to clear synchronisation rights separately in addition to performing and mechanical rights granted in the LOML.
If you need advice on how to clear synchronisation rights or which rightsholders to contact, then please email MCPS (the Mechanical Copyright Protection Society) at sync@mcps.uk for further information.
If you have any questions about your existing LOML, please contact applications@prsformusic.com where the licensing team will be happy to assist you. Alternatively, if you want to renew your LOML you can do this via our simple online portal.
What this licence does not cover
Unless for the sectors detailed above the Limited Online Music Licence does not grant synchronisation rights. For more information on how to license the synchronisation rights which you may require alongside the Limited Online Music Licence, please visit the Commercial Music Sync Licence page.
If you have licensed the synchronisation rights via MCPS Production Music you will require a Performing Right Online Licence.
Certain repertoire works are not licensed for online karaoke services.
Other exclusions:
- Sound recording rights
- Services operating outside the UK
- Use of music in adverts, sponsorship or corporate videos
- Adaptations of works
Purchase a licence
Once you calculate which licence band/s applies to your music use, you can purchase the Limited Online Music Licence online.
If you already have a licence, you can also log in to renew your Limited Online Music Licence
Please read these terms before completing your application.
How we calculate the licence fee
The Limited Online Music Licence is an annual blanket licence. If you’re only using music for a set number of months, you can choose to be charged pro-rata for these months, subject to a minimum fee of £73 + VAT. Use the guide below to see which is the right licence band for you. You'll need to pay a licence fee for each type of activity.
How do I choose the appropriate licence band when I have no usage data?
If your service is yet to launch or has only recently launched we understand you may not yet have the usage data to apply the right licence band to cover you for the year. You can back date your licence by entering the applicable start date when you apply. We would suggest every new service starts off on the lowest band and that you monitor the level of music usage after 3 months.
If you find you are likely to exceed the band you have applied for before the year is up, you can apply for a top up licence and upgrade to the correct licence band. If you find that your service will exceed the limits of The Limited Online Music Licence, please contact us and we can discuss other options with you.
How do I calculate the number of individual streams per year for my webcasting service?
A stream is per listener and per musical work, e.g. a radio station which has 100 listeners and plays five thousand songs creates 500,000 streams.
Example usage calculation
Usage |
Quantity |
|---|---|
| Average listeners per day | 50 |
| Average hours per day per listener | 10 |
| Average no. songs per hour | 10 |
| No. of broadcast days per year | 100 |
| Projected total no. streams per year = | 500,000 |
Contact our online licensing team
If you have any questions about your application, call our licensing team on +44 (0)20 3741 3888, 9.30am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.
You can also email us at applications@prsformusic.com
