October 2021 distribution
For this October distribution we processed just over one trillion uses of music. This means we processed 38% more data than October 2020 and 50% more than October 2019.
As we do every year, we will be reducing the threshold for payments to UK bank accounts from £30 to £1, meaning more of you may see a payment in this distribution.
The impacts of the COVID-19 restrictions on many continue to significantly impact some of the royalties we can pay out, though we are starting to see early signs of the recovery. However, overall, this distribution is higher than its equivalent last year (October 2020). This is mainly due to the inclusion of two quarters of usage for Netflix and the Year End reconciliations for Public Performance, Public Reception, BBC TV and BBC Radio. We pay out what we call a ‘Year End reconciliation’ when more revenue is collected from a specific revenue source than is paid out in royalty distributions for that licence period. You can read more about Year End reconciliations on page five of our distribution rules.
BBC TV and Radio
The Year End reconciliations for BBC TV and Radio for 2019 were paid in July 2020. Under the new BBC licensing deal, the Year End reconciliation for 2020 will be paid in this October distribution. For the rest of the licence period, we will aim to pay the annual reconciliation every October.
Over recent years there has been a shift as audiences move to on-demand viewing from traditional TV broadcast. To improve the accuracy of distributions, we’ve changed the weighting when calculating distributions to better reflect that movement in audience numbers. You can read more about it in our March newsletter article. Though you may not notice any changes to BBC payments in this October distribution due to the BBC Year End reconciliations offsetting any decrease, you may see differences in future distributions.
Digital Service Providers (DSPs)
This distribution also includes payment from major online Digital Service Providers (DSPs): Apple Music, Spotify, Apple iTunes and YouTube Music. Alongside the standard Spotify distribution, we’re also including a payment to members who have earned from Spotify in Q2 - Q3 2019. This pro rata payment uses the money we have been holding for Spotify streams which took place in Q2 - Q3 2019 in the UK but no copyright owner could be identified.
- AMC Networks Q4 2016 - Q2 2021 – We agreed a new licence with the TV Broadcaster AMC Networks whose UK channels include CBS Drama, CBS Reality and AMC. The licence covers future usage until 2022. We have also secured backdated royalties and are pleased to be able to pay this out to members in this distribution.
- Netflix Q4 2020 - Q1 2021
- Public Performance Q2 2021
- Public Reception Year End reconciliation
- Various Public Performance - 2020 usage – As music licences are paid by our customers in advance, we took the decision during the pandemic to hold back revenue for 2020 public performances, so as not to effectively overdistribute when credit notes were issued because of venue closures. Now that government restrictions have eased, we are able to distribute the royalties in this month’s Year End reconciliation.
- Netflix GEOL for Q4 2020 – this was originally due to be paid in July 2021.
- PLAYSTATION GEOL for 2019 - 2020 – this was originally due to be paid in various previous distributions.
- Al Araby TV for Q1 2020 - Q1 2021 – this was originally due to be paid in various previous distributions.
- Disney+ and Apple TV (General Entertainment Online Licence – GEOL) – Licensing discussions are ongoing for both services which means we are unable to pay Apple TV (GEOL) Download and Rental for Q1 2020 to Q1 2021 and Disney+ Q2 2020 to Q1 2021. We're aiming to include these payments, where possible, in the December 2021 main distribution.
- Disney Audio Visual (AV) Q4 2020 - Q2 2021 – We’re unable to pay these broadcast TV royalties as we have not yet received the necessary usage data to enable a distribution. We're aiming to include these payments, where possible, in the December 2021 main distribution.
- BT Vision GEOD (General Entertainment on Demand) for Q1 2019 - Q1 2021 – Licensing discussions are ongoing for this service and the contract has not yet been signed. We’re expecting a signed contract and invoices raised and paid in time for distribution in December 2021.
- MICROSOFT XBOX GEOL (Q4 2020 – Q1 2021) – Licensing discussions are ongoing for this service and the contract has not yet been signed. We’re expecting a signed contract and invoices raised and paid in time for distribution in December 2021.
- NBC Universal (Q1 2021 – Q2 2021) – Licensing discussions are ongoing for this service and the contract has not yet been signed. We’re expecting a signed contract and invoices raised and paid in time for distribution in December 2021.
