© 2024 Phonographic Performance Limited.


PPL issues Radio Broadcasting licenses to Broadcasters and Public Performance licenses to individuals, entites, organisers, venues and establishments for the usage of sound recordings assigned/transferrred to it by various Music Companies.

As per the Copyright Act 1957, every business entity or individual must procure permission from the copyright rights holder before any public performance/communication of sound recording, and failure to do so is considered as a serious offense inviting civil and criminal consequences. So all those hotels/resorts/pubs/bars/stores/offices/any commercial premises that play or communicate or who allows other to play PPL's sound recordings in any manner must obtain a prior licence from PPL. Obtaining one PPL Music license permits you, about the vast majority of commercially available music.

A PPL Music License fee is calculated on the basis of carefully devised tariffs that takes into consideration various surrogates. You can find our detailed tariff here.

You can click here to check the Music Labels list belonging to PPL India. Alternatively, you can search for a song at https://www.pplindia.org/songs. In case, you are unable to find the selected song or set of songs, you can write to us at [email protected].

The public performance fees that PPL collects are divided amongst the various record labels that we represent i.e. the copyright holders of the sound recordings. The precise division of the revenue is conducted in accordance with PPL’s own distribution methodology.

“Public Performance” refers to the playing of music (Sound recordings) in any premises/establishments where the communication of sound recordings is to the public

PPL issues two types of Public Performance License, i.e Annual Background License for usage of PPL sound recording on a daily basis in the background of any establishment/premises, and Event License for for the usage of PPL sound recording during the course of an event/show/function.

This license is mandatory for all commercial/public establishments including but not limited to hotels, discotheques, clubs, lounges, pubs, shops, stores, malls, salons, hospitals, offices, amusement parks, Cimena theatre, Dance & Zumba class and the like, buses, taxis, offices or any form of transportation, which use PPL's sound recordings on a regular basis.

Any corporate or individual or hotel / banquet / party hall/ground using recorded music belonging to PPL during the course of an event/show/function, be it a corporate/social/award show/fashion show or any other event will require a prior PPL Event License which will be valid for the duration of the event only.


If you are playing sound recording as a filler or a minus one track or a backing track in the live event, then a PPL Event license will be required.

Yes. As the name implies; background music creates an environment conducive for the premise to enhance its ambience thereby improving consumer engagement. An event uses music as a more engaging medium while hosting a party/gathering etc., a separate event license would hence be required.

Yes. PPL has rights of international music/sound recordings of leading record labels.

Yes. PPL has copyright in various instrumental tracks and playing such instrumental tracks will require a license.

Yes. PPL has the rights of thousands of regional songs from across India. This includes music in all major Indian languages including but not limited to Bengali, Bhojpuri, Gujarati, Kannada, Marathi, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and others.

Yes. Public performance does not have anything to do with the volume of the music being played. If you are playing music at your commercial establishment or on a public forum, you will need a license from PPL.

Every PPL license has a unique QR code which can be scanned by a smartphone. If it is authentic, the code will direct you to the original license on the PPL portal. You can then verify the license details online.

PPL does not issue license for usage of sound recordings on a digital platform. You will have to reach out to individual music labels for the same.

PPL does not issue license for virtual usage of music. You will have to reach out to individual music labels for the same.

As per Copyright Act 1957, license is mandatory before use of any copyrighted sound recording hence every business entity or individual must obtain permission from the copyright owners of the sound recording before any public performance takes place. We enforce our rights by ensuring that users / commercial entity comply with the law and pay PPL for the music they consume.

A PPL Music License grants you the permission to use songs that belong to PPL. You can refer the list of our Music Labels here.

We encourage and appeal all the individuals / establishments to procure the requisite License from PPL before use of copyrighted sound recording. Any communication/use of copyrighted sound recording without license tantamount to infringment under section 51 of the Copyright Act and punishable by law under section 63 of the Act.

To represent our Music Labels in overseas territories, PPL currently has bilateral agreements with PPL UK and Re: Sound (Canada).

Background Music Service Providers procure PPL Music License for the storage of the copyrighted songs. For Public Performance, establishments have to procure a separate PPL Music License if they are playing PPL content.

As per Copyright law, the owner or operator of the establishment is responsible for obtaining the required authorization from copyright owners or their representatives for music usage. CDs/DVDs or similar products only grant authorization for private consumption, but not for public performance usage.

No, a PPL Music License is non-transferrable.

Yes, you can procure a PPL Music License for one, two or three years.

GST certificate/PAN copy is required

Even if you are only playing music in your business or organisation for employees, then you’ll need a PPL Music License. Music that's played outside of a domestic environment is classed as a public performance, even if the music can only be heard by employees in the workplace, canteen or staff areas. PPL Music Licence gives you permission to play music in your business or organisation for your employees.

The payments collected from users / businesses and broadcasters is passed on to the Music Labels. This amount paid back is commonly referred to as ‘royalties’.

PPL can approach the Civil Court for Infringement under Section 51 and approach the Local Police under Section 63 of the Copyright Act.

Any individual, firm, association, institution or a body corporate, having a place of business in India, who owns/controls sound recordings and has the rights to communicate the same to the public by way of public performance and broadcast can become a member.

No. There is no entry fee to be associated with PPL.

To register yourself, simply visit Register With PPL (pplindia.org) & fill in the details and you shall be contacted by our executive for further steps.

On Association, you need to executing a Transfer Agreement assigining your copyrights in sound recordings for Public Performance & Radio Broadcasting. PPL then, licenses, monetizes and enforces these rights.

For obtaining a radio broadcasting license, please write to us at [email protected].

A radio broadcast license from PPL grants the use of PPL sound recordings on terrestrial FM (Private and Public) and Community Radio stations.

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© 2024 Phonographic Performance Limited.