It’s the dawn of a new era as far as music rights are concerned and at the very heart of this change of direction is a highly unusual partnership – NSM Music, Soundnet and PPL will be collaborating on a pioneering programme for collecting music licensing fees.

The man usually on the other side of the table when it comes to negotiating with the industry, PPL’s head of Public Performance and Dubbing Richard Stewart, is sitting alongside the two major jukebox operators this time round as they launch a new system to smooth the process for collecting rights fees.

And it’s a good place to be, Stewart told Coinslot as the new programme gets underway. “This is a significant change for the jukebox industry,” he enthused. “The process of collecting fees basically hadn’t changed since the 1980s.”

So, what’s brought this partnership about? “We’ve all been looking at ways to make the process of licensing simpler for both customers and PPL. We’ve been discussing options with the jukebox industry for a while and found a solution that will enable us all to focus on the benefits of having a jukebox for venues and their customers, and hopefully increase the size and value of the jukebox market.”

That solution is a pioneering project that has streamlined the collection of fees and taken the administrative burden away from the music user. It also brings the rights protector and the leading jukebox manufacturers closer together – a welcome shift in dynamics according to all parties.

“We expect this to cover over 90 percent of the market,” Stewart noted. As for the other ten percent, PPL has this sorted: “We already know which sites have jukeboxes that are not covered under this scheme and so we’ll be licensing these directly.”

It will obviously mean an extra administrative role for NSM and Soundnet; but their view is one of delivering an additional, and invaluable, service that they provide to their customers. 

There is also the significant growth in the jukebox market to take into consideration: NSM’s Atom has added over 3,000 jukes to the numbers out in venues over the last two years, which PPL has welcomed. Stewart noted: “The sector had declined for a number of years, so it’s great to see innovation like the Atom revitalising the market and encouraging more customers to try a jukebox.”

And that’s good news for the manufacturers, the venues, the rights body – and most importantly for PPL, the artists. 

“The jukebox sector continues to be an important source of revenue for artists, and with the new modern jukeboxes we are able to tell exactly what artists and tracks are played and pay them directly for that usage.” 

It’s been sometime since the discourse between industry and rights protector has been so harmonious – they have fought vigorously in the past, and ironically continue to discuss vigorously at this very moment in time on other issues. 

But this project is one they are all determined will succeed. 

And that’s down to a mutual respect between the manufacturers and Stewart in particular.

But here’s Coinslot’s uncomfortable question. As a collector of rights money, PPL would obviously have been viewed as a necessary bete noir. How is that dynamic changing particularly with our industry?

Stewart hit the right note with his reply – he was looking to the future rather than the past: “Over the years we have built good working relationships with the key players in the industry. While we may not always agree on everything, it is important that we work together as much as possible to build a long and sustainable future for all of us.”

Smooth. And welcome too.

Richard Stewart clearly has a keen eye on the industry’s development – for him, its growth is his artists’ growth. And that is something he wants to see. Innovation and expansion is top of his agenda and he doesn’t want to see obstacles in the way of that.

“I don’t expect any major changes in the basic way that music rights are licensed by PPL in the jukebox industry over the next few years. We are on the right course.”

And where is that course heading? “I think that the changes over the next few years are going to be more technology driven,” he forecast. “And it will be up to us all to keep pace with those changes.”

Given the current mood of rapproachment, that’s a pretty good direction for the industry and PPL to take.