PRS Copyright 'Investigators' Actually Sales People

from the no-wonder-they-go-after-horses dept

PRS, the UK's music licensing agency, recently reached out to us after a series of posts we wrote which (to say the least) portrayed their organization negatively. We had a cheerful email exchange that basically left off with us disagreeing on just about everything -- but especially over PRS's tactics, such as demanding a woman running a stable pay for a license because she played music to her horses, just because a few other employees (who didn't listen to the music) occasionally stopped in. Then there's the demands against auto mechanics and police stations because employees were listening to music (in private areas) loud enough that it could be heard in other rooms where the public might visit. Oh, and then there was the demand that a children's charity pay up for singing Christmas carols. And, then there's my personal favorite: calling up small businesses, and if music is heard in the background, demanding the purchase of a license.

If you want to understand the sort of incentives that create such ridiculous and self-defeating PR nightmares, take a look at a recent job posted by PRS (thanks to Kaden for alerting us to this). Officially, the organization is looking for a "copyright investigator," but the actual job is in "sales." These "investigators" have "revenue targets" and can earn a bonus for bringing in excess revenue beyond their targets. That's not creating a situation where these investigators are told to go find violators. It creates a scenario where they're encouraged to find anyway humanly possible to squeeze pretty much anyone for cash.

The PR guy from PRS who contacted us tried to make the case that PRS is just a little non-profit looking out for the best interests of musicians, but when it's setting up its sales people with incentives to come up with any bogus reason to pressure everyone into purchasing a license to listen to music they already legally purchased, something is clearly wrong. This is a group that's effectively been handed a monopoly in the UK and appears to be abusing its power, not as a little harmless non-profit, but as an organization that handles an awful lot of money and has empowered its sales people to threaten small businesses if they don't pay up.
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Filed Under: collections societies, copyright, sales, uk
Companies: prs


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  1. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 21 Apr 2009 @ 12:49pm

    Thought Police Muscle Up in Britain

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 21 Apr 2009 @ 1:03pm

    I don't mean to sound xenophobic or anything, but I'm kinda proud to be an American now. Granted, our government isn't great, but we haven't reached "thought police" level yet.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. identicon
    Tristin, 21 Apr 2009 @ 1:22pm

    UK Government is scary...

    Seems these days that government-run and government-running groups can come up with any piss-poor excuse for their shenanigans these days and there isn't a damned thing the normal people can do about it. Britons should be up in arms about all of the bull they are being fed lately.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  4. identicon
    AdamR, 21 Apr 2009 @ 1:23pm

    Can I apply and work from Home(USA)? I'm wondering if you have a business in UK and have hold music on your phone do you have to pay a License to them?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  5. identicon
    Tgeigs, 21 Apr 2009 @ 1:23pm

    Re:

    Wonderful sentiments, except that it's been fairly established that the giant media conglomerates tend to float legislation/practices/etc. in the UK before bringing them to the States.

    In doing some reading on those same conglomerates (and just what in total they own/control), I'm starting to believe that these types of things are less about money and more about setting precedents and squeezing drops of control from private enterprises and the public. Jim Marrs' "Rise of the Fourth Reich" has a few chapters on media/music/movie conglomerates that is fairly enlightening when it comes to copywright and anti-trust/monopoly law.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  6. identicon
    SteveD, 21 Apr 2009 @ 2:04pm

    On the one hand I don't have anything against the PRS; they enforce the rules not make them. If the system is demanding money from the wrong people then you need to talk to the people who designed it.

    And if you need to employ people with the skills of salesmen then you need to offer them the same sort of job incentives to work in the private sector as they do in the public, otherwise you don't attract the ones with talent.

    The problem is largely with the way the system is managed. If the incentives in place are merely to rake in as much money as possible then clearly the employee's will stretch the rules as far as they can.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  7. identicon
    Overcast, 21 Apr 2009 @ 2:19pm

    but we haven't reached "thought police" level yet.

    Key word there being "yet".

    link to this | view in thread ]

  8. identicon
    Mickeymous Coward, 21 Apr 2009 @ 2:55pm

    Re: Thought Police

    I don't mean to sound dumbassphobic or anything, but your notion that American hasn't reached "thought police" level yet makes you sound like a dumbass.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  9. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 21 Apr 2009 @ 4:14pm

    This is a group that's effectively been handed a monopoly

    What "monopoly"?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  10. icon
    Mike (profile), 21 Apr 2009 @ 4:55pm

    Re:

    What "monopoly"?

    On performance royalties.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  11. identicon
    Mechwarrior, 21 Apr 2009 @ 8:01pm

    Re:

    The people who designed the system are the same ones profiting from it. Pray tell, how do you convince some one to stop making money from the very system they orchestrated?

    More importantly, where does the skill sets of sales people and infringement investigators coincide? I gather that there are no similarities between the two.

    This is basically the class case of state sanctioned monopolies being provided with state sponsored policing powers. Although PRS doesn't have any enforcement, and in fact can do nothing at all if someone doesn't wish to pay. But all it takes is a law passed by some lackeys to do that. Then the people who make the laws will end up being the ones who earn money from them, just like lawyers in the United States.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  12. identicon
    PAF56, 21 Apr 2009 @ 9:24pm

    Orwell Lives!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  13. identicon
    PAF56, 21 Apr 2009 @ 9:26pm

    Orwell Lives!

    1984 Knocking at your door...
    Will you let it come?
    Will you let it run your life?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  14. identicon
    CastorTroy-Libertarian, 22 Apr 2009 @ 8:48am

    Re:

    really what about FBI spying on Tea Party Rallies? What about the Homeland Sec. saying if you dont agree with the Federal Gov. your a Right-Wing Extremist??

    link to this | view in thread ]

  15. identicon
    LondonLad, 22 Apr 2009 @ 4:20pm

    DoverWatch has a few articles on how the PRS has been trying to extort money from local businesses down there. Well worth reading. doverwatch.blogspot.com

    link to this | view in thread ]

  16. identicon
    Matt Bennett, 23 Apr 2009 @ 9:19am

    Can you show us the email exchange? I'm sure it's pretty hilarious.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  17. It's becoming insane the way people are shooting their own interests in the foot, with little or no remorse for the people that actually feel the effects. Perplexed is a mild world for how I feel when I read this blog and find out about another company ruining their own system.

    link to this | view in thread ]


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