Blur drummer Dave Rowntree has lost in his legal battle against PRS For Music over the distribution of so-called “black box” royalties.
Rowntree had sought to challenge the way PRS distributes royalties that it has collected but cannot match to the correct songwriter or publisher because of missing or inaccurate information.
Those funds are often referred to in the industry as “black box” royalties, while PRS prefers the term “unidentified royalties”.
The case centred on Rowntree’s claim that PRS’ system for distributing those unidentified royalties was unfair to songwriters, and that writers could potentially have been deprived of up to £200million in earnings.
Today (June 29), however, the Court Of Appeal dismissed Rowntree’s challenge and upheld the original ruling from last August by the Competition Appeal Tribunal, which had said the case lacked a “reasonable prospect of success”.
In the new judgment, Lord Justice Miles said the problem with the case was that Rowntree’s side had not put forward a realistic alternative way of distributing the money.
He said the “black box royalties problem arises precisely from the absence of accurate information”, meaning there was “no plausible basis for suggesting a more accurate (let alone fairer) distribution”.
In a statement, a PRS For Music spokesperson has said: “The Court of Appeal has once again recognised that this claim has no reasonable prospect of success and has upheld the Competition Appeal Tribunal’s earlier decision to strike it out, vindicating our longstanding position that this claim was never in the interests of PRS members.”
“This class action was fundamentally flawed, and was a complete misrepresentation of our policies from the outset. It would have resulted in PRS members suing the society they collectively own, despite there being soaring costs attached and no logical basis for doing so.
“We welcome the decision and look forward to continuing to focus on our main priority which has always been, and remains, delivering value for our members and protecting their rights wherever and whenever their music is used.”
NME has reached out to Rowntree for further comment.
The ruling comes amid wider scrutiny of PRS and how money moves through the live music ecosystem.
Earlier this year, Music Venue Trust launched its ‘Set The Record Straight: Fair Licensing Fees’ campaign, calling for greater accuracy, transparency and fairness in the way PRS-related licensing fees are calculated for grassroots venues.
They said they had identified more than £666,000 in discrepancies linked to PRS-related charges across England, Scotland and Wales, including one alleged £90,000 error that it said could be enough to permanently close a grassroots venue.
The organisation stressed that it was not challenging the principle of PRS licensing, but argued that estimated data, incorrect capacity calculations and unclear liability between promoters and venues were putting unnecessary pressure on venues.
The Council Of Music Makers later echoed calls for PRS to make improvements and be “fair and transparent”, while also warning against any reduction in licensing fees that would hit songwriters’ income.
“PRS must ensure its licences are fair and transparent for both music-makers and users of music, not least grassroots venues,” the CMM said. “PRS should also employ new technology to overcome inaccuracies and inefficiencies with songwriter payments.”
As for Rowntree, last year he released No One You Know: Dave Rowntree’s Early Blur Photos, a photobook documenting the band’s formative years. Speaking to NME around the release, Rowntree said he still believed there could be a future for Blur, saying: “You never really know. That’s the honest truth.”
Earlier this year, Blur also announced a 30th anniversary Record Store Day reissue of their classic live album ‘Live At The Budokan’, which was recorded during the band’s 1995 tour of Japan.
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