How much does a music licence cost for a pub in 2026? The PPL and PRS tariff lines, added up for one pub's year

A pub that plays a radio in a bar of 400 square metres or less pays £364.62 a year plus VAT for TheMusicLicence, on the example PPL PRS published in September 2026. Add a television, a weekly music quiz and a monthly band, and our example pub pays £1,709.64 plus VAT, with the quiz as the largest line.

PPL PRS gives an exact figure only by quote, but it publishes the tariff sheets behind the quote. This guide adds them up. The figures are the standard rates in force on 1 October 2026.

Why there are two sets of figures

TheMusicLicence is one licence, sold by PPL PRS Ltd on behalf of two bodies. PPL collects for performers and record companies. PRS for Music collects for the people who write and publish the music. Each sets its own tariffs, so recorded music carries two charges on one invoice.

They also measure the pub differently:

• PRS charges by bar area: the customer floor of the bars, leaving out the counters, function rooms and restaurants.
• PPL charges by audible area: everywhere the recordings can be heard, including corridors and toilets.

The tariff lines a pub meets

In a bar of 121 square metres or more, each PRS background rate is 50% higher, so the radio is £240.65. PPL adds £25.52 for each further 50 square metres of audible area. A room that holds more than 100 adds £3.70 a session for each further 25 people.

PRS adjusts its pub tariff every 1 October, and this year's edition raised its rates by 3%. PPL's background tariff runs to 31 December 2026.

One pub's year, added up

The example is a village pub. Its bar area is 100 square metres and music can be heard across 180. It has a radio behind the bar and a television for sport. There is a music quiz every week for 50 weeks, and a band plays on the first Saturday of each month with no charge on the door. The room holds fewer than 100 people.

The PRS tariff sets its background rates "per category" of equipment, so on our reading the radio and the television are separate lines. The first two rows match PPL PRS's example for a pub with a radio: £204.19 + £160.43 = £364.62.

The quiz costs £14.64 + £6.18 = £20.82 a night, and 50 nights come to £1,041. That is 61% of the bill, and more than twice the £492.96 the pub pays for music all day.

PRS defines a music quiz as a quiz "in which there is significant music use". A general knowledge quiz with no music in it is not on that line. Ask PPL PRS where a quiz with one music round falls, and keep the answer in writing.

Three things that move the figure

1. Being licensed before the music starts. PRS charges the standard rate plus 50% for the first year where music was played before the licence was in place. PPL adds a 50% surcharge to its background fee in the same case. The example pub's three background lines go from £492.96 to £739.44, which is £246.48 more before VAT.
2. A small bar with only a radio or television. PPL halves its £204.19 fee where the audible area is 50 square metres or less and the only source is a traditional broadcast: BBC radio, FM and AM stations licensed by Ofcom, and BBC1, BBC2, ITV1, Channel 4, S4C and Five. Sky Sports, TNT Sports, internet radio and streaming do not qualify.
3. Streaming. PPL PRS tells pubs to check that a service's terms allow commercial use before playing Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube in the bar. The PRS tariff does not name a phone playlist, so ask whether yours is on the £320.94 line.

What this licence does not cover

• Rooms outside the bar. The PRS pub tariff does not normally apply to a restaurant, dining room or function room attached to a pub. Those are charged under other PRS tariffs.
• The right to hold the event. PPL PRS says a council entertainment licence does not replace the music licence. Our guides to premises licence fees and the Temporary Event Notice cover the council side.
• The television signal. PPL PRS says sports programmes carry music in their titles and adverts, so a pub that only shows sport usually still needs TheMusicLicence. Live TV also needs a TV Licence, priced in our guide to whether pubs need a TV licence.

What to do before you ask for a quote

1. Measure both areas: the bar area for PRS and the audible area for PPL.
2. List each device that plays music.
3. Count the year's quiz, disco, karaoke and live sessions from the diary, with December's from the Christmas trading checklist.
4. Price it from the table, then ask which tariff each line of the quote comes from.
5. Tell PPL PRS when something stops. The licence renews each year unless it is ended, and a quiz that finished in March should not be on the next bill.

Overlyft can set up an AI assistant that keeps a venue's music licence renewal in its compliance diary and chases it six weeks ahead, for a person to check and pay.

This is general information, not legal advice. PPL PRS confirms the charge for your premises.