British neighbouring rights society PPL has paid out £77.7 million to over 28,000 performers and recording rightsholders in its first distribution of the year, covering Q1 2026. The distribution focused mainly on UK and international income collected in the latter part of 2025, and the first few months of 2026. The Q1 2026 distribution also includes revenue from PPL’s sister company VPL, which licenses music videos when they are played in public or broadcast on TV. PPL said this quarter’s distri...

Copyright management company Bridger, part of Winamp Group, has been confirmed as a Client Rights Management Entity (RME) by the International Confederation of Societies of Authors (CISAC). The new status enables direct relationships with collective management organisations worldwide. Following the signature of the CISAC Client RME agreement, Bridger has implemented the required business and technical framework in accordance with the CISAC requirements. Consequently, Bridger's repertoire has bee...

British rights society PRS for Music has launched legal proceedings on March 4 against Valve Corporation, the parent company of Steam, for the unlicensed use of copyrighted repertoire from PRS by the gaming platform. "Since its launch in 2003, Valve has never obtained a license for its use of the rights managed by PRS on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers," said PRS for Music in a statement, to explain the reason behind the proceedings. Steam, which brands itself as the ulti...