The Police was the top-earning touring act for the Performing Rights Society (PRS) for Music last year, beating Iron Maiden and Coldplay, reports Times Online.
The reunion of the group led by Sting to mark their 30th anniversary, contributed to £139.6m of overseas royalties collected on behalf of songwriters and composers last year by the PRS, up from £121.2m in 2007. The most lucrative market was America, where PRS income was £21.7m, followed by Germany and France. It has collecting arrangements with societies around the world. “Britain is the No 1 home of musical talent in the globe,” said Steve Porter, the chief executive of PRS for Music.
The collecting agency has still to resolve a dispute with YouTube, which took down British music videos from its site after failing to put in place a new fees structure. The PRS, which has been criticised for demanding broadcast fees from hairdressers and mechanics, wants a per-stream charge instead of a flat fee to recognise soaring online video watching.
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