PRS WRITER MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

Before you apply for Membership please read our Terms and Conditions.

Terms and Conditions

The Membership Agreement, which when signed by you will only take effect if your application for membership is successful, transfers to the Society the ownership of your performing and film synchronisation rights.  If you are in any doubt as to the effect of the Agreement on your ability to deal with the copyright in your works, you are advised to take legal advice before signing it. 

The legal transfer or assignment of the rights contained in the Agreement will normally be for the territory of the World but you may be entitled to exclude certain countries from the scope of the Society's administration of your rights. 
 
The Society's articles also permit applicants to exclude part(s) of the performing right and/or film synchronisation right from the extent of the transfer.  A list of the permitted exclusions may be requested from the Writer Admissions team on 020 7306 4805.  Do not sign the Agreement if you are intending to exclude any country and/or any part(s) of the performing right and/or film synchronisation right from the extent of your assignment to the Society.

The Society reserves the right to disclose certain information concerning any of your registered compositions to authorised members using the Society's Online Services Enquiry System and any associated e-mail or telephone enquiry system(s).

If you have read and accept our Terms and Conditions and wish to complete the Application form please click the Accept button below.

REMINDER

You have completed the Membership Application form and it is ready to be printed, using the Print button at the bottom of the page.

Upon pressing print, a Membership Agreement will also be printed using data entered on the Application. Please check all information carefully. If any of the details are incorrect you can return to the appropriate section(s), using the Back button, correct the information and print the form again.

Once you are happy that the forms are accurately completed you will need to:

Sign and date the Membership Application form
Sign the Membership Agreement form
Supply, in addition to the completed Membership Application and Agreement forms, both of the following in support of your application:-
- Documentation confirming one performance of one of your compositions
- A photocopy of your birth certificate or passport

Note: Before printing the documents please ensure that your printer is setup to print on A4 or Letter size paper in portrait mode

Dear Applicant,
Application for PRS Writer Membership

Thank you for your interest in membership of PRS. You must submit a completed Application Form and Member Agreement in order to join. The Membership Agreement, which when signed by you will only take effect if your application for membership is successful, transfers to the Society the ownership of your performing and film synchronisation rights. If you are in any doubt as to the effect of the Agreement on your ability to deal with the copyright in your works, you are advised to take legal advice before signing it.

The legal transfer or assignment of the rights contained in the Agreement will normally be for the territory of the World but you may be entitled to exclude certain countries from the scope of the Society's administration of your rights. The Society's articles also permit applicants to exclude part(s) of the performing right and/or film synchronisation right from the extent of the transfer. A list of the permitted exclusions may be requested from the Writer Admissions team on 020 7306 4805. Do not sign the Agreement if you are intending to exclude any country and/or any part(s) of the performing right and/or film synchronisation right from the extent of your assignment to the Society.

The Society reserves the right to disclose certain information concerning any of your registered compositions to authorised members using the Society's Online Services Enquiry System and any associated e-mail or telephone enquiry system(s).

Please note PRS is not able to pay out royalties for every individual performance or broadcast of your compositions. In areas where it is not cost effective to collect and process full details of music usage, PRS use samples of information or information from other sources to represent the compositions played. In addition the Society is not under any obligation to make distributions of royalties to you in respect of any public performance, broadcast or cable transmission of your compositions which take place prior to the date from which your admission to membership is deemed to be effective. This is normally the 1st January or 1st July immediately preceding the date when your completed Application is received at our offices.

Yours faithfully,

WRITER ADMISSIONS.

IMPORTANT

In order for us to process your application quickly, it is vital that you provide evidence clearly identifying any performances your compositions have received. Failure to do so will delay your application and may result in loss of royalties.

Listed below are examples of the type of evidence required;-

a broadcast performance

a radio station play list (obtained from a relevant website) clearly naming your composition
a letter from the programme producer confirming the inclusion of your composition within a television or radio broadcast, or cable or satellite transmission

a live performance

a concert programme clearly detailing your performance or
a set list signed by the venue promoter/proprietor where your performance took place

Not all public performances guarantee a royalty. Additionally there are forms of evidence other than the above which can be used. Should you wish to discuss any of these points, or if you are unsure if now is the right time to apply, please contact the Writer Admissions team on 020 7306 4805.

PRS writer member application form
NAME AND ADDRESS DETAILS

Surname

Forename(s)

Full postal address	Date of birth

	Nationality

Telephone number (inc. STD code)	Daytime/mobile telephone number

E-mail address

PAYMENT DETAILS

Name of bank or building society	Sort code

Address of bank	Account number

Name in which account is held

Pay reference details

PSEUDONYM DETAILS

Surname

Forename(s)

Surname

Forename(s)

ADDITIONAL DETAILS

Which category best describes the type of music you compose?

Title of one composition in which you have a writer/composer interest

Broadcast/live performance details regarding your composition(s)

Reason for applying for PRS membership

I enclose all of the following in support of my application:-

	documentation confirming one performance of one of my compositions
	photocopy of my birth certificate or passport
	fully completed and signed Membership Agreement

PLEASE NOTE - IF WE DO NOT RECEIVE ALL OF THE ABOVE ITEMS OR THE APPLICATION FORM HAS NOT BEEN FULLY COMPLETED WE WILL NEED TO CONTACT YOU. THIS WILL RESULT IN A DELAY IN YOUR APPLICATION WHICH MAY LEAD TO A LOSS OF ROYALTIES.

By signing this application form I hereby authorise PRS to deduct the admission fee of £10 (inclusive of VAT) from out of the first distribution to me at which sufficient funds are available

Your Signature	Date

Thank you for your application - we will get back to you very soon.

Should you have any questions concerning this form please call us on 020 7306 4805 or email us at admissions@prs-alliance.co.uk

Please return this form to Writer Admissions, PRS, 29-33 Berners Street, London, W1T 3AB, UK.

PRS writer member agreement

Please note this is an important document. By signing it you will hand over certain rights to us. It also sets out precisely what you can expect from us and what we can expect from you whilst you are a member.

1.	Definitions
	In this Agreement:-

	(a)	words and phrases which are not defined shall have the same meaning as in our Constitution;
	(b)	"Constitution" means our Memorandum of Association, Articles of Association, Rules and Regulations (which are all available from us upon request) and any changes or additions made from time to time to those documents;
	(c)	"We" means the Performing Right Society Limited of 29/33 Berners Street, London, W1T 3AB and "you" means...;

	Forename(s)

	Surname

	Address

"Us", "our", "your" and "yourself" shall be construed accordingly;

	(d)	"territory" means the territory for which you transfer the rights to us under clause 2(a);
	(e)	"transfer" means (depending on the context) assign or assignment; and
	(f)	"the rights" means, in respect of any musical work:-

	(i)	the performing right; and
	(ii)	the film synchronisation right (subject to any undertaking we may give you in our Articles of Association to assign or license this right in accordance with the terms of the proviso to Article 7(b) of our Articles).

2.	The Transfer

	(a)	you transfer to us absolutely for all parts of the world the rights which belong to you on the date of this Agreement or which you may acquire or own whilst you remain our member.
	(b)	the transfer mentioned in clause 2(a) shall last for so long as you remain our member and pay for any additional period which is specified in our Constitution.

3.	Our Obligations
	We will:-

	(a)	use our best endeavours to administer the rights in accordance with our published service standards;
	(b)	use our best endeavours to pay you any royalties due to you under our Constitution. If we do not do so, we will pay you compensation up to the limit which is set out in our service standards;

	(c)	use our best endeavours to license on the best achievable terms as many users of the rights as practicable (taking into account business constraints, our resources and the interests of our membership as a whole);
	(d)	maintain a complaints procedure which you can use if you believe we have not treated you or administered the rights in accordance with our Constitution or policies. If that complaints procedure has been exhausted and you are still not satisfied, you will have access to an independant appeals procedure;
	(e)	treat information about your royalty earnings as confidential, subject to any practical or legal obligation to disclose such information to any authority or person with the legal power to compel such disclosure;
	(f)	return to you all or part of the rights in so far as this is permitted by our Constitution;
	(g)	allow you to modify the territory in so far as we are required to do by law;
	(h)	maintain a suspension of royalties procedure which we will apply to you if there is a dispute involving the rights; and
	(i)	give you upon request details of the service standards, complaints procedure, appeals procedure and suspension of royalties procedure which are mentioned above as soon as practicable after you have requested such details.

4.	Your Obligations
	You:-

	(a)	warrant and represent that you own or have full power to transfer the rights and that the musical works (the rights in which you have transferred to us under this Agreement) do not and will not infringe the copyright in any other musical work;
	(b)	accept that you are bound by our Constitution; and
	(c)	promise to:-

	(i)	indemnify us and keep us at all times fully indemnified from and against all proceedings, claims, demands, costs, expenses, awards and damages arising directly or indirectly in respect of the rights which you have transferred (or have purported to transfer) to us under this Agreement;
	(ii)	give us such documents as we may reasonably require to enforce the rights;
	(iii)	do all such acts as are necessary to vest the rights in us and enable us to enforce all or part of the rights;
	(iv)	insert in each relevant contract you make with a third party a clause expressly reserving to us the rights and to make such contract subject to this Agreement;
	(v)	refrain from licensing any of the rights and from otherwise dealing with the rights which you have transferred to us;
	(vi)	avoid doing anything which is likely to prejudice our ability to meet our obligations to you and to our other members; and
	(vii)	pay on demand the admission fee and any annual membership fee or charges for special services rendered by us.

Your signature	Our signature

This agreement is made on the following date:

Name of bank or building society*	Sort code*

Address of bank*	Account number*

Name in which account is held*

Pay reference details

Telephone number (inc. STD code)*	Daytime/mobile telephone number

Surname*	Forename(s)*

Full postal address*	Date of birth*

	Nationality*

Postcode*	Email address*