How long has PRS for Music been licensing music use in workplaces?
PRS for Music has been licensing music use in offices and factories for decades, since after its formation in 1914. A test case in 1943 upheld PRS’s right to license public performance in the workplace. In the Court of Appeal cases in 1943, Ernest Turner Electrical Instruments Ltd v PRS and PRS v Gillette Industries Ltd, the court concluded that “workpeople are an audience”. It was held that in both cases the performance of PRS music was in public and the employer’s appeals were dismissed.
