Leicester-based music licensing organisation, PPL PRS have been awarded a CICMQ ‘Distinction’ accreditation by the Chartered Institute of Credit Management.
The company, who issue TheMusicLicence to businesses and organisations who play music received the prestigious award after demonstrating excellent commitment to quality, continuous improvement, and best practice in all aspects of B2B and B2C credit management and debt collections.
As part of this accreditation assessment, PPL PRS scored highly across the programme’s six categories, which include Credit Policy, Customer Service, Personal and Professional Development, Performance Monitoring and KPIs, Compliance, Stakeholder Management, Credit Roadmap, and Innovation and Change.
The music organisation, which is a joint venture between the UK’s two music licensing companies, PPL and PRS for Music, was established in 2016 with the specific aim of streamlining music licensing and simplifying the process for their customers.
Previously, businesses and organisations had to obtain a separate licence from PPL and PRS to play copyrighted music in their premises, but now only need a single licence issued by PPL PRS, known as TheMusicLicence.
After their business costs, licence fees collected are passed back to PPL PRS’ parent companies, (PPL and PRS for Music), who distribute royalties to those who create music to ensure they are fairly rewarded for their work.
PPL PRS currently licenses around 400,00 businesses and organisations across the UK and has received the accreditation after continuing to demonstrate their commitment to the integrity of their processes and guidelines, training of their staff to work in a difficult part of the customer journey and supporting their customers through the collections and legal processes. Whilst the majority of music licence accounts are managed effectively through the normal invoicing channels, the business is keen to ensure that those who need extra support are dealt with to the highest standard.
This is as well as taking on board feedback from customers at different parts of the customer journey to look at ways they can further improve.
Examples include following a formalised process to support disputes, which is managed by a dedicated Complaints team, equipping teams with a Licensing Operations Guide (LOG), and compiling a monthly Quality Assurance (QA) report, which checks for invoicing accuracy, tracks compulsory requirements, and monitors service standards.
PPL PRS also uses the review platform, Feefo, to gather customer-oriented feedback and hold regular 1-2-1s across teams to identify individual needs and support with the right courses or coaching.
There is a particularly strong emphasis on supporting employee development across PPL PRS with four active CICM members, including Judith Anderson, Head of Legal Operations, who is level 5 qualified. Alongside them are their team, where over 25% are qualified or currently in studies or undertaking internal courses to develop.
Across the business, PPL PRS employees have access to an online Learning and Development platform and opportunities to partake in funded courses related to their roles. The business is also involved in initiatives such as the “Learning at Work Week” and the “Future Leaders” programme, which is run in conjunction with Leicester University.
PPL PRS’ CICMQ Accreditation comes after the Collections Team won Team of the Year at the Enterprising Women Awards 2023, and the business was shortlisted in various categories at last year’s CCMA (UK National Contact Centre Award) – including Complaints Team of the Year, Change & Innovation Team of the Year and Leadership Team of the Year.
Operations Director, Lee Osborne said:
“I am delighted that the Collections and Legal Teams have been awarded this accreditation, and with a Distinction! Our customers are a key priority, and ensuring they receive the highest standard of service is really important to us in this challenging part of the journey. Knowing that the people in our teams that have some of the most challenging roles have been recognised by the CICMQ for their hard work is fantastic, and also ensures that our customers are getting the best support and service. PPL PRS is committed to ensuring our people receive the training they need to ensure that we continue to provide a service worthy of this accreditation. Congratulations to Judy and all her team for their hard work and dedication – this award is very well deserved.”
Head of Legal and Enforcement Judith Anderson, said:
“This is a wonderful recognition of the hard work that has been happening as part of the hugely transformational journey that we have been on as a team since the JV started in 2018. The process for this accreditation was challenging but so rewarding and really showed us how far we have come. A distinction on a first application is quite an achievement and we are all very proud. We now have an amazing and solid platform to continue to grow from and this will help support the goals and strategies we have for the business to make it even greater in terms of both what we achieve and supporting the fantastic teams we work with.”
ABOUT PPL PRS
PPL PRS Limited is the organisation that issues, and collects the fees from, TheMusicLicence. It is a joint venture between PPL and PRS for Music, the UK’s two music licensing societies, which has simplified the legal playing of music by introducing one licence, TheMusicLicence.
ABOUT THEMUSICLICENCE
In accordance with The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, permission is needed from the relevant copyright holders – those people who create music – in order to play or perform music in public. TheMusicLicence allows you to legally play music for employees or customers in your business through the radio, TV, other digital devices and live performances.