The music business has a quiet corner that rarely gets much attention: the songs playing in shops, cafés, bars and other public spaces. But for songwriters, that background music can represent real performance income. And a new partnership in the UK could make it easier for that money to find its way to the people who wrote the songs actually heard.
Announced on October 28, PRS for Music and business-music service Soundtrack are joining forces to bring play-by-play data from around 7,000 UK businesses into PRS royalty distributions. PRS says it will begin using the data in December 2026.
That means a shift away from relying as heavily on proxy data, or estimates based on comparable music use, when actual usage information has not been available. Instead, PRS will have a clearer record of which tracks played in participating locations.
For independent artists, the announcement is a useful reminder: a song’s life does not end at the streaming app, the radio or the live stage. It can keep working in the background, too.
Why exact play data matters
When a business plays music publicly, the people who wrote that music may be entitled to performance royalties. Collection societies such as PRS gather and distribute those royalties on behalf of their members.
The hard part has often been identifying exactly what played in every venue. Where detailed track data is missing, a collection society may use proxy information to estimate how royalties should be allocated. That helps keep money moving, but it can’t always show which song was heard in a particular business.
The new Soundtrack partnership gives PRS track-level information from participating premises. The businesses using the service include Uniqlo, Dr. Martens, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Kiehl’s, Joe & The Juice and TAG Heuer. Even the UK Parliament uses Soundtrack.
The aim is straightforward: when the system can identify the music that played, it has a better chance of matching that use to the right song and rights holders. PRS CEO Ben McOwen Wilson has described the goal as paying members as accurately and quickly as possible. He joined PRS on October 12 after working at Google Play.
This is not a small pool of money. PRS distributed £1.07 billion in royalties in 2025, while its public performance revenue reached £313.4 million, up 9.1% year over year. More precise usage data could help make that royalty flow more closely reflect the music people actually hear in public spaces.
What it means for independent artists
The announcement does not mean every artist will suddenly receive a new payment each time a song plays in a shop. The data covers businesses using Soundtrack, and the new information is scheduled to start feeding into PRS distributions in December. Royalty eligibility and payment depend on factors such as the rights involved, the collection society’s remit, accurate registrations and the applicable distribution rules.
Still, the direction matters. Music-for-business services can report what is played, while collection societies can use those reports to improve how performance royalties are allocated. Soundtrack, which began in 2013 as Spotify Business, now operates in 75 countries and says its repertoire includes 150 million songs. Its founder, Ola Sars, has pointed to a broader industry challenge: in many places, public performance royalties are still distributed using proxy data rather than direct usage reports.
Better data is a meaningful step toward closing that gap. It also makes the unglamorous administrative work of an artist’s career more valuable. If a track is played but the song and its writers are not properly documented, the information may not be enough to get the money to the right people.
Make sure your songs are registered
If you write your own music, start by checking whether each composition is registered with the relevant performing rights organization or collection society. In the UK, PRS represents songwriters, composers and music publishers. Artists in other countries should check the system that applies where they live and work.
Register the song, not just the recording. A composition can be performed or played in a venue even if you are not the recording artist. If you wrote the music or lyrics, make sure the work and the agreed writer shares are recorded with the appropriate society.
If you have a publisher, ask who handles registration. If you collaborate, confirm that everyone’s shares have been agreed and correctly documented. Duplicate or incomplete registrations can create confusion, while missing writer details can make it harder to allocate royalties accurately.
Once a song has been recorded, keep its recording information organized as well. An ISRC identifies a specific sound recording, while a composition has its own identifiers and registration details. These are not interchangeable: a recording and the song embodied in it involve different rights. Keeping titles, writer names, artist names and recording identifiers consistent across your society, distributor and release records helps systems connect the dots.
Build a simple rights-and-metadata habit
You don’t need a complicated spreadsheet to get started. You do need a reliable record of what you created and who owns what.
For each release, keep a central file with the track title, alternate titles if any, co-writers and their agreed shares, publisher information, recording artist, release title and ISRC when available. Save confirmation of work registrations, too. If a distributor or publisher is handling part of the process, make sure you know exactly what they are submitting and what remains your responsibility.
Take a moment to check that the spelling of your name and your collaborators’ names is consistent. Small mismatches can make information harder to match across platforms and systems. And if a song changes title, gains a new version or has a revised ownership agreement, update the relevant records rather than relying on memory.
For artists who perform live, setlists are another piece of the puzzle. In the UK, PRS members can report live performances through its setlist tools. For an independent musician, submitting a complete, accurate setlist can help ensure the songs performed are recognized as works in the society’s system.
One play can cross borders, but payments take time
A song may be created in one country, distributed globally and played in a business thousands of miles away. Collection societies often work with partner organizations in other territories, so eligible royalties can be collected beyond an artist’s home market. That does not mean every kind of use is paid in every country, or that overseas money arrives quickly. Local rules, reporting systems and processing times differ.
The encouraging part is that direct usage data can make a wider range of real-world listening easier to identify. It gives the industry another way to connect a song’s use with the people who made it. The more accurate the underlying registrations, the better chance that information has of leading to the right rights holders.
The takeaway: don’t leave the paperwork until later
The next time you hear a song in a café or spot a playlist playing in a shop, remember that those spaces are part of music’s working life. They help create the atmosphere that brings customers in, and the music that fills them belongs to real writers and composers.
For independent artists, the practical move is to make sure your works are registered, your collaborators’ shares are clear, and your recording metadata is accurate. Don’t assume a release on streaming services automatically registers the underlying composition with a collection society. Check who is responsible, confirm that the work has been submitted, and keep your records current.
The PRS and Soundtrack partnership won’t fix every gap in music royalties overnight. But it points toward a fairer, more data-informed system, one where a song’s real-world journey has a better chance of being seen and valued. And for the songwriter whose track quietly made someone’s afternoon in a shop or bar a little better, that recognition matters.
