"We continue to assess the position and are seeking advice to determine if we are required by law to spend a significant amount of public money, which we consider is better committed to crime fighting, in this way."

What a weasel. "If we can't have free music we're going to stop policing."

How does that work!?!

I'm going to try it when the electric bill comes : "We're a public funded charity and think it's better to spend a significant amount of our funding on our entertaining our employees than giving it to Eon?"

Cops everywhere believe they are above the law. Just look at this recent example in Boston. It even has an IT angle, the corrupt cop posted on the web about his calling in sick while running a charter fishing business. And of course, his excuse about why he should not be held accountable is that he was ratted out anonymously. (So the complaint does not count, in his mind.)

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/columnists/view.bg?articleid=1121077

They aren't sure if they can spend money to pay for their license? Ok, I guess I'm not sure if I can spend money to pay my taxes, does it work like that too?

Thought not. Typical copper bollocks. One rule for the unwashed, another rule for the rulemakers huh?

I wonder if the defense "I was going to pay, but I decided to spend my money on something else" works for other crimes. I hope so, I need a new camera but the wife says the mortgage is more important.

Is it not time for the police to obey the law too?

Lead by example, not by dictat or continue to lose public respect and support if they have nay left.

When is a crime not a crime? when its done by someone in the police force heh that line from judge dread keeps popping into my head every time i hear something like this "I have not broken the law, i am the LAW"

So its ok for these guys to break the same law that they are trying 6 other people with? and there reply is not omg lets arrest are selfs but we are going away for a bit to think if we have to pay but we dont think we should because it would be better spend on crime fighting....hay guys you know what else would serve the public better as well? don't break any dam laws

-Grave because the law is dead

The vultures have decended on our workplace also. "The Law" the PRS rely on to put the frighteners on people is clearly framed with entertainment venues (pubs, clubs etc) in mind, where their business IS music; NOT the average workplace with an incidental radio. I have yet to hear of them actually winning a court case about radio fees- I have only ever heard of firms settling with them. The radio stations themselves already pay royalties to the PRS based on how many listeners they get- why do companies (or the police) have to pay the same royalties AGAIN because a radio isn't situated in a private home? It's BROADCAST, FFS.

The PRS have a mandate for collecting due royalties on behalf of their members, as do the PPL. The both of them have been stomping their feet going round everyone who in their opinion is publicly performing music. I'd agree with shopping centres, etc but in my opinion radios in canteens or private offices closed to the public are none of their business. They make up their own rules on who is elligible without any legal mandate or precident to do so and in my opinion overstep their mark a little. So if they came to me demanding I need a licence then I'd take it under careful consideration instead of just coughing up to their demands, even if I had to go to court to arbitrate.

Disclaimer: I am a rights holder and a PPL member, and even I think they go a bit far sometimes.

...permission was implied by the fact they had a working radio, and could do it.... worked for the police when they looked at illegal wiretapping here by bt!

I'm with the PRS on this one.. and the Police. The PRS should force the Police to cough up, and the police should decide that in future their money is better spent elsewhere, and stop playing music in their canteens.

The reason? Simple. Piped music in the workplace is evil and should be stamped out. And that includes all radio stations. I wouldn't mind if it was music or radio stations I liked. But they are invariably prime examples of the lowest common denominator and enough to make you take the canteen knives to your wrists. If they weren't so blunt.

Can't the just pipe in a radio station? You shouldn't have to pay royalties for a public performance of those songs since the radio station has covered the fees for that. Or am I missing something?

@Martin: spot on.

@everyone else, say what?

So the PRS are trying to claim that any workplace with a radio has to pay a commercial entertainment license fee and you're all OK with that? Don't any of you listen to music at work? Nope it doesn't matter if it's on your iPod, you're at work ... on the road in your own car but claiming mileage ...sounds like a place of work to me ....

As Martin said, PRS get paid for the broadcast by the radio station. If they don't think they get enough then they need to renegotiate not start trying to shame publicly funded groups into paying for the same "performance" again.

The Police are right to question whether the PRS racket is legal.

Just more proof that the justice system is split up with different forms of justice depending on status/money/job.

...where is this going to stop? Somebody bought a CD and a few people sit in a room and listen to it. Where is the crime? Why does everybody need some money for anything to happen, in this case a few peeps chilling out? Will these numptys be charging kids they see sharing head phones on the bus...or those annoying chavs that play it out loud through their speaker phones? 'Sharing! Public place! WTF! That almost sounds like 'community' - Bill them, fun costs!'

Copright, image rights, liscensing - all words that mean 'greed', yet more and more invisible, contrived, nonsense BS...imagine if Homer had been this far up his own ass, issuing fines to anyone he heard retelling his tale, restricting culture for the sake of a few quid. Nonsense.

Paris, 'coz she doesn't give a sh*t...and neither should we.

Oh, so in that case can the accused stand up in court and say "buying the record would require me to spend a significant amount of money, which I consider is better committed to buying food and paying for somewhere to live" and be acquitted? Somehow I think not!

There is a hidden third option - well, I say hidden, in fact it's obvious to anyone with even a heavily malformed brain - it goes like this: "don't play copyrighted material in your canteen if you don't want to pay the license".

This is utter hypocrisy of the highest order. How these ignorant self-righteous twunts have the audacity to come out and make a statement like that is beyond all reason - not paying PRS fees is in EXACTLY the same ballpark as not paying for an mp3 download - no physical material has changed hands but ultimately there is still a legal requirement to pay for the use of copyrighted material!

Total idiots. This just takes the piss. I'm furious.

So a DJ buys a CD, and the record companies take their cut.

The radio station plays the CD, and they take a fee again.

And then it is played in a canteen and they feel the need for another fee. Had everyone in the canteen brought a personal radio that would be fine. It is only a problem if they all listen to the same one.

I am sure the radio stations would be delighted to know that the PRS are going around and slashing their listener numbers.

There is rightful payment, greed and then self defeating greed.

Bill, for his CALs

They shot an innocent person dead, in the head eight times. And they still had the cheek to lie about it.

What makes us believe they will ever respect the law?

Paris, at least she did time in the slammer.

Not quite the PRS, but certainly radio stations in the US & UK pay a fixed fee to play any music. Which is exactly the model that would work for the internet (and sites like OiNK) if only the music industry wasn't intent on committing suicide.

Doesn't surprise me in the least. I work with the rozzers there - This is the same force that spent hundreds of thousands investigating Mallon for corruption only to have him become Mayor and no action taken. At one point there were 286 complaints are being investigated against 39 Cleveland Police Officers. Guess how many ended up in prison against how many early retirements? They continually flout laws which would see the rest of us in a cell...

Hope they do them for back pay of it as well - how many years have they had music playing there?

There has been no requirement to purchase a radio license in the UK since Feb 1st, 1971.

(Unless you want to open a broadcast station of course)

Mine's the one with an MP3 player in the pocket.

I can just see it in the future..you get a bill in the mail because you heard some crappy 50 cent tune on someones ring tone.

(1) who's watching the watchers

and

(2) think of the children

Here's an idea: stop wasting public money on the equipment required to play copyrighted music illegally.

How many pairs of new coppers' shoes could that PA system have paid for? About time they got some exercise. Fat lazy slobs.

Middlesbrough. Learn to spell.

...is the PRS license applicable only to specific playback devices? (The way the linked report is phrased, it sounds like it is.) If they were listening to streaming radio off a PC in the canteen, would they still have to pay the license, or would that be illegal downloading?