back to article Cheer up songwriters, there's shedloads of money rolling in

The UK's performing sights society PRS for Music recorded a slim profit of £1.4m last year on turnover of £73.9m. The society collects and distributes royalties for songwriters and music publishers from radio, physical venues and plays on the internet, as well as the “mechanical” – a small proportion from the sale of a sound …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Money

    ..makes the world go round

    http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/cabaret/money.htm

    1. Elmer Phud

      Re: Money

      It's a gas

    2. Elmer Phud

      Re: Money

      It's a gas,

      grab it with both hands and make a stash

      1. Graham Marsden

        Re: Money

        ... get back

        I'm all right, Jack, keep your hands off of my stack.

        Money, it's a hit

        Don't give me that do goody good bullshit

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Money, Money, Money

    - it's a rich man's world.

    http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/abba/moneymoneymoney.html

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Money, Money, Money

      Money for nothing and cheques for free.....

      1. g e

        Wish they weren't here

        Come in here, dear boy, have a cigar - you're gonna go far

        ...

        ...

        We're so happy we can hardly count

      2. Jamie Jones Silver badge

        Re: Money, Money, Money

        Money for nothing and cheques for free.....

        I always used to think it was 'chicks'..

      3. g e

        Whilst on the Floydian theme...

        You have to be trusted

        By the people that you lie to

        So that when they turn their backs on you

        You'll get the chance to

        Put. The. Knife. In.

  3. Juan Inamillion

    Tommy Blake

    Truly an epic song as true today as it was back then! A most excellent find El Reg.

    Considering how aggressive and devious the PRS has been pursuing small business' with regard to 'music in the workplace', I'm amazed that their turnover is 'only' £73.9m. And, considering they're really only a collection agency, that CEO's pay-packet is obscene.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Sixteen tunes and what do you get..

    ...another day older and deeper in debt.

    http://www.cowboylyrics.com/lyrics/classic-country/sixteen-tons---tennessee-ernie-ford-14930.html

  5. Tim Seely 1
    Pirate

    Surely...

    The Great Rock 'n; Roll swindle - Sex Pistols?

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    Hows about.....

    In the spirit of 1982 and Nena...

    "We'll shop in Waitrose, songwriters can go to the neunundneunzig p store".

  7. GreggS

    I want to be rich and I want lots of money

    http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/lilyallen/thefear.html

  8. AbelSoul
    Megaphone

    Did we tell you the name of the game, boy?

    We call it riding the gravy train.

    That said, last time around, I received my biggest PRS payment yet - a whopping £19.72.

    Kerching!

  9. GreggS

    or the obvious..

    Money for nothing.

    http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/direstraits/moneyfornothing.html

  10. GreggS

    Dirty Cash

    Money talks....

    http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/libertyx/dirtycash.html

  11. Afernie

    Want you to sign your contract...

    Want you to sign today, Gonna give you lots of money, Workin' For MCA.

    http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/lynyrdskynyrd/workinformca.html

  12. Hollerith 1

    It happened elsewhere

    I worked for another agency doing the same sort of work, but not music. They paid the workers pitiful amounts, really shockingly little, but the 'officers' got into a turf war and started paying themselves more, buying hugely expensive office furniture, etc. The Board went along with it (I presume they got money, but don't have the information). We'd have recipients writing with gratitude for £70 or so, and I always wanted to write back to say 'if you saw the percentage of what they took in 'admin fees', you'd be writing a letter that flamed around the edges.' These CEOs etc only work in these sort of agencies because they can't really hack it in a commercial environment. They don't need to do anything important. But these agencies are monopolies and are a law unto themselves.

  13. tony72

    Cry Me a River

    Cry Me a River - Justin Timberlake

    If your song is very successful, you can make millions in songwriters royalties. If only a handful of people listen to it, you won't make much. Just like pretty much every artistic field, it's only the exceptional talents that make the big bucks. Deal with it, or get a proper job.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Cry Me a River

      And if you are a struggling artist making your pittance, how do you feel about a large chunk of your pittance paying Mr Ashcroft an almost £1m salary+bonus when the organisation is only making a £1.4m profit on £73.9m revenue (I make that a 1.8% margin)?

    2. Geoff May

      Re: Cry Me a River

      The world will be a decidely empty place without song writers ...

      1. Fink-Nottle

        Re: Cry Me a River

        Try not to think so much

        How it won't be so very long from now that they laugh at us for selling

        A bunch of 15 year olds made from dinosaur bones singing "oh yeah"

        Again and again, Right up to the end

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Needs to be angry, so....

    Settle for nothing by Rage Against the Machine.

    "If we don't take action now

    We settle for nothing later

    Settle for nothing now

    And we'll settle for nothing late"

  15. jonathan keith

    Money

    This

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bf1jocbm2M

    and this

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TC1Vfoq3PvU

  16. Spaceman Spiff

    There are three victims here

    #1. The artists and composers.

    #2. The public.

    #3. Culture.

    There are two who win:

    #1. Music labels and publishers.

    #2. The collection "societies".

    Of the latter, neither could give a sh!t about the first three.

  17. John G Imrie

    Song

    Don't Download This Song - Weird Al Yankovic's

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_Download_This_Song

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Breadfan

    Gotta make a mint, gotta make a million

  19. Jamie Jones Silver badge

    Price-tag

    Seems like everybody's got a price,

    I wonder how they sleep at night

    When the sale comes first

    And the truth comes second.

    "Price Tag" - Jessie J

  20. martinusher Silver badge

    The true meaning of 'non-profit'

    Its quite common for the executives of non-profits in the US -- organizations like health systems and hospitals -- to make very generous amounts of compensation. Sometimes things go completely wrong as with Blue Shield of California, a large health insurer, who got bumped from non-profit (i.e. tax exempt) status by the tax authorities because they were making excessive profits.

    Wherever you've got an income stream you'll have plenty of people who will help manage it -- for a price.

  21. Cereberus

    She might not have to worry but

    Shania Twain - Ka-Ching

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