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Performing Right Society Limited
Invitation to Tender
for
the Provision of Independent Complaints Review Services
26 March 2009
Performing Rights Society Limited 29/33 Berners Street London W1T 3AB
Registered in Europe, No 134396
www.prsformusic.com
1. Introduction The Performing Right Society Limited, which trades as PRS for Music, (“PRS”) is a company limited by guarantee established for the purpose of, amongst other activities, licensing and collecting royalties for the public performance of copyright in musical works composed and published by its members and those of its affiliated societies throughout the world. A brief description of PRS’ activities and the composition of its membership appears at Appendix 1. PRS is the only licensing body of its kind in the United Kingdom and is a de facto monopoly supplier of performing right licences to persons wishing publicly to perform copyright musical works in the UK.1 PRS is inviting tenders for the role of Independent Complaints Reviewer to investigate and, where appropriate, make recommendations as to remedies relating to complaints from licensees and other members of the public in cases where PRS itself has been unable to resolve the matter under its internal complaints procedure. This tender, and the role of the Independent Complaints Reviewer, relates only to the activities of PRS’s Public Performance Sales division (“PPS”) which licenses the public performance of copyright music at premises and events throughout the UK. 2. Scope 2.1 PRS is seeking an Independent Complaints Reviewer (“Reviewer”) to look at the manner in which complaints have been handled by PRS, including but not limited to complaints that PRS:
• has failed to follow its own procedures, including anything detailed in its Code of Practice;
• has charged the Complainant incorrectly and has failed to rectify that mistake or unreasonably delayed in doing so;
• has otherwise unreasonably delayed or failed to take action; • has been rude or unprofessional towards the Complainant; • has treated the Complainant unfairly in relation to other licensees or music
users in similar circumstances; • has given the Complainant wrong or misleading information.
A copy of the proposed Code of Practice, which includes PRS’s current Complaints Procedure, appears at Appendix 2. At the time of issue of this Invitation to Tender, the Code is the subject of a formal consultation process, the period for which will end on 30 April 2009. The consultation is open to the public and the draft Code has been circulated to a number of trade associations and other bodies. Disputes or complaints relating to any of the following will however be outside of the Reviewer’s remit:–
1 PRS is not unique as a licensing body. PRS trades under the PRS for Music banner in an alliance with Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society, which administers certain reproduction rights in musical works. Other licensing bodies (or collecting societies) carry on business in the UK in relation to different types of copyright material, such as sound recordings (PPL), artistic and literary works (DACS, ALCS, CLA, PLS).
• the terms and conditions of PRS’ standard licences or their interpretation; • charges applied under PRS licensing schemes (“tariffs”); • complaints concerning matters of copyright law; • PRS licensing or pricing policy; • other commercial disputes within the jurisdiction of the courts or Copyright
Tribunal.
The Reviewer will be expected to attend review meetings on a quarterly basis with PRS’ Managing Director of Public Performance Sales as part of his or her key requirements (see 2.2 below) but will be asked and expected to deal with a named individual outside of the PPS business division in relation to the day-to-day conduct of any complaint review in order to avoid compromising the Reviewer’s independence. 2.2 Key requirements The Reviewer will be required to: -
• investigate otherwise unresolved complaints by licensees of PRS and other members of the public with whom PRS has dealings in connection with copyright licensing;
• issue a report to the Complainant and PRS and, where a complaint is
upheld, to recommend a remedy in relation to that complaint; • recommend improvements to processes and procedures within PRS and
matters relating to efficiency and effectiveness of complaint resolution.
• produce a written annual report about his or her work on complaints in the previous year. The first report will be required on 1 May 2010, (a report on the period from the point of award of contract to the end of December 2009);
• carry out a follow-up audit of any major non-compliance with specific or
general recommendations;
• draw the PRS’ attention to trends, recurrent failures or weaknesses in the complaints procedure if they feel appropriate;
• make recommendations as to the Code and its review process.
3. Payment 3.1 The Reviewer will be paid according to the time spent at the rate in
paragraph 3.2 and should render monthly invoices. A record of the time spent on each complaint and on producing the annual report should be kept and provided to PRS in support of each invoice.
3.2 A day rate and half day rate should be provided (based on a 7 hour
working day) in the tender document. VAT should be listed separately. It is anticipated that most of the Reviewer’s work will be conducted at his or her own premises although the Reviewer may be required to attend meetings at PRS’ London offices.
3.3 In addition, PRS will cover any reasonable expenses incurred by the Reviewer (details subject to contract). No expenses will be paid for travel to the PRS offices if the Reviewer is based in Central London.
3.4 The Reviewer’s rates should be fixed for the duration of the contract. 4. Contract Terms 4.1 Length of Contract The contract will run from the date of appointment (expected by mid May 2009) until 31 May 2012. The contract will be non-renewable. 4.2 Location The work should be conducted at the Reviewer’s own premises although the Reviewer may be required to attend review meetings at PRS’ offices in Central London. 4.3 Confidentiality The Reviewer must undertake not to publish or communicate the results or content of any of their work to anyone other than PRS or the Complainant without formal agreement by PRS. Any breach of confidentiality of contract or restricted information will constitute a material breach of contract. 4.4 Legal disclaimer This Invitation to Tender is an invitation to propose and does not in any manner create an offer or other obligation on the part of the PRS to enter into any contract. All expenses and costs incurred by the Reviewer in completing, submitting and delivering his or her tender, together with any costs incurred during the post- tender stage, will be borne by the Reviewer. PRS are not bound to accept the lowest or any bid. 4.5 Agreement The contract will be awarded subject to a formal Agreement for the Provision of Independent Complaints Review Services. The Agreement terms will include but not be limited to:
• the Reviewer (but not PRS) will have the right to terminate the Contract without notice;
• express prohibition of any form of remuneration by “result”; • guaranteed access to support and reporting lines outside the management
of PPS. 5. Proposal Submission Applicants for the role of Reviewer should include in any Response to this Invitation:
• Table of Contents
• Executive Summary
• Details of fees (see paragraph 3 above)
• Relevant Experience and CV
• Names of not less than two referees
• Details of what quality assurance procedures the applicant has in place to
ensure the delivery of a consistent, high quality service in accordance with the key principles identified by the BIOA in so far as can be applied in the present case.
• A sample report based on those which the applicant has produced for previous clients (de-personalised). This is so that PRS can get an insight in to the likely format of the reports that would be produced for us.
• Statement concerning:
- Conflicts of Interest – applicants are asked to advise if they are aware of any Conflict of Interest in providing services to PRS.
- employment status – applicants should advise if they are self-employed or an employee of a company; - insurance – applicants should advise what level of Professional Indemnity Insurance and Public Liability Insurance cover they / their company has in place.
Proposals should be sent by email to [email protected] by 5.30pm on 17 April 2009. The subject header should be: Tender Document: Ref. PRS ICR 6. Evaluation process and criteria Upon receipt PRS will review and evaluate the proposal using the following criteria:
• The Applicant’s Proposal Submission • Relevant experience • Understanding of PRS’s requirements, including the aims and scope of the
Code; • Understanding of the work of PRS and other similar organisations (an
induction course will be provided to the Reviewer upon appointment). 7. Timeline An indicative timetable is outlined below. PRS reserves the right to amend the dates if required.
Issue Invitation to Tender W/C 23 March 2009 Response Due Date 17 April 2009
Meetings with shortlisted candidates W/C 27 April 2009 Second meeting if required W/C 4 May 2009 Award contract subject to agreeing terms and conditions 15 May 2009 8. Contact details Should you wish further information before submitting your Proposal, please contact: Margaret Garvey EA to Keith Gilbert, MD of Public Performance Sales PRS for Music Copyright House 29-33 Berners St London W1T 3AB Tel: 020 7580 5544 or send any queries to [email protected]
APPENDIX 1
About PRS PRS was established in 1914. The activities of PRS include:
• the licensing under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended, of the rights publicly to perform and to communicate to the public copyright musical works and associated literary works in the UK on behalf of the their composer, songwriter and publisher members and of the members of equivalent societies around the world;
• the collection of royalties in return for such performing right licences;
• the distribution of net royalties to the composers and publishers of the
works exploited by licensees;
• initiating and conducting legal proceedings for recovery of unpaid royalties and infringement of copyright.
The membership of the PRS for Music is made up of around 54,000 writers and 6,000 publishers.
More information is available on our website:
www.prsformusic.com Information related in the Public Performance Sales division can be found under ‘Music for Businesses’ and ‘Music for Live Venues and Events’ (see the Find Out More menu on these pages).
APPENDIX 2
Code of Practice: draft (including PRS’ current Complaints Procedure)
Code of practice
Your performing and mechanical rights service
Draft
Introduction
What is PRS for Music?
Our Code of Conduct Commitment to you
Why we may contact you and what to expect from us when you do
If you don’t have a PRS for Music licence
Once you have a PRS for Music licence
Visits to your premises
Contacting us
Phoning us
Writing to us by post or email
Getting more information
Setting our charges
Making payments to PRS for Music
Amending or cancelling your PRS for Music licence
If things go wrong
Making a complaint
Our Complaints Procedure
Your obligations
About this Code of Practice
Your obligations
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Contents
Code of practice
Welcome to the PRS for Music Code of Practicewhich sets out what you can expect from ourservice to you. It also explains how we can helpeach other and what to do if things go wrong.
We are an organisation that is committed to fairness; ensuring those whowish to play or perform music outside the domestic environment can do soby getting access to the music they need as quickly, easily and affordably aspossible and ensuring the creators of music are rightfully paid for the use oftheir work.
PRS for Musicwe're here for music
93% of people believe that music plays
a valuable role in their lives.
(MORI for PRS for Music, December 2008)
It's hard to imagine a pub, club, cinema or workplace without music.
With us, you'll never have to.
A licence from PRS for Music allows you to experience the benefits andvalue of music within your business or organisation. We promise tomake the whole process of obtaining rights for music use as quick andeasy as possible. Together, we can make sure the people who wrote themusic get rightfully paid so they can keep on creating.
PRS for Music - we're here for music usersWe promise to help you get the permission you needto play and perform millions of songs - in any form,for any business, organisation or event.
Whatever your music needs, we're here to makethings as quick and easy as we can.
1. What is PRS for Music?
PRS for Music licenses the use ofcopyright music in the UK.
By acting collectively on behalf of ourmembers, we can achieve economiesof scale for businesses and othermusic users which ensures great valueaccess to the world's music.
We are a non-profit makingorganisation. We keep ouradministration costs low throughefficiency and we pride ourselves on
paying our members nearly 90% ofthe revenue we collect. The lion'sshare of the money goes to musiccreators not administrators.
So your PRS for Music licence enablesyou to play millions of music tracks.At the same time, you're making avaluable contribution to one of theUK's most vibrant creative industries,allowing songwriters and composersto continue creating great music thatwe can all enjoy and benefit from.
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our processes are clear and transparent
we respond to your queries straightaway if possible or within a reasonable timeframe (normally within 14 days)
any complaints are dealt with according to our published procedure (see Section 10 below)
2. Our Code of Practicecommitment to you
In all your dealings with PRS forMusic, you can expect that:
our staff are courteous and professional
our staff are knowledgeable
your music licensing requirements are clearly explained to you
PRS for Music - we're here for music creatorsWe were formed as a society of composers and songwriters in1914 and since then have been safeguarding the value of musicand protecting the intellectual property rights of music creators.PRS for Music now represents 60,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers and is affiliated with similar organisations all over the world.
3. Why we may contact you andwhat you can expect from uswhen we do
a. If you don't have a PRS for Musiclicence
We aim to make sure that allbusinesses and organisations thatwish to use music have the relevantlicence to do so.
From time to time, we will contactorganisations that do not have aPRS for Music licence to see if theyneed one. We can't always know ifan organisation needs a licencewithout asking.
We may contact you by post, email,telephone or in person.
Where we engage in direct marketingcampaigns, we will always send youa letter first.
When we contact you otherwise, we would normally send a letterintroducing PRS for Music before we contact you by telephone.
If you receive a telephone call fromus without having received anintroductory letter first, you can ask for this information to be sent to you before talking to us.
If we visit you in person, we willalways contact you first to make an appointment.
We can arrange a licence for youquickly and easily over the phone(we will always send you writtenconfirmation of your licence) or wecan send you an application form.
If you tell us you aren't playing ourmusic, you should not receive ourintroductory letters again, but wemay contact you in the future to find out whether your circumstanceshave changed.
It is your responsibility to ensure youhave a licence if you are playing ourmusic. If you are playing musicwithout a current licence, we willtake all reasonable steps to arrange a licence with you.
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b. Once you have a PRS for Musiclicence
Once you have a licence, we willcontact you periodically (usuallyannually) to review your music-usedetails and to collect your licence feesfor the next period.
To complete your review, we willcontact you by post, email, telephoneor in person.
At your annual review you should tellus if your music use was more or lessthan you had planned during yourprevious licence year. If appropriate,we will adjust your charges for theprevious period.
If you expect your music use for thecoming year to be different to theprevious year, let us know and yourcharges will be adjusted accordingly.
If you don't provide us with any newmusic use details, we may assumeyour music use will remain the same for your next licence year (or relevant period). We will then sendyou an invoice based on the music usedetails held on your account.
If you have a PRS for Music licencefor an event or series of events (such as a concert or festival or aconcert tour), your licence may notbe automatically renewed. You willneed to contact us each time youorganise such an event.
c. Visits to your premises
A representative from PRS for Musicmay visit your premises, at ourrequest or at your request.
Our staff always carry ID. If you haveconcerns about someone attemptingto access your premises, who youbelieve may not represent PRS forMusic, you should refuse their entry.You can also check any details of anarranged visit with our CustomerServices team.
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4. Contacting Us
There are a number of reasons whyyou may need to contact us. Forexample, if you:
are playing music in your premises and need a PRS for Music licence
are playing music at your event and need a PRS for Music licence
would like more information aboutmusic licensing
wish to make a payment to us for your music use
think a mistake has been made on your account
have had a change in circumstancesand wish to amend or cancel your licence with us
wish to make a complaint
In all instances, except our formalcomplaints procedure, you cancontact us by phone, post or email.
For formal complaints, please see ourComplaints Procedure in Section 10,where we ask that you write to us.
You should always quote your PRS for Music licence number, if you have one, in all correspondence.
If you simply want licensinginformation or a music-use quotefrom us, you can get this withouthaving to give us your name andaddress.
You can find useful informationabout PRS for Music on our website.
You can also contact us via ourwebsite. www.prsformusic.com
a. Phoning Us
You can phone our CustomerServices team on 0845 309 3090,Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm. Calls charged at your provider’s LocalCall rate. Calls from mobiles maycost more.
A customer adviser will answer yourcall. Calls may be recorded toprovide an accurate and consistentservice and for training and securitypurposes.
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We aim to answer your call within30 seconds.
If your call is passed to someoneelse, the customer adviser will passon your details for you whereverpossible, so you should not have torepeat the reason for your call.
We will deal with your matterimmediately if we can. If we cannotresolve your query immediately, youcan expect us to do so in areasonable timeframe, normallywithin 14 days.
b. Writing to us by post or email
You can write to us using the contactdetails provided on anycorrespondence you have receivedfrom us. Alternatively, please write to:Customer ServicesPRS for MusicElwes House19 Church WalkPeterboroughCambs PE1 2UZ
We aim to reply fully within 14 daysof receiving your letter.
You can email us at:[email protected]
We will acknowledge receipt of youremail straight away and send you areply within 14 days.
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5. Getting more information
We have a comprehensive websitewhich is designed to provide answersto most questions about licensingour music. Full details of therequirements for music licensing andour charges can be found herewww.prsformusic.com
Alternatively, if you can't find theinformation you need, you cancontact us by post, email ortelephone.
We also work with trade bodies andassociations to raise awareness ofthe work we do and of therequirement for businesses andorganisations to obtain a PRS forMusic licence.
6. Setting our charges
Wherever possible, our tariffs are setin consultation with representativetrade bodies and associations. Weaim to be fair in both setting thetariffs and in their application.
Because of the different needs ofbusinesses, we have over 40different tariffs designed to suitindividual needs. A full list of tariffsis available on our website,www.prsformusic.com
Alternatively, you can contact us and we will send you a copy.
If we change a tariff, we have aformal consultation and notificationprocess. If we are making a majorchange, we enter into a fullconsultation with customers andtheir representative bodies. You canfind details of this process and of any current tariff consultations onour website atwww.prsformusic.com/customerconsultation
In addition, the terms of our licenceand our tariffs may be referred tothe independent Copyright Tribunal,part of the UK Intellectual PropertyOffice. For more details about theCopyright Tribunal, seewww.ipo.gov.uk. www.ipo.gov.uk
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7. Making payments to PRS forMusic
We accept payment by credit ordebit card over the phone or, if youprefer, you can set up a direct debit.We also accept payment by cheque,made payable to PRS for Music or tothe Performing Right Society.
All payment details are available onour website, www.prsformusic.comand, of course, if you are in anydoubt about giving financial detailsover the phone, you do not have todo so.
If you are due a refund for anyreason, and we have the details weneed from you to make thepayment, you should expectpayment from us within 28 days.
8. Amending or cancelling your PRS for Music licence
We will contact you at least once ayear to review your music use detailsand most changes can be madeduring this annual review.
You may call us at any time shouldyou no longer require a licence foryour current premises. For example,if you move or you stop playingmusic.
The terms of your licence mayrequire you to provide up to onemonth's notice of cancellation.
If you obtain your licence over thephone, you have the right to cancelwithin 14 days of the date on whichthe licence was agreed (which isusually the date of the phone call).
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9. If things go wrong
We know that from time to time,despite our and your best efforts,things can go wrong.
We aim to rectify errors and resolveconfusion as soon as possible.
If you think there has been an erroror we have dealt with thingsincorrectly, contact us by post,phone or email. Errors will becorrected straight away if possible. Ifan error cannot be corrected straightaway, PRS for Music will aim toresolve the matter as soon aspossible, normally within 14 days.We will keep you updated onprogress if for any reason we areunable to resolve the matter withinthis period.
If we believe an error hasn't beenmade, you can expect our staff toprovide you with a full and clearexplanation.
10. Making a complaint
If you are not satisfied with theservice you have received from us,you should follow our publishedcomplaints procedure which is setout below and which is alsoavailable on our website,www.prsformusic.com
Our complaints procedure can beused if you believe that:
we have failed to follow our own procedures, including anything detailed in this Code
we have charged you incorrectly
we have been rude or unprofessional towards you
we have unreasonably delayed or failed to take action
we have treated you unfairly in relation to other licensees or music users in similar circumstances
we have given you wrong or misleading information
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Our Complaints Procedure
Please write to:
Customer Relations Manager
PRS for Music
Elwes House
19 Church Walk
Peterborough
Cambs
PE1 2UZ
We will acknowledge your complaintupon receipt.
We will send you a full writtenresponse within 28 days of receivingyour complaint.
If you are not satisfied with thisresponse, you should write to theManaging Director (at the sameaddress) stating the reasons why.
The Managing Director will respond inwriting within 14 days from receipt ofyour letter and will either:
confirm or vary the earlier decision, or,
advise you of any further actions being taken regarding your complaint and the associated timescales.
If we have completed our investigationand provided a written response, wemay confirm there is nothing more wecan do under our ComplaintsProcedure.
We will be introducing an Ombudsmanduring 2009 to adjudicate uponcertain unresolved complaints.
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Your obligations
11. About this Code of Practice
This Code of Practice relates to the licensingactivities of PRS for Music for the non-domesticpublic performance of music in premises and atevents. The Code was published in [ ] 2009 and has been developed in consultation with [ ]
The Code of Practice uses terms like 'use', 'play'and 'perform' music to describe the rights thatPRS for Music licenses on behalf of its membersand overseas affiliates. These are the right toperform in public any copyright musical worksowned by these individuals, organisations orsocieties. Performances may be live, played froma CD or DVD, or re-broadcast via a TV, radio orthe Internet.
The term 'music user' is intended to describeanyone who may require a licence to carry outthe above activities.
PRS for Music is the trading name of thePerforming Right Society Limited, whoseregistered office is 29-33 Berners Street, LondonW1T 3AB. Registered in England No: 134396
PRS for Music exercises its rights under theCopyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (asamended). PRS for Music is subject to the sametrading laws as all businesses.
We use the term 'our music' to mean therepertoire of PRS for Music, which includes allthe musical works of our members and affiliatesworldwide.
This Code does not form part of any licencebetween you and PRS for Music. From time totime, PRS for Music may change the standardterms and conditions of our licence, including
the tariffs and charging policies which we use tocalculate the licence fee payable by you.
If you have comments or queries about ourstandard terms and conditions, please contact us.
We will review our Code of Practice regularly. Ifyou have any comments or questions about thisCode of Practice, please contact us.
12. Your obligations
It is your responsibility to ensure you have anup-to-date PRS for Music licence if you areplaying copyright music outside of the domesticenvironment.
The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended) states that if you perform orauthorise the performance of copyright music in public you must first obtain the permission of the copyright owner.
If you use copyright music without a licence you could be liable for infringement of copyrightand we reserve the right to take civil action forcopyright infringement.
When you take out a licence, your rights andobligations in relation to us will be set out in thestandard terms and conditions of your licence.
If your licence payment becomes overdue, wewill contact you by post, email or telephone, to remind you that payment is due. If paymentis still not received, we may refer your accountto a debt collection agency.
If you have a Music licence and unreasonablyrefuse to provide details of your music use atany time, you may be in breach of contract andPRS for Music may take further action.
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PRS for MusicThis code of practice relates to the licensing activities of PRS for Music forthe non-domestic public performance of music in premises and at events.You can write to us using the contact details provided on anycorrespondence you have received from us. Alternatively, please write to:
Customer ServicesPRS for MusicElwes House19 Church WalkPeterboroughCambs PE1 2UZ
You can email us at: [email protected]
You can call our Customer Services team on 0845 309 3090
Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm.
www.prsformusic.com
Edition February 2009PP.09.01.L.COP(d)
PRS for Music is the trading name of Performing Right Society LimitedRegistered in England No. 199120
