It is perhaps the definition of a ding-dong. A music company that produces radio jingles is in a bitter High Court fight over claims that it has been underpaid to the tune of millions.
The directors of Delicious Digital, which produces short tunes for BBC’s Radio 5 Live and 5 Live Sport, alleges that it is owed royalties by the Performing Rights Society for Music (PRS).
The organisation determines the rates at which the creators of jingles on its books earn royalties. Delicious Digital, a west London recording and publishing business, says the society has changed its calculations in recent years causing their earnings to drop from £800,000 to £20,000 a year.
They also claim that the society — which has about 155,000 songwriter, composer and publisher members in the UK — has acknowledged that it is not obliged to treat them fairly when calculating royalties.
The High Court claim, which was issued in February but has only now been made public, has alleged that some of the large international labels, including United Music, Sony/ATV Music and Warner Chappell, have received preferential treatment by the society and exert undue influence in how monies are paid out.
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Delicious Digital has told the court that a decision by the society’s distribution committee significantly reduced its annual earnings from the BBC. It claimed to have been earning more than £800,000 before the recalculation, but that nosedived to about £20,000 after the move and forced the business to get rid of most of its staff.
The recording house is claiming up to £15 million from the PRS in lost royalties and said that it had spent years trying to resolve the dispute, accusing the society of having “delayed and procrastinated and stonewalled”.
In its written submissions to the court, Delicious Digital accused the PRS of being “heavily influenced by the interests of its more powerful members”.
It claims that membership of the society’s royalties distribution committee “comprises chiefly the major publishers” that account for 55 per cent of the jingle market.
The London company added in its claim that it is not represented on the distribution committee and said that other smaller music publishers “are unable to put forward their interests effectively due to the lack of representation and transparency”.
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As a result of the committee’s composition, said the claim, “powerful members (and in particular, the major publishers) have a significant competitive advantage and influence in dealings with and which affect smaller members such that decisions are taken which favour the interests of the powerful members and contrary to the interests of SME publishers and composers”.
The society disputes the claims and is defending the action.
In a document filed with the High Court, the PRS said the composition of its distribution committee was “drawn from the members’ council” and it was open to any “principal voting member”, including Delicious Digital, to seek to be elected.
The society said it was not aware of the London company having ever sought to join the members’ council.
The society adamantly rejected the claim of undue influence imposed by multinational corporations, saying in court papers: “Of the 17 distribution committee directors, no more than three are representatives of the majors”.
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However, in its defence document, the PRS said that the organisation’s membership agreement “does not . . . contain any express term requiring the [society] to adopt policies in a manner which is fair, reasonable or transparent or to consult with right holders who would be affected by the policies”.
In a statement made to The Times, Ollie Raphael and Ed Moris, Delicious Digital’s directors, said that they were “standing up for the small indie publishers and composers against the might of the PRS”.
