PPL Posts Record 2024 Revenue Amid Continued Global Growth

Thanks in large part to heightened licensing payments from physical establishments, the UK’s PPL has reported all-time-high revenue of nearly $400 million for 2024.

Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) provided an overview of its 2024 financials today, after shedding light on several sizable distributions during the year. All told, PPL achieved £301 million (currently $387.75 million) in total 2024 collections for the use of members’ recordings.

That record sum represents a roughly 6% YoY boost, per PPL, which also identified a slightly higher (13% to 13.2%) cost-to-revenue ratio and net revenue of $337.51 million (£261.9 million) for 2024.

PPL cited an “ongoing investment in long term technology infrastructure” when explaining 2024’s cost-revenue ratio uptick. Despite the increase, though, the percentage is actually down a tad from 2022’s 13.3%.

And in the bigger picture, the £301 million in PPL annual revenue is up about 10.7% from pre-pandemic 2019, which brought $349.96 million (£271.8 million).

Back to the 2024 numbers, of PPL’s £301 million in revenue, a little over 40% ($156.31 million/£121.4 million, up 9% YoY) derived from usages in bars, restaurants, and other public businesses.

Within this all-important sub-category, the entity pointed to an 8% YoY jump for employment-sector revenue, attributable to (among different factors) a hike from factories and offices in particular.

International revenue kicked in another $104.43 million/£81 million – almost 27% of PPL’s 2024 total. Marking a 7% YoY improvement, the figure resulted in part from “an uplift in collections from the Netherlands, Spain and the US,” 91-year-old PPL specified.

Rounding things out, PPL confirmed $127.08 million (£98.6 million) in broadcast and online revenue, which grew by a more modest 2% YoY but nevertheless made up close to 33% of the year’s total.

In a statement, CEO Peter Leathem touted PPL’s international reach via relationships “with partners around the world.”

“2024 was another strong year for PPL as we grew licensing revenue across the board,” weighed in Leathem. “These landmark collections in our 90th year are a result of our team’s consistent efforts to ensure our members’ talent and investment is fairly rewarded when their music is broadcast or played in public spaces.

“More and more performers and recording rightsholders are choosing PPL for international collections, as we continue to produce positive results through our collaborative approach with partners around the world, helping speed up collections and payments to our members,” the more than two-decade PPL higher-up concluded.