Music rights group to pay ₱13M in royalties, weighs actual song plays

The Philippines Recorded Music Rights Inc. (PRM) is preparing to release more than ₱13 million in royalties to music producers and performers, with a new system designed to make payments more accurate and give greater credit to music actually played in businesses.

The collective management organization (CMO) said it is set to distribute ₱13,033,983.29 for its 2025 royalty cycle in November 2026. The amount covers royalties collected in 2025, including payments for earlier licensing periods.

The upcoming release also marks the first time PRM expects to complete a royalty distribution within its scheduled timeline. In its earlier years, the organization relied largely on manual processes to gather music usage reports, check ownership records and calculate how much each rights holder should receive.

This time, PRM is introducing SoundSys by Barcelona Music and Audio Technologies (BMAT), a system that will help process royalties for producers. The technology is intended to make it easier to match songs reported as played in establishments with registered recordings, verify ownership and identify conflicting claims.

PRM General Manager Ace Acosta said the changes are meant to improve how the organization handles royalty payments.

“This November 2026 distribution marks a defining moment for Philippines Recorded Music Rights Inc. We are preparing to distribute royalties on schedule and, for the first time, use SoundSys by BMAT to support Producer royalty processing,” Acosta said.

“Most importantly, these improvements support our work to ensure that performers and producers receive the remuneration they have earned,” he told reporters during a gathering on Thursday.

Actual music usage gets more weight

One of the biggest changes involves how PRM divides royalty collections among rights holders.

For the 2025 cycle, the organization is increasing the weight given to music usage reports submitted by licensed establishments, including hotels, restaurants, gyms and other businesses.

The share assigned to these reports has increased from 70 percent to 84.23 percent for producers, and from 70 percent to 77 percent for performers, compared with the previous 2023-2024 distribution.

In practical terms, this means songs documented as being played in commercial establishments will have a greater influence on royalty calculations.

It also gives recognition to recordings that may not necessarily dominate radio playlists or popularity charts but continue to be played regularly in places where people work, dine, shop and exercise.

The Official Philippines Chart of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) and radio data from BMAT will still be used as supplementary references. However, actual music usage reports will now carry greater weight in determining royalty allocations.

New system, separate computations

While SoundSys will help PRM process producer royalties, performer payments will still be calculated separately by the organization.

The system helps match reported music usage with registered recordings, check ownership information, flag competing claims and calculate the corresponding shares for producers. It also provides more detailed records, allowing royalty allocations to be traced to specific recordings and reported music usage.

PRM will still review and verify the results before releasing payments.

The distribution involves 14 record labels and music rights partners. Performer recipients include featured artists as well as non-featured performers, such as session musicians.

However, the final number of individual performers entitled to receive royalties has yet to be determined, pending completion of the calculations and verification process.

PRM presented details of the distribution at a press conference and showcase on November 12 at Backspacer Records in Pasig City. The event brought together media representatives, members, artists and other music industry stakeholders, with performances by LEYO and Jarlo Bâse of Sony Music Philippines.

With its revised allocation formula and new processing system, PRM aims to make royalty distribution more transparent and ensure that producers and performers are properly compensated for the use of their recordings.