Phonographic Performance Limited

What PPL covers

PPL India — Phonographic Performance Limited — manages public performance rights for over 450 music labels in India. Their catalogue includes T-Series, Sony Music India, Universal Music India, Warner Music India, Lahari Music, Speed Records, Aditya Music, Mango Music, Sun TV Network, and hundreds of regional labels across Hindi, Punjabi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Bengali, Marathi, and other languages. In total, PPL claims rights to over 7 million songs.

When a DJ plays a Bollywood track at a corporate event, when a hotel streams background music in its lobby, when a club runs a DJ night — if any of those songs belong to PPL's catalogue, a PPL licence is required. The licence fee goes to the music labels, who distribute royalties to artists.

Two separate PPL licences — background and event

PPL issues two completely independent licence types. This distinction trips up more venues and event organisers than anything else.

The Background Music Licence covers ambient music played continuously in a commercial space — a restaurant during service, a hotel lobby, a retail store, a gym. It is an annual licence calculated on the venue's floor area and type.

The Event Music Licence covers specific occasions — DJ nights, corporate functions, product launches, concerts. It is a per-event licence and is completely separate from the background licence. A hotel or club with a valid annual background music licence is NOT covered for events. If a DJ performs at that venue, a separate event licence must be obtained. PPL's tariff page states this explicitly: "Both Background Music Licence and Event Music Licence are separate and independent." See the full breakdown.

PPL's legal status — what you need to know

In April 2025, the Delhi High Court Division Bench ruled that PPL cannot issue licences for sound recordings because it is not a registered copyright society under Section 33 of the Copyright Act. PPL was a registered copyright society until 2014 but lost that status when it failed to re-register after the Copyright Amendment Act 2012 came into force.

On April 21, 2025, the Supreme Court of India stayed this direction pending final hearing. PPL licences remain operational and enforceable during the stay. However, the underlying legal question is unresolved. The Supreme Court has not yet delivered a final ruling on PPL's authority to issue licences.

Trakinfo flags this as an active dispute. Users should be aware that the legal landscape may change when the Supreme Court delivers its final judgment. Read more in our PPL legal status guide.

Labels under PPL

Not sure if a specific track is under PPL? Search it on Trakinfo and the licence body will show instantly.

How to get a PPL licence

Background music licence: apply at pplindia.org based on your venue type and floor area.

Event music licence: apply per event at pplindia.org. Contact PPL's regional office for quotations on large events.

All licences are for one year (background) or per event (event). Non-transferable.