PRS for Music has partnered with business music streaming service Soundtrack to bring play-by-play data on the music played in UK shops, bars, and public spaces into its royalty distributions.
The UK collection society will receive data showing which tracks are played across around 7,000 premises that use Soundtrack’s platform.
PRS will begin incorporating that data into royalty payments to songwriters, composers, and music publishers from December 2026.
The partnership, announced on Wednesday (October 28), expands the society’s existing work with background music providers.
PRS said it will reduce its reliance on comparable data used to estimate usage in cases where direct information about what was played has not been available.
Businesses that use Soundtrack include Ole & Steen, Uniqlo, Dr. Martens, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Kiehl’s, Joe & The Juice, and TAG Heuer.
The UK Parliament also uses the service, according to PRS.
The society said Soundtrack’s data increases the accuracy of the usage information it collects, and extends the number of businesses for which it has direct detail on what is being played.
“Our focus at PRS is simple: to pay our members as accurately and as quickly as we can,” said Ben McOwen Wilson, CEO of PRS for Music. “When songwriters’ and composers’ music is being used, we want the information that allows us to recognize that use and get the right royalties paid to them.
“That means taking advantage of the best data and technology available. Where we can know what music has actually been played, and the technology is accurate and cost-effective, we should use it.
“Our focus at PRS is simple: to pay our members as accurately and as quickly as we can.”
Ben McOwen Wilson, PRS
“We’ve been working with partners in this way for years, and our new partnership with Soundtrack gives us actual usage data from thousands more businesses across the UK. It’s another important step toward making our distributions reflect the music that people are really listening to.
“And there is much more we can do. I want PRS to be market-leading in looking for better data, testing new technology, and working with partners across the industry to drive better outcomes for our members.
“Ultimately, it all comes back to the same goal: identifying music use more accurately, paying members more quickly, and making sure the value created by their music finds its way back to them.”
McOwen Wilson joined PRS as CEO on October 12, arriving from Google, where he served as Managing Director for EMEA at Google Play.
PRS represents more than 190,000 songwriters, composers, and music publishers.
The society paid out GBP £1.07 billion (USD $1.41 billion) in royalties in 2025 and collected £1.24 billion ($1.63 billion).
Public performance revenues, covering live music and music played in settings such as shops, restaurants, and bars, reached £313.4 million ($413 million) that year, up 9.1% year-over-year.
“Soundtrack research shows that in most countries, public performance royalties are distributed based on proxy data and not actual usage, this partnership proves that there is a better solution available,” said Ola Sars, Founder, CEO, and Chairman of Soundtrack. “We’re closing the gap with consumer streaming and bringing the same digital accuracy and standards to the music-for-business market.
“Soundtrack is the fastest-growing music-for-business provider in the world, and has direct licensing agreements with thousands of rights holders and a direct connection to the digital music value chain. That enables us to give PRS unique and accurate, up-to-date usage and ownership data from Soundtrack’s extensive repertoire of 150 million songs.”
“Soundtrack is the fastest-growing music-for-business provider in the world, and has direct licensing agreements with thousands of rights holders and a direct connection to the digital music value chain.”
Ola Sars, Soundtrack
Soundtrack began life in 2013 as Spotify Business, a joint venture with Spotify, before rebranding as Soundtrack Your Brand and later Soundtrack. It now operates in 75 countries and has been expanding its footprint in the business music market through acquisitions.
In February 2026, it acquired UK-based Ambie and Belgium’s Tunify, both of which are being folded into the Soundtrack brand.
The partnership with PRS for Music connects Soundtrack’s business music platform more directly to royalty distribution and the tracking of music usage across commercial premises.Music Business Worldwide