Bridgwater Carnival under pressure to buy music licence

Just days before Somerset's major Guy Fawkes carnival season gets under way, clubs have been told they must pay for the right to play recorded music or risk being refused entry to this year's parades.

Dozens of clubs have received a letter from Bridgwater Carnival secretary Dave Croker, after the Performing Rights Society (PRS) – the body that collects royalties on behalf of composers, songwriters and music publishers – warned it would expect any float that plays recorded music to obtain a licence, costing nearly £30 per float.

In his letter, Mr Croker, states that the carnival could be faced with a bill of £2,225, the equivalent of £29.67 for each entry using music. Similar bills may also arrive for committees in Shepton Mallet, Wells and Glastonbury.

However, clubs are being advised that a cheaper alternative would be for each club to buy its own licence for £29.67 and this would cover them for all carnivals over the next 12 months.

To offset this cost, committees across Somerset have offered to increase their prize and appearance money by £5 for those clubs affected by this licence fee.

However, there is added pressure on those clubs that have only just received this news – their licence needs to be bought, paid for and with Bridgwater committee by tomorrow.

Bridgwater Carnival has already been invoiced for £2,225 but this will be reduced for each club buying its own licence. But clubs have been warned if they fail to buy a licence and turn up at carnival processions, they could be refused entry or may have their prize/appearance money cut to cover any licence costs.

Representatives from clubs across the county met in Bridgwater on Monday night at an emergency meeting to discuss the issue and find the best solution in time for the start of next week's illuminated season.

A spokeswoman for the PRS said: There are numerous examples of carnivals who have a PRS Music Licence, however recently PRS has been concentrating its efforts on this type of event to ensure all carnivals have the correct licences in place, so some carnivals may be contacted by PRS for the first time."