Fishburn wins licensing brief

Billed as 'raising awareness of the value of music in the workplace', the brief handed to the agency by music licensing firm PPL aims to 'educate business owners about the need for a PPL licence'.

The push for PPL licences has met with resistance from business owners, some of whom have already refused to pay for the licence.

One wrote on ukbusinessforums.co.uk that the charge was 'ridiculous and was yet another cost to a small business that was already under pressure'.

However, Fishburn Hedges will lead a media relations campaign during the summer focusing on research into the impact of music on sales and morale at small and medium-sized businesses, while gauging awareness of music licensing laws in the UK.

The results of the research will be released during the campaign.

Victoria Sykes, consultant at Fishburn Hedges, said: 'Many businesses rely on music to attract customers.

'While the bottom line is to encourage businesses to buy licences because it is the law, we hope to educate business owners about the need for a PPL licence and the significant benefits playing music can bring to the workplace.'

She said that bars, clubs, factories, offices and shops would be targeted workplaces, and added that the agency hoped to revisit the campaign in a year's time, to see what has changed.

Jonathan Morrish, director of PR and corporate comms at PPL, said the company existed 'to ensure that those who invest their time, talent and money to make music are fairly paid for their work'.

He said: 'We appointed Fishburn Hedges due to its understanding of how our company operates and the changing landscape of the wider music and business industries. We feel that Fishburn Hedges has the expertise and insight to reach large audiences.'