Why can one song need more than one licence?
Under the Copyright Act, a recorded song contains more than one copyright work: the sound recording, usually owned by a record label, and the underlying musical and literary work, the composition and lyrics, owned by composers, lyricists and their publishers. Playing a recording in public uses both. A live band performing the song uses the composition and lyrics, not a label's recording.
What does each body license?
As each body describes itself on its own website, three license sound recordings for the labels they represent, and one licenses compositions and lyrics. They are not alternatives to one another: each covers only its own catalogue, so the licences an event needs follow the music actually played.
| Body | What it licenses | Whom it represents |
|---|---|---|
| PPL India | Public performance of sound recordings: annual background and per-event licences | Record labels that assign it their public-performance rights |
| Novex Communications | Public performance rights in sound recordings | The labels and artists it is affiliated with |
| RMPL (Recorded Music Performance Ltd) | Public performance, radio and television rights in sound recordings; background and event licences | Its member music labels; it describes itself as a registered copyright society for sound recordings |
| IPRS (Indian Performing Right Society) | Performance of musical and literary works: compositions and lyrics | Authors, composers and music publishers; it describes itself as a registered copyright society |
Is background music licensed differently from an event?
Yes. As published by PPL India and RMPL, a venue's background-music licence covers music played in the background of its premises day to day. Music used at an event, on a stage or dance floor, at a show or a function, needs a separate event licence. A hotel's background licence does not cover a party held in its ballroom.
How do you work out which licences an event needs?
Start from the playlist and the format. Recordings point to the label-side bodies; live performance points to IPRS; a band using backing tracks uses both. Each body publishes a way to check its catalogue. The venue, the kind of event and whether it is ticketed then decide whether any licence is needed at all.
- List the songs or at least the labels and the kind of music: film, independent, international.
- Note the format: DJ playing recordings, live band, or band with backing tracks.
- Check each body's published catalogue or ask it which of the music it controls.
- Confirm with the venue which licences it already holds and which the organiser must take.
- Take each licence for the event's dates and keep the certificates on file.
What about music at weddings?
Section 52(1)(za) of the Copyright Act exempts music at bona fide religious ceremonies, including marriage processions and related social festivities. A 2023 DPIIT notice applying this to wedding functions was withdrawn on 6 December 2025 pending an appeal in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The separate guide on wedding music sets out the position in detail.
Where Arika fits
Arika Licenses arranges event music licences from PPL, Novex, IPRS and RMPL through one desk in Mumbai, once it has seen the event's venue, format and music. It advises which licences apply; it does not sell licences an event does not need.
Event music licencesSources
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Each body's catalogue and terms change; check with the body for the music you plan to use.
Official and primary pages this guide was checked against on 14 November 2026. Figures are as published by each body; Arika confirms the current figure in writing when you apply.
- PPL India: Frequently asked questionspplindia.org
- Novex Communicationsnovex.in
- Recorded Music Performance Ltd (RMPL)rmplindia.org
- The Indian Performing Right Society (IPRS)iprs.org
- Copyright Office, Government of India: Exceptions to infringement (Section 52)copyright.gov.in
- DPIIT: Office memorandum withdrawing the notice, 6 December 2025dpiit.gov.in