A number of licences are provided to schools, music services, and hubs to ensure teachers can legally copy, show, or use sheet music. The Schools Printed Music Licence was introduced in 2013. Viki Smith, Printed Music Licensing Ltd’s (PMLL) Managing Director, explains what the licence covers, whether curricular or extracurricular, in your school.

Copyright has always been seen as a complicated area which confuses many people. The Schools Printed Music Licence (SPML) was introduced to not only give teachers access to a wide variety of music genres but also to ensure that teachers can use music in the classroom without worrying about whether what they are doing is legal.

The SPML allows teachers to copy and arrange sheet music for music education. This can be curricular or non-curricular as long as it is run by the school and is part of its general music education.

The licence should not replace the purchasing of music, and an original copy of the music must be owned to make any copies – a printed music book or a PDF copy. Copies can be made by staff employed directly by the school or via the Local Music Service for the number of students within a class. Copies of music can also be scanned and uploaded to a VLE or similar secure network for staff and students to access. Further information about the licence is published on the PMLL website, including FAQs around the licence terms and how the licence works.

All schools in England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland are covered via central arrangements with the respective governments. Independent schools and schools in Wales are licensed on an individual basis by CEFM (Centre for Education and Finance Management). CEFM also runs a helpline to answer any general queries about the licence.

Reporting what has been copied and arranged is a condition of the licence. This is important so that we can accurately pay the music publishers, who will then pay the songwriters and composers. We always want to ensure creators are paid where their works are used in this way.

We understand that this may be seen as an administrative burden to teachers, so PMLL has built a portal where teachers can sign up to report data as quickly and simply as possible. You’ll find the portal at the PMLL website.

Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions. We’re here to help!