Negotiating needletime: the Musicians’ Union, the BBC and the record companies, c. 1920–1990

This article examines an important, but hitherto largely overlooked, licensing system which operated in the UK between the late 1920s and late 1980s and limited the amount of recorded music that broadcasters could use in radio progammes. Known as ‘needletime’ the system was formalized in the 1930s when the BBC reached a collective agreement with the UK’s record companies – here acting via the copyright licensing society Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) – about the amount of records that it could play. Drawing on previously unused materials, the article provides a revisionist account of the development of needletime, focusing on the actions of a third party, the Musicians’ Union (MU). As is shown, the MU was able to exercise influence on both camps and thus to have a profound impact on the development of music radio and the wider music industries in the UK. Previous accounts of needletime are critiqued and it is suggested that, while it was accused of operating ‘restrictive practices’, the MU’s role can be seen more as an attempt to ensure that the suitably remunerated employment of musicians was as widespread as possible. Needletime emerges as perhaps the key agreement thus far within the UK’s music industries’ industrial relations. Between the late 1920s and the late 1980s a licensing system operated in the UK which limited the amount of recorded music that broadcasters could use in their programmes. Known as ‘needletime’, the system developed in response to the interests of three organizations. The first was the BBC, which began the period as the UK’s monopoly broadcaster and, as the years progressed, wished to use increasing amounts of recorded music in its programmes. The second was the record companies who owned copyright in the sound recordings and who were for many years concerned that over-use of recorded music on the radio would hit record sales. However, as they were able, by means of the copyright licensing society, Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL), to charge fees for the use of recordings, the record companies also had some collective interest in increasing the amount of needletime hours available, provided that this resulted in higher remuneration for their members. The third party was the Musicians’ Union (MU) which, while representing the interests of musicians used in the recordings, was primarily concerned that the use of recorded music