Types of Licence

We have two type of performing licence – Fixed Fee and Variable Fee. For most plays and some small musicals, a producing organisation will pay a fixed fee per performance irrespective of the size of audience. Most of our musicals are licensed under the variable fee system, whereby the royalty payment due is based on a percentage of gross Box Office takings subject to a minimum royalty payment per performance.

The Application Process

For the sake of uniformity, we use the same application process for both types of licence, which is set out below …

1) Request a Royalty Quote on our website, reading the instructions carefully beforehand.

2) Applications should be made no later than six weeks prior to the first planned performance date, however, we recommend that large producing organisations should apply for and obtain a licence well in advance of starting rehearsals. Conversely, small producing organisations may be able to leave their applications quite late, although in so doing the risk is present that their application may be refused. (See also ‘Festival Entries’ below).

3) On receipt of a licence application, we will subject that application to a proximity test. This means that we will check whether there are …

a) any previously licenced productions of that title taking place within a fifty mile radius (approximately) of the venue, or

b) any previously licenced productions taking place within a three month period before or after any production in the same town, city or other location.

4) If the application passes the proximity test, then, unless there are any other constraining factors, we will issue an RQLA which will be e-mailed to you,

5) If, then, you wish to proceed to a production, please then undertake the following:-

a) For Fixed Fee licences, either

i) PREFERRED - pay the royalties by bank transfer, or by card on our website 

i) NOT PREFERRED (UK Customers only) - print and return the form with a cheque made payable to ‘Stagescripts Ltd’ for the amount shown under ‘Fee Payable’

b) For Variable Fee licences, pay the Advance Royalties as for 'Fixed Fee' royalties above.

In paying the licence fee / royalties you undertake that your producing organisation will comply with our standard terms and conditions together with any supplementary conditions as may be applicable.

6) Producing Organisations must ensure that the Licence document so issued is on display to their audiences at each performance.

7) Producing Organisations with either Fixed Fee or Variable Fee productions will have no further need to contact us prior to their performances, unless any changes are needed to their licence.

8) Producing Organisations with Variable Fee licences will be sent a link to a Royalty Declaration Form form on our website, a few days before, or a few days after their last licenced performance. This should be completed by the Treasurer or Box Office Manager and must be completed and submitted within twenty-one days of the close of the final performance. We will then send an Invoice for the royalties to be paid.

Festival Entries

Where entries to play festivals are concerned, we can often, with suitable notice, provide a Licence document within 24hrs where an entry has won a heat and needs to perform again within a few days. In these instances, we ask that right at the outset Producing Organisations submit a separate Application for Royalty Quote form for each of the dates of all the heats, for which we will supply quotations. These quotations can then be ‘cashed in’ and Licences supplied, as the entry hopefully wins and moves on to the next heat. In the unfortunate event that the entry is not successful, the unused quotations are simply discarded.

Licences To Record (Videography)

For nearly all of the titles in our catalogue we can issue a Licence To Record – ie the making of a video or audio recording. A fee is payable for this facility, but in return you will be allowed to make a recording for archival, souvenir or training purposes which may be duplicated, and given or sold to members of the Producing Organisation and sold or given away to audiences attending its productions (but not to any other third parties) as a souvenir. We will require two copies on DVD for video recordings or on CD for audio recordings of the finished product (as appropriate), and we reserve the right to use this material in our future marketing of the play or musical concerned. For this reason (and also because it is a wise precaution to take before photographically storing any personal images) you MUST obtain all the necessary permissions from ...

i) actors (especially child actors),

ii) musicians, and

iii) the production’s creative team (the Director, set designer, choreographer etc)

... and thus supply us with a waiver stating that permission has been received in writing from all participants, before we will grant a licence to record.