BPI Agreement and Consent Forms

The following rates, terms and conditions have been agreed between the Musicians' Union and BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) for session musicians engaged to record for commercial audio release.

The new version of the collective agreement will be published in January 2026, but please apply the minimum rates below with immediate effect, following the approved MU ballot in 2024 and the BPI and DCMS announcement in July 2025.

Please make sure you always fill in the relevant consent form when taking on recording session work, and always check with our Recording & Broadcasting department about fees and terms for any media engagements.

Rates of pay applicable to BPI sessions

Recording session fees

Session Type	Standard Session	Long Session	Short Session
Max. Duration	3 hours	4 hours	2 hours
Max. Track(s) Dur.	20 minutes	30 minutes	10 minutes

Non-Classical recording session fees

	Standard Session	Long Session	Short Session
Session fee	£180.00	£269.00	£135.00
Overtime (per 15 minutes)	£45.00	£67.25	£33.75

Classical recording session fees

	Standard Session	Long Session	Short Session
Section Principal	£107.00	£160.00	£80.00
Principal	£98.00	£147.00	£74.00
Sub-principal	£94.00	£140.00	£70.00
Rank & File	£89.00	£134.00	£67.00

Overtime (per 15 minutes)

	Standard Session	Long Session	Short Session
Section Principal	£10.70	£16.00	£8.00
Principal	£9.80	£14.70	£7.40
Sub-principal	£9.40	£14.00	£7.00
Rank & File	£8.90	£13.40	£6.70

Additional fees

Doubling	Trebling	Overdubbing
Plus 25% of session fee and overtime	Plus 40% of session fee and overtime	Plus 110% of session fee and overtime

Porterage

Category A	Category B	Category C	Category D
£20.00	£15.00 (cap £22.00)	£10.00	By Negotiation

Notes

1. The duration specified relates to a maximum duration of the finished Track or Tracks not the number of bars an individual musician has performed on.

2. Classical rates can only be applied by a record label where the repetoire to be recorded would qualify for the inclusion in the Official Charts Company Classical Chart.

3. Copies of completed Session Agreements should be sent to session.agreements@theMU.org

Session forms

Under the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR,) any consent you give to the processing of your personal data has to be specific and separate from other terms and conditions. Please carefully read the “Data Protection” section on the form, which details who your personal data will be processed by and why.

Backing Track Stem Use in Live Shows (Buyouts)

Please refer to the rates of pay for Backing Track Stem Use in Live Shows here.