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Digital DJs 'unaware of copy law'

The annual licences, costing 200 pounds plus VAT, were introduced by royalty collection agency PPL in September.

DJs who copy tracks onto computers or MP3 players without one are breaking copyright law, the organisation says.

But Radio 1 DJ Fergie told Newsbeat he did not know about the licences and doubted many other DJs did either.

The licences are needed by any DJ who wants to store digital copies of sound recordings to use when playing in public.

This includes legally-purchased downloads, which are normally licensed only for personal use, as well as copies of tracks from records or CDs.

PPL said many DJs wanted to play from laptops or MP3 players instead of records or CDs, despite the fact it was illegal without the permission of the rights owner.

Business affairs director Peter Leathem told Radio 1's Newsbeat: "Rather than saying stop it, don't do it, we've actually tried to embrace what people want to do and come up with a licence to be able to do that."

But once awareness had grown, it would start pursuing unlicensed DJs, who could face penalties including legal costs and breach of copyright damages.

Venues would be urged to check DJs were licensed before hiring them and those who turned a blind eye could also find themselves in trouble with the law.

The licence money goes to the 3,500 record companies represented by PPL.