Andre Yoskowitz
22 Oct 2009 16:08
Last week, A&T Food store shop assistant Sandra Burt was told by the Performing Right Society (PRS) that she needed to stop singing during work without a performance license or face a fine.
Today, Burt was given an apology letter as well as a bouquet of flowers by the royalty collection agency, a truce after facing extreme criticism around the UK for their move.
The situation started when Burt was playing a radio at work and the PRS sent a letter telling them they would need a license to continue to do so. After the radio was removed, Burt began singing on her own.
Says Burt to the BBC: "I would start to sing to myself when I was stacking the shelves just to keep me happy because it was very quiet without the radio. When I heard that the PRS said I would be prosecuted for not having a performance license, I thought it was a joke and started laughing. I was then told I could be fined thousands of pounds. But I couldn't stop myself singing. They would need to put a plaster over my mouth to get me to stop, I can't help it."
The apology letter reads:
"We're very sorry we made a big mistake. We hear you have a lovely singing voice and we wish you good luck."