Do You Need a License to Play Music in Your Business?
Short answer: yes. Playing music for customers generally requires a license, whether you run one small café or a chain of stores. Here's why, who collects the fees, and how to cover it.
In most cases, you need a legal license to play music in your business. This is because playing music for your customers counts as public or commercial use, which often requires its unique permissions and costs beyond what your personal streaming subscription covers.
These requirements apply to small businesses and chain stores alike. Still, plenty of store owners aren't quite sure where they stand, how the system works, or what their options actually are.
In this post, we cover how to quickly check whether you need a license, why playing music in a business counts as public performance, who collects the fees and fines, and how to choose a legal option based on the type of music you'd like to play.
Let's dive in.
Quick Check: Does Your Business Need a Music License?
Not sure where you stand? Most businesses can figure it out in a minute by answering three questions.
- Can customers or visitors hear the music? If a customer, guest, or visitor can hear it, you should treat it as public use, and that's exactly what a license is for. This includes the shop floor, a terrace, a hotel lobby, a waiting area, and even a fitting room.
- Where is the music coming from? A personal streaming account, a radio, and a playlist you made yourself are all common setups. None of them are automatically covered, so it's worth checking rather than assuming.
- Do you run more than one location? Each location typically needs its own coverage, so a license for your flagship store doesn't automatically extend to the rest.
If you answered yes to the first question, you very likely need a license. The other two questions point to the most common gaps in coverage: personal streaming accounts aren't made for business use (we cover this in our guide on whether you can play Spotify in your store), and a license for one location rarely extends to the others. If you're still unsure where you stand, the sections below explain how it all works and what your options are.
Why Does Playing Music in a Business Count as Public Performance?
When you play music in a public space or commercial establishment, you're no longer listening to or using it privately. You're performing it publicly, and that's the moment a music license comes into play.
Public performances require that the owners of the music are compensated for the use. With this usually taking the form of fees or fines (if you didn't pay ahead of time).
In most countries, fees are collected by collective management organizations, or CMOs, like SACEM in France, GEMA in Germany, and SGAE in Spain. CMOs collect fees on behalf of artists and rights holders from the businesses that play their music, and they don't just wait for owners to come forward.
"In every country, there are CMOs running inspections and controls to make sure that every store owner complies with the regulation in place."
Pierre, Head of Revenue at Jamendo Licensing
TL;DR: Playing music for customers is a public performance, and CMOs collect the fees for it, so a personal subscription or a playlist of your own won't cover you.
Does This Apply to Small Businesses and Chain Stores?
It does, and in both cases the reasoning is the same. If customers can hear the music, it counts as public performance, whether it comes from a single speaker in a small independent shop or from the sound system of a store in a nationwide chain. Size alone doesn't exempt you by default, although specific rules and exceptions vary from country to country, so it's always worth checking what applies where you operate.
For small businesses, this is often the part that surprises owners the most. It's easy to assume that a few speakers and a playlist fly under the radar, but small shops don't get a free pass just for being small, even if the fees and requirements can look different from one country to the next.
For chains, coverage is where the confusion usually starts. A license for one location usually doesn't extend to the others, so each store needs to be covered on its own. That's easy to overlook when music is managed centrally, for instance when head office picks a playlist or In-Store radio and rolls it out to every store. The music might be the same everywhere, but the coverage is still counted store by store, which is why you often need a licensing certificate for every location.
License requirements aren't unique to new or existing businesses. In some countries, CMOs make contact before your store even opens. Here's how it can work in Belgium, according to our Head of Revenue, Pierre:
"Whenever the government receives the application for your store, it triggers an alert to the local CMO. They'll send you a letter that clearly says you should pay for the music you're playing in your store with the right license, even before you open."
Small note here: how this works differs by country, so what you'll receive (and when) depends on where your store is. If you operate across several countries, it's worth checking the requirements in each one rather than assuming they match.
What Are Your Options for Playing Music Legally?
Once you know you need coverage, the next question is how to get it. The system isn't always easy to navigate from the outside, with different organizations, fees, and rules depending on where you operate. As Pierre explains:
"Not everyone is aware of how the system works, so even if you want to comply, it's not always obvious how to do so."
Pierre, Head of Revenue at Jamendo Licensing
In practice, there are two main routes, and the right one depends on how much you want to handle yourself.
Option 1: License Directly Through Your Local CMO
The first route is to get a license directly from the CMO in your country. This usually means contacting them, sharing details about your business, and paying the fees they set. It's the most direct path to coverage, but it also means you're responsible for working out what applies to you and handling the process yourself, and you'd still need a source of music to play.
Option 2: Use a Licensed In-Store Radio
The second route is to use a licensed in-store radio, like our In-Store Radios. The music comes pre-cleared with no extra copyright fees, so there's nothing additional to arrange with a CMO. Each store gets its own certificate as proof of coverage, and plans start at âŹ89 a year per location, which is a big reason why savings tend to be the main thing businesses come to us for.
Small note here: royalty-free music licensed for online use (like the kind you'd use in a YouTube video) isn't the same thing. Online licenses cover online projects, while playing music in a physical space needs its own solution, so a track you've licensed for a video doesn't carry over to your store. We break down that difference in our post on whether royalty-free music is really free.
Choosing Music That Fits Your Business
Getting licensed takes care of the legal side, but the music itself still shapes how your space feels. The goal is a sound that suits your business, and a few simple questions can help you find it.
Start with your identity. Ask yourself what atmosphere you want customers to feel when they walk in, and whether that calls for energy or calm. A fast-paced store with high-energy beats and quick rhythms sends a very different message than a spa or yoga studio with softer, slower music, so the music should match your brand rather than work against it.
If you don't have a specific sound in mind yet, a broad mix of genres (like rock, pop, and electro) is a safe starting point, since it doesn't tie your space to a single style. You can always narrow it down once you hear how it feels in your space.
It's also worth previewing before you commit. Licensed music has a reputation for sounding generic, like "elevator music", and the best way to find out is to listen. Try a demo over your own speakers before you decide, so you know it fits.
TL;DR: You can license through your local CMO or use a licensed in-store radio, and either way, choose music that matches your store's identity.
What Happens If You Skip the License?
In theory, owners who don't comply risk fines, and the amounts depend on the country and the CMO involved. With CMOs running inspections, that risk isn't just hypothetical. In practice, though, the bigger issue is often surprise. Plenty of owners don't know how the system works, which can lead to fines or costs they weren't expecting. And for those who do know, Pierre points to the most common mistake he sees:
"They simply put this topic aside, play their private Spotify subscriptions, and just rely on luck to not be caught."
Pierre, Head of Revenue at Jamendo Licensing
That's a risky approach, especially when a legal option can be simpler (and often more affordable) than expected. Many of the businesses who come to us are specifically looking for music they can pay for without any extra fees, and savings tend to be their main reason for switching. Getting covered upfront also means you never have to wonder whether today is the day someone comes asking.
Music Licensing for Businesses FAQ
Do small businesses really need a license?
Generally, yes. Size doesn't exempt you by default, so a single café or shop is in the same position as a larger business. Rules and exceptions do vary by country, so check what applies where you operate.
Isn't my streaming subscription enough?
Usually not. Personal streaming accounts are meant for personal use, not for playing music to customers in a business. A subscription covers your own listening at home, but a public space is a separate situation that calls for its own kind of license.
Can I just play the radio?
In many countries, playing the radio in a business can still count as public performance. Just because the music is broadcast doesn't automatically mean you're covered, so it's worth checking your local rules before relying on it.
Does one license cover all of my locations?
Usually not. Each location typically needs its own coverage, which is why our In-Store Radios come with a certificate for each store. If you run several stores, make sure every one of them is covered rather than assuming one license reaches them all.
Summary
In short, here's what to remember about playing music in your business:
- Playing music for customers is public performance. In most cases, that means you need a license.
- Size doesn't exempt you by default. This applies to small businesses and chain stores, and each location typically needs its own coverage.
- You have options. You can license through your local CMO or use a licensed in-store radio.
- Choose music that fits your business. Once you're covered, pick a sound that matches your space and your identity.
Ready to play music in your business the legal way? Explore our In-Store Radios to hear the demo and find the right sound for your space.