What You Need to Know About Music Licensing for Your Business

Are you playing background music in your store? Then you should know that what you’re doing might be illegal.

We get it—you need some good tunes playing while your customers shop and if you want to create a pleasant mood that keeps consumers engaged and in-store for longer.

And you’ve also got so many other things you need to handle for your business, that music certainly can’t be at the top of your priority list now, right?

Well, in this article, we’d like to make a case for why this is a matter that is worth your attention and how you can avoid legal headaches, hefty fines and hurting your reputation by taking a few simple precautions for your store or restaurant.

Let’s get into it. 🎶

Can I legally stream Spotify or Apple Music for my business?

The short answer is no.

Streaming platforms like Apple Music, Tidal, Pandora, Spotify (and others) are built strictly for consumers, not for businesses.

In other words, these services only provide a license for non-commercial use in a private setting. Playing these tracks in public, particularly if you’re gaining any sort of profit from it, comes with a whole host of legal implications.

So, how do I pay and stay covered?

It’s simple—if you want to use music that you’ve bought for your business, you need a Public Performance License. This allows you to play songs in-store without any legal trouble and can last you up to one year (and can be extended after).

Since 1st July 2019, you are now able to use tracks that you’ve bought on CD or via iTunes.

This new type of licensing scheme is distributed by OneMusic in Australia and typically costs $340 annually, as part of your Public Performance License.

For the retail industry, these are the three options you can choose from:

• Silver License: required if you pay to use a background music supplier

• Gold License: also allows you to use tracks you’ve purchased, but is more expensive

• Bronze License: the cheapest alternative, limited to music played through TV or radio

Why Silver often makes more sense

Because the $340 you save by purchasing Silver instead of Gold can be used to offset the amount of money you’d be paying for your in-store music. For Storeplay Radio, this would start at about $420 or only $90 GST Inclusive per store annually.

Once you factor in the time it takes your team to source the music, the cost of purchasing that music and the lack of control—using an enterprise platform like Storeplay Radio makes complete sense.

What if I don’t pay? (The risks of copyright infringement)

Here is what you are risking if you overlook the legal aspects of background music:

• Fines for playing music without a license in-store can range anywhere between $750 and $150,000 per song played

• Artists have huge followings and powerful public voices—they can create PR disasters

• If your infraction goes public, your reputation will be damaged, and sales may drop

• PROs often make examples out of violators, meaning steeper penalties

The bottom line

The main argument for using licensed in-store music is this: the risks far outweigh the costs.

At Storeplay Radio, we cover royalties on all our music and take care of all the legal hassle so you don’t have to.

👉 Learn more about Storeplay Radio