If you operate a hotel in the UK and have ever been confused by the difference between PRS and PPL, what TheMusicLicence actually buys you, and how much it should cost — this guide gives you straight answers. We cover the two rights organisations, the joint licence, realistic costs across hotel sizes, what triggers inspections, and the operational steps to stay compliant.
This guide is vendor-neutral. Rafilis makes Rafilis Multizone, a multi-zone music management platform for hotels, restaurants and venues. But this software is not a substitute for TheMusicLicence — the licence covers the rights to play the music; the software just delivers it to your zones.
The two licensing bodies
When you play a recorded song in a public space, you're using two separate copyrights:
The underlying composition — the work itself, written by the songwriter and published by their music publisher. This is licensed by PRS for Music in the UK.
The sound recording — the specific recorded version, owned by the performer and the record label. This is licensed by PPL in the UK.
Both rights belong to different parties, both need to be paid. Historically these were two separate licences sold by two separate organisations. Since October 2018, PRS for Music and PPL launched a joint licensing service called TheMusicLicence, where one quote, one invoice and one administrative touchpoint covers both. This dramatically simplified UK licensing for hospitality operators.
You can still pay PRS and PPL separately if you choose to. Most hotels don't — TheMusicLicence is the standard product.
What TheMusicLicence covers
TheMusicLicence permits the public performance and playing of music in:
- Background music systems in lobby, reception, lifts and corridors
- Restaurants and bars (recorded music or live music)
- Function rooms, conference rooms, banquet halls
- Wellness areas: spa, sauna, gym, pool
- Outdoor areas: terrace, garden, beer garden
- Hotel bedrooms with a TV or radio (per-room fee)
- On-hold music for hotel phone systems
It also covers live music — bands, DJs, and acoustic performances — as long as the venue continuously holds TheMusicLicence. Specific high-volume venues (large clubs, festivals) may need additional event-based licences.
What it doesn't cover
- Music played strictly behind closed doors to staff only — e.g. in a private kitchen office not accessible to guests. (But beware: a back-of-house staffroom audible from a guest corridor is borderline.)
- One-off events held in completely external venues — even if hosted by the hotel.
- Music recorded in-house that you own all rights to — if you've composed music yourself and own every right, you don't owe TheMusicLicence for that specific use.
- Pre-1925 public-domain works — but practically irrelevant to hospitality music programming.
How TheMusicLicence is calculated
Pricing is built on a per-area basis, with three main rate cards covering hotels:
Tariff B (Background Music in Hotels — public areas)
Charged per audible square metre of each public area, with a base annual rate. The lobby, restaurant, bar, spa, gym, and any other guest-facing area are itemised separately.
Typical illustrative rates (2026, subject to PPL/PRS annual updates):
| Area | Annual fee (£) |
|---|---|
| Hotel lobby (medium-sized) | £350–£650 |
| Restaurant (60–100 covers) | £550–£1,200 |
| Hotel bar (40–80 capacity) | £450–£950 |
| Spa / wellness suite | £300–£600 |
| Gym / fitness room | £200–£420 |
| Conference room (each) | £150–£280 |
| Outdoor terrace / pool deck | £400–£800 |
| Corridors / lifts (combined) | £180–£350 |
Tariff for Hotel Bedrooms
Charged per room with a TV/radio. The current rate is approximately £15–£28 per room per year, depending on whether the room has only audio or audio+visual. For a hotel with 100 rooms × £20 average = £2,000/year just for bedrooms.
Tariff for Function Rooms / Events
Additional rates for spaces used regularly for events with significant music programming. Negotiated based on capacity, frequency and event type.
Cost examples for three hotel sizes
Example 1 — 35-room boutique hotel
| Item | Annual fee (£) |
|---|---|
| 35 rooms × £20 (Tariff M) | 700 |
| Lobby + reception | 450 |
| Restaurant (50 covers) | 720 |
| Bar (40 capacity) | 580 |
| Total | £2,450 |
Example 2 — 95-room mid-tier hotel with spa
| Item | Annual fee (£) |
|---|---|
| 95 rooms × £22 (Tariff M) | 2,090 |
| Lobby + reception | 580 |
| Breakfast restaurant | 480 |
| À la carte restaurant (80 covers) | 1,080 |
| Bar / lounge | 750 |
| Spa + wellness | 480 |
| Gym | 340 |
| 3 function rooms | 720 |
| Outdoor terrace | 620 |
| Total | £7,140 |
Example 3 — 280-room resort hotel
| Item | Annual fee (£) |
|---|---|
| 280 rooms × £26 (Tariff M) | 7,280 |
| Multiple F&B outlets (4) | 4,200 |
| Multiple bars (3) | 2,800 |
| Spa + wellness | 720 |
| Gym + fitness studio | 580 |
| Conference centre (5 rooms) | 1,800 |
| Pool deck + outdoor areas | 1,400 |
| Function/event rooms (high use) | 2,500 |
| Total | £21,280 |
These are illustrative. The actual quote from PPL/PRS will be tailored to your exact room counts, floor areas, and operational profile.
What triggers a PPL/PRS audit
PPL/PRS field officers periodically inspect UK hospitality venues. Several factors raise the likelihood of an inspection:
- Listed brand or chain hotels — routine compliance checks
- Hotels with public-facing event programming — DJ nights, live music, wedding receptions all generate scrutiny
- Social media activity featuring music — Instagram posts of bar nights with music playing
- Hotels in major tourism areas during peak seasons
- Tip-offs from former staff or competitors — not common, but it happens
- Random sampling — small percentage of routine inspections are randomised
When an officer arrives, they will identify themselves, observe what music is playing in which areas, ask about your existing licence, and offer a settlement if any shortfall is found. Cooperative responses lead to negotiated back-payments. Uncooperative responses lead to formal legal action.
Common UK hotel licensing mistakes
1. Treating TheMusicLicence as a one-time setup, then forgetting. TheMusicLicence is renewed annually, and your charge is based on the venue profile you last declared. If you've added an outdoor terrace, opened a new bar, or expanded the spa, you need to update PPL/PRS — they will eventually find out and back-charge.
2. Assuming radio in the bedroom is exempt. It isn't. Any room with a TV or radio (which is almost every modern hotel room) falls under Tariff M.
3. Mixing Spotify Premium with TheMusicLicence and thinking you're covered. TheMusicLicence permits the public performance, but doesn't grant you the right to use Spotify Premium commercially — that's still a breach of Spotify's terms. Use a B2B music service or self-host the files.
4. Hosting weddings or events without declaring the function-room usage. Function rooms used for music-driven events generate additional fees. Hiding this from your declaration is the single most common cause of post-audit back-charges.
5. Believing your B2B music platform covers all UK licensing. Soundtrack Your Brand and Mood Media do bundle PRS and PPL in the UK — but only while your subscription is active. If you cancel and start using files you already have on disk, the bundled licence ends. You then need TheMusicLicence direct from PPL/PRS.
How to set up TheMusicLicence
The process is straightforward:
- Visit pplprs.co.uk and use the quote tool. It asks about your venue type, areas with music, capacity, and operational hours.
- Receive an automated quote, usually within a few minutes. If your situation is unusual (large resort, multiple F&B outlets), you may be routed to a representative.
- Sign the agreement and pay annually (or monthly, with a small premium).
- Display the licence if required (typical for venues open to the public).
- Update the licence whenever your venue profile changes — added a new function room, expanded the bar, etc.
The PPL/PRS team can also handle multi-property licensing for chains and groups, with single negotiated agreements covering multiple venues.
Where music software fits in
Holding TheMusicLicence is the legal foundation. The music software you use to deliver music to your zones is a separate layer. A well-structured multi-zone audio platform like Rafilis Multizone helps with compliance documentation in three ways:
- Per-zone playlists and schedules map directly to the areas you declared to PPL/PRS
- Usage logs prove which music played in which zone at which time — useful if an audit ever questions your declared usage
- Clear separation of background music vs. event music makes it easier to determine if a function-room session was actually a "background" or an "event" — affecting which Tariff applies
The software doesn't change your licence cost. It does make your compliance posture clearer if questioned.
Practical next steps for a UK hotelier
If your hotel is not currently licensed, or you're unsure your licence is complete:
- Audit every public-facing area where music is audible — including lifts and corridors
- Count rooms with TV/radio
- Get a quote from PPL/PRS (pplprs.co.uk) — they don't charge for quotes
- Compare the quote to what you currently pay (if anything) to identify gaps
- Negotiate the gap rather than ignoring it — PPL/PRS prefer cooperative resolution
- Set up annual review: any new area or capacity change gets reported
Further reading
To put licensing in context with the rest of your hotel's audio operation:
- The complete guide to hotel background music systems — covers the strategic and budgetary layer
- Multi-zone audio for hotels: how it works — the technical architecture beneath your music programme
- Restaurant & hotel music licensing — the wider international context — country-by-country comparison if your group operates beyond the UK
TheMusicLicence is the most predictable element of running music in a UK hotel. A clean annual fee, calculated against a clear profile, with one organisation handling both rights bodies. There is no strategic reason not to license correctly — the cost of compliance is always lower than the cost of audit.