Restaurant & Hotel Music Licensing: What You Actually Need (2026)

Music licensing is the part of running a venue most operators ignore until they receive a letter. By then it's expensive — back-fees, penalties, sometimes legal costs — and surprisingly difficult to negotiate down. This guide is a practical, country-by-country walkthrough of what you actually need.

It's vendor-neutral. We make Rafilis Multizone, one of the software platforms used to deliver music in commercial venues, but the licensing layer is independent of which playback software you use. The license isn't to use the software — it's to play the music to your customers.

If you're earlier in the planning process, our hotel background music systems guide covers system architecture and budget; this article focuses entirely on the legal layer.

The two copyrights inside every song

Every recorded song you play involves two separate copyrights:

1. The composition — the underlying musical work (notes, structure, lyrics). Owned by the songwriter and their publisher.
2. The master recording — the specific recorded performance. Owned by the artist and their record label.

Both are protected. Playing the song to the public means using both. Each is licensed through a different organization in most countries.

In casual conversation people just say "music license" but the reality is you usually need two licenses — or one bundled product that includes both. Skipping one is the most common mistake. Operators pay PRS in the UK and assume they're fine, having missed PPL. Operators pay ASCAP in the US and miss BMI and SESAC.

What counts as "public performance"

The legal definition varies by jurisdiction but the practical test is roughly:

• Is the music played in a place open to the general public, or accessible to a substantial number of people outside a family/social circle?
• Could a customer hear it (whether or not they intended to)?

If yes to either, it's a public performance. This covers:

• Restaurants, bars, cafés, clubs
• Hotel lobbies, restaurants, spas, pools, gyms, corridors
• Retail stores, shopping centers
• Offices with music in shared areas
• Hold music on phone systems
• Background music in promotional videos shown in-venue

It explicitly does not cover:

• A private dinner party in a guest's hotel room (the room itself is private)
• Music played through earbuds by an individual employee while they work
• Pure ambient noise not from an identifiable recording (a fountain, a wind chime)

Note that "incidental" music — quiet, in-the-background, nobody's specifically listening — is still a public performance under almost every jurisdiction. The fact that nobody is paying attention doesn't change the licensing status.

Why Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube don't work

Every consumer streaming service has clear terms prohibiting commercial use.

Spotify (Free and Premium): "The Spotify Service... is for your personal, non-commercial use only." Spotify offers a separate commercial product (Spotify for Business via Soundtrack Your Brand) precisely because consumer Spotify is not legal in commercial venues.

Apple Music: Personal use only, no commercial use. Apple does not offer an in-venue commercial product.

YouTube (including Premium): The terms allow personal, non-commercial streaming. YouTube does not license public-performance rights for businesses.

Tidal, Deezer, Amazon Music: All consumer products. None include public-performance rights.

Beyond the terms-of-service issue, none of these services actually pay public-performance royalties on your behalf. So even if you ignored their terms, you'd still owe your local performing rights organization separately. There's no way for a consumer streaming subscription to cover your commercial venue. The product simply doesn't exist on that side.

What works:

• Soundtrack Your Brand (Spotify-backed) — bundles licensing in most European markets.
• Mood Media / Mood Mix — established global vendor, bundled licensing varies by country.
• Cloud Cover Music — US-focused, bundles ASCAP/BMI/SESAC + SoundExchange.
• SoundMachine — US-focused, bundles in many regions.
• Pandora for Business — US, bundles licensing.
• Self-hosted music files + direct licenses with local rights organizations — what large multi-zone hotel installs typically do for cost and control reasons.

The performing rights organizations

You're going to be talking to or paying these organizations, so it helps to know who's who.

United Kingdom

• PRS for Music — Covers composition rights. Now operates a joint music license with PPL.
• PPL — Covers sound recording rights.
• TheMusicLicence — A single combined PRS+PPL product. This is what most venues actually buy. Annual cost depends on venue size, opening hours, audible-to-public area, and music use intensity.

United States

• ASCAP — Performance rights organization, covers ~half of US composers.
• BMI — Similar coverage to ASCAP, different roster.
• SESAC — Smaller, invitation-only, but covers many notable artists. Often missed.
• GMR (Global Music Rights) — Newer, smaller, but represents some major artists (Drake, Bruce Springsteen).
• SoundExchange — Covers digital performance royalties for sound recordings (relevant for internet radio, not in-venue playback).

US venues typically need separate licenses with ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC at minimum. Each negotiates its own rates. GMR is increasingly necessary.

Germany

• GEMA — Covers composition rights. Famously thorough enforcement. Rates depend on venue size, type, and music role.
• GVL — Covers sound recording rights (less commonly directly invoiced for venues; often handled through GEMA or commercial services).

France

• SACEM — Covers both composition and (in many cases) related rights through a single license for venues.
• SPRE — Manages equitable remuneration for sound recordings (often bundled with SACEM).

Spain

• SGAE — Composition rights.
• AGEDI — Sound recording rights.

Italy

• SIAE — Composition rights.
• SCF — Sound recording rights.

Turkey

• MÜ-YAP — Sound recording (master) rights for the recording industry.
• MSG — Performing rights for sound recordings.
• MESAM / MSG / İLESAM — Composition rights organizations (you may need to deal with multiple, depending on the songwriters in your library).

Turkish enforcement varies. The legal obligation is clear; practical enforcement against small venues is uneven, but five-star hotels and chain restaurants are routinely audited.

Other markets

• Australia/NZ: APRA AMCOS (composition) + PPCA (recording).
• Canada: SOCAN (composition) + Re:Sound (recording).
• Netherlands: Buma/Stemra + Sena.
• Sweden: STIM + IFPI/SAMI.

If your property is in a country not listed, search for "[country] performing rights organization music license" — every jurisdiction with copyright law has one or more.

Realistic costs by country

These ranges are for a single restaurant or hotel zone playing music during normal operating hours. They are illustrative, not quoted figures — actual rates change yearly and depend on venue capacity, opening hours, music use intensity, and exact license type.

For larger hotels, the per-zone effective cost typically drops — most rights organizations offer tiered or capacity-based pricing rather than strict per-zone billing. A 200-room hotel will not pay 5× what a 40-room hotel pays.

These costs are annual recurring fees, separate from any monthly subscription you pay to a music service like Soundtrack Your Brand or Mood Media. If your music service bundles licensing (as Soundtrack does in many EU markets), the rights organizations are paid through them — you don't pay separately. Always confirm in writing what your service bundles and where.

Decision tree: how to make your venue compliant

1. Are you playing any music audible to customers?
   ├─ No  → No license needed.
   └─ Yes → Continue.

2. Is all your music royalty-free / public domain / your own original work?
   ├─ Yes → Document your sources. No public performance license needed for those tracks.
   └─ No  → Continue.

3. Are you using a commercial music service that bundles licensing in your country?
   ├─ Yes → Confirm in writing which rights orgs are covered. Get supplementary licenses for anything missing.
   └─ No  → Continue.

4. Identify the performing rights organizations in your country.
   Pay them directly. Keep proof of payment on file.

5. If you ever change your music delivery method, re-verify your licensing situation.
   (Switching from Soundtrack to self-hosted files often creates gaps.)

What enforcement actually looks like

In most countries, rights organizations operate field staff who visit venues to verify whether music is being played and whether licenses are in place. Methods vary:

• UK: PRS/PPL field officers visit venues, identify music being played, and check license records. Unlicensed venues receive a notice and can face civil action for unpaid royalties plus penalties.
• US: ASCAP/BMI send representatives or use technical identification services. They typically attempt repeated negotiation before legal action; once they sue, statutory damages can range $750–$30,000 per work infringed.
• Germany: GEMA is famously rigorous. Field representatives, audits, and substantial fines for unlicensed use.
• Turkey: Enforcement is uneven by venue size. Large chains and luxury hotels are regularly audited; small independent venues less so. The legal exposure remains.

Penalties almost always exceed the cost of having simply licensed properly from the start. There is no scenario where ignoring licensing saves money long-term.

The royalty-free escape hatch

Some venues choose to sidestep the licensing question entirely by using royalty-free music libraries:

• Epidemic Sound — popular with retail and hospitality, single subscription, no public-performance license needed because all tracks are licensed direct from the composer.
• Soundstripe, Artlist, Musicbed, Audiio — similar models.
• Cloud Cover Music's "Original Series", Mood:Mix custom programs — curated commercial libraries.

These cover both rights layers in one subscription. The catch: catalog depth and recognizability. Royalty-free libraries don't include the songs your customers know. For some venue concepts (high-energy restaurants, fashion retail, gyms) that's a deal-breaker. For others (spas, ambient hotel lobbies, co-working spaces) it's fine.

A common hybrid:

• Use a royalty-free service for the always-on background zones (lobby, corridors, restrooms, back-of-house).
• Use a commercial-licensed service for the experience-critical zones (signature restaurant, bar, pool — places where the playlist matters).
• Pay the rights organizations only for the experience-critical zones.

This is meaningfully cheaper than blanket commercial licensing across every zone.

Practical checklist for venue operators

Before opening:

1. Identify the rights organizations in your jurisdiction.
2. Decide whether you'll use a bundled commercial music service or pay rights organizations directly.
3. Get written confirmation of what your music service bundles, and what gaps remain.
4. Pay any direct rights organization licenses before any music plays publicly.
5. Keep records: license certificates, invoice receipts, the date music delivery started.

While operating:

1. Renew licenses annually. Calendar reminders.
2. If you change music delivery (e.g., switch from Soundtrack to self-hosted files), re-verify coverage.
3. If you add zones or expand the venue, notify your rights organizations — most rate cards scale.
4. If you receive a letter from a rights org claiming non-payment, don't ignore it. Respond, even if to dispute. Letters left unanswered escalate quickly.

Where this fits in the larger picture

Licensing is the legal layer beneath whatever music system you build. The system architecture and the zone planning and operational design sit on top of it. None of the technical investment matters if the underlying license isn't in place — your sound system becomes a liability.

The good news: properly licensed, music is one of the highest-value, lowest-cost guest experience investments a venue can make. The legal layer is real, but it's not the obstacle most operators imagine. A few hundred to a few thousand euros annually buys you a clean conscience and a foundation to build the rest of the system on.