Music Licensing for Venues: What Businesses Need to Know About Copyright Music in Public Places
TL;DR If you play copyright music in a shop, restaurant, hotel, gym, salon, office, café, or other commercial venue, you’ll often need permission to do it legally. The exact route depends on the country. In many markets, venues need to think about both the song and the recording, but some countries now make the customer […]
Music Licensing in India for Business: What Restaurants, Retailers and Hotels Need in 2026
TL;DR If your venue in India plays copyright music in public, you shouldn’t assume that buying music or using a streaming service is enough. Indian venue operators should treat public performance licensing as a real compliance issue. Music licensing in India for business is complicated. The recently launched Vasant Sangeet Dwar could be an important […]
Music Licensing in the UAE for Business: A Clearer Market, but Still a New One
TL;DR The UAE is no longer a market where venue operators should rely on vague or outdated assumptions about music use. The regulatory framework for collective music management is now being built out, and businesses using music in public should check the current authorised route before they play music in hotels, restaurants, retail stores, bars, […]
Music Licensing in the Netherlands for Business: Why MijnLicentie Is the Starting Point
TL;DR If your business in the Netherlands plays music that customers or employees can hear, you should usually start with MijnLicentie. It often gives Dutch venues a combined route into the BumaStemra and Sena side of ordinary business music use, but venues should still check the actual workplace and public-access rules that apply to them. […]
Music Licensing in Canada for Business: Essential 2026 Guide to Avoid Licensing Mistakes
TL;DR If your business in Canada plays music in public, Entandem is usually the smartest place to start. It gives many venue operators a simpler front-end route into the licences common to SOCAN and RE:SOUND, but venues still need to check the actual use case, category, and tariff that applies to them. Music licensing in […]
Music Licensing in Europe for Business Use: 7 Great Routes and Warning Checks for Venues
TL;DR Europe is not one music licensing market. The broad pattern is familiar: venues often need to think about both the song side and the recording or neighbouring-rights side, but the customer journey varies sharply by country. Some countries now offer combined routes that make life easier for venues, while others still require more careful […]
Music Licensing in Australia and New Zealand for Business: Why OneMusic Is the Starting Point
TL;DR Australia and New Zealand are two of the clearest markets in this pack for ordinary venue use. In Australia, OneMusic Australia is the natural starting point. In New Zealand, it’s OneMusic New Zealand. In both countries, venues should assume that public commercial use of music is different from private listening and that radio, TV, […]
Music Licensing in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand for Business: Best Proven Routes
TL;DR Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand are often grouped together commercially, but venue operators shouldn’t assume they work the same way for music licensing. Singapore openly reflects a split between the musical works and sound-recording side. Malaysia’s official framework recognises separate music CMOs. Thailand is still a market where venues should verify the actual current route […]
Music Licensing in the United States for Business: Why Venues Usually Need PRO Licences
TL;DR In the United States, venues using commercial music in public usually need public performance licences for musical works from the relevant performing rights organisations, which can include ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and Global Music Rights. The US differs from many countries because ordinary on-premises background playback doesn’t generally trigger a broad general public performance right […]
Music Licensing in Latin America for Business: A Practical Starting Point for Mexico, Central America and South America
TL;DR Latin America is useful to discuss as one region, but it isn’t one licensing system. The safest practical rule for venue operators is that public use of music in business usually needs checking locally, and the customer-facing route can differ sharply by country. Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia are three useful examples of how different […]