“Without the music, we would just be an awkward silent bar. Every song has a creator, let’s support them like we do our team.” – Simon Hopkins, Jolene’s Sydney.
Music in a bar is just about as essential as drinks you serve. So, let the good times keep rolling with the right music and permission to play it!
By getting a music licence (or other form of permission) you are ensuring music creators are getting compensated for their work so your business can continue to benefit from playing their music.
Many business owners don’t realise that playing music comes with legal obligations under the Copyright Act (1968). This includes:
- playing the radio or TV
- listening to a CD
- streaming digital music and more
How do I get a licence to play music in my business?
OneMusic is a joint music licensing initiative of APRA AMCOS (Australasian Performing Right Association Limited and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society) and PPCA (Phonographic Performance Company of Australia Limited).
A OneMusic ‘blanket licence’ covers most popular music available worldwide. OneMusic keeps track of the music played through various sources which includes music recognition software and data from Spotify and others to ensure licence fees are split and paid accurately to the music creators.
Read OneMusic’s Bars and hotels licence information guide to get an idea of what a licence will cost based on music source, devices, extras like live music, karaoke, and more.
Is OneMusic a legitimate licensing initiative?
It is a great idea to be alert to scams in business. Many organisations have been cautious about purchasing a OneMusic licence as they are more familiar with ‘APRA’ and ‘PPCA’.
OneMusic is a genuine Australian based music licensing organisation that has issued hundreds of thousands of public performance licences to businesses, individuals and organisations throughout Australia since 2019.
OneMusic appears on many government registers including the Australian Business Licence and Information Service (ABLIS), Service NSW, Business WA, and the Victorian Small Business Commission.
What happens if I play music in my business without a licence?
If a business plays copyright protected music without permission and refuses to take out a licence, it can end in Court with thousands of dollars in Damages payable.
No matter what industry your business is in, copyright laws dictate that businesses must ask the owners of a creative work for the right to play their music. Paying for a blanket music licence fee such as a OneMusic licence ensures artists are fairly compensated for their work.
Under the Copyright Act (1968), it is illegal to play music in a commercial or business setting without the appropriate permission from its owners.
What are my options to play music other than OneMusic?
If you want to play music protected by Copyright in your business and don’t want to take out a OneMusic licence, there are a few options.
- Obtain written permission directly from all the artists and music creators (each individual copyright owner) who own the songs you wish to play.
- Play music that is ‘royalty free’. But be careful; sometimes music labelled as ‘royalty-free’ is not and still requires you to seek permission from and then pay ongoing royalties to copyright owners.
Dispelling common misconceptions
A frequent misunderstanding is that a subscription personal digital music (streaming) service is sufficient ‘permission’ for public performance (playing in a business). It is not.
Subscribing to a streaming service (paid or free) or even just turning on the radio doesn’t automatically give you the legal right to play that music in your business.
Firstly, the most popular streaming services that most of us use every day are only for our personal use (take a look at your music streaming service’s Terms of Use to see this in play).
More importantly, to play music that is protected by copyright ‘in public’ (that is, in your business), you need to get permission from the owners of that music copyright.
Similarly commercial Background Music Suppliers (BMS) may provide the music to your business, but not all BMS bundle the OneMusic licence with their fee. You need to check.
Music has value – it can make or break a customer experience at your venue.
“We’re a part of a community, we support each other. Our business wouldn’t exist without music, music is everything.” – Mitch McLennan, Mosh Pit, Erskineville NSW.
For more information on music licensing, visit OneMusic’s info page for bars and hotels.