Everybody loves music. Playing tunes in your business creates a pleasant atmosphere for your customers and makes them want to keep coming back. Some studies have even shown it can influence people to hang around longer and buy more!
Did you know that if you play music in your business, you’re required to have a licence, or you may be at risk of copyright infringement?
Many business owners don’t realise that playing music comes with legal obligations under the Copyright Act 1968. This includes:
- playing the radio
- listening to a CD
- streaming digital music
It’s not uncommon for head offices of franchises to obtain and manage OneMusic licences for all franchisees under one licensing agreement. For this reason, it’s important that you check with your franchisor to find out which licence you are covered under. In some cases, the licence may not be suited for your needs, and you will need to take out your own licence for your store location.
How do I get a licence to play music in my business?
Established in 2019, OneMusic is an APRA AMCOS (Australasian Performing Right Association Limited and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society) and PPCA (Phonographic Performance Company of Australia Limited) joint music licensing initiative.
The organisations came together under OneMusic to simplify the licencing process for customers by creating one licence that allows Australian businesses to play music commonly heard on radio, TV, streaming services, or music purchased online or in stores.
A OneMusic 'blanket licence' covers most popular music available worldwide. The organisation keeps track of the music played through various sources and uses music recognition software to ensure licence fees go directly to the music creators.
You can easily obtain the correct licence by using the licence selection tool linked from the home page of the OneMusic website.
Do I need a licence to play the radio in my small shop, restaurant, gym, etc?
Music on free-to-air TV or radio played in your business is a public performance of that music and protected under the Copyright Act. This needs permission from the copyright owners of the music and a OneMusic licence provides this permission.
Background music for dining spaces is based on number of seats in your space, where music can be heard, and what device you're using to play the music.
Find your business type on OneMusic’s licensing information page to get an idea of what your licence will cost.
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 licence through OneMusic as they may be more accustomed to these licences being offered under other organisation names such as APRA. OneMusic is a legitimate licensing initiative and is listed on the Australian Business Licence and Information Service (ABLIS).
What happens if I play music in my business without a licence?
In Australia, the Copyright Act (1968) protects the rights of music creators by that artists are fairly compensated for their work.
Playing music in your business without a licence can constitute a copyright infringement, which may lead to legal action as well as costs covering the outstanding licensing fees and potentially other damages and legal fees.
What are my options to play music other than OneMusic?
If you want to play music 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 who own the songs you wish to play.
- Play music that is ‘royalty free’. But be careful; sometimes music labelled as ‘royalty-free’ is in fact not entirely free from the payment of ongoing royalties and you may still require a licence to avoid copyright infringement.
Dispelling common misconceptions
A frequent misunderstanding is that a music streaming service subscription is sufficient for public playback. The streaming services most of us use every day is for our personal use. So, services like Spotify are intended for personal use only, and their terms reflect this. Also, background music suppliers simply provide the music, but not the licence to play to the public. A separate commercial licence is required for any public playback in business settings.
For more information on music licensing, visit OneMusic’s licence information page.