Background music for business
Updated
For background music in your business you need two things: music you may play commercially, and for music made by people a licence from Buma/Stemra and Sena. That is two bills. It can also be one. At RadioMatic AI makes the music, and because there is no composer, lyricist or artist, you pay no Buma/Stemra and no Sena. You get ambient music that suits your business, or your own radio station, from € 29.99 per location per month.
Background music with everything included
- No Buma/Stemra and no Sena. Because RadioMatic makes the music with AI. The subscription is the whole bill.
- Ambient music or your own radio station. Just music in the style you choose, or with a presenter who mentions your business by name, news and your own adverts.
- New music every day. And the station remembers your hits, so the tracks that work for you come back more often.
- Its own mood per location and per room. The shop floor sounds different from the terrace or the canteen, all from one account.
- Works on what is already there. Sonos, Chromecast, a browser or the line-in of your amplifier.
- Fourteen days free, and we handle your switch. After your trial we cancel your old music for you, free of charge. How the switching service works.
From € 29.99 per location per month, paid yearly. What you now pay Buma/Stemra and Sena goes, and so does your current music subscription.
Four ways to play music in your business
| Way | Allowed in your business? | Buma/Stemra and Sena | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| RadioMaticBest choice | Yes | Not needed, because AI makes the music | Your own station, as ambient music or with presenter, news and your own adverts |
| Business music service | Yes | Comes on top of your subscription | Playlists of well-known music |
| Radio | Yes, with a licence | Pay both | Whatever the station plays, with other people’s adverts |
| Spotify or another private subscription | No | Does not make it legal | A subscription meant for home. Why not |
Which business music services there are and how to compare their quotes is in the buyer’s guide.
When do you pay for background music?
As soon as the music is public. That is the case when customers, guests or patients can hear it, and also when only your staff hear it but there are three or more of them. How quietly it plays or for how long makes no difference. A shop, a hair salon, a canteen and a waiting room all count.
You then pay two organisations. Buma/Stemra collects for the composer and the lyricist, Sena for the artist and the record label. Both go through Mijnlicentie. The difference is explained on Buma/Stemra or Sena.
What does background music cost your business?
With music made by people you pay your music service’s subscription and on top of that Buma/Stemra and Sena. That second bill depends on your sector and on your floor area or your number of staff. For most businesses it is higher than the subscription itself, and highest in hospitality.
Work out below what it is for your business, using the official 2026 tariffs. All the tables per sector are on What a music licence costs.
With RadioMatic there is no second bill. You pay from € 29.99 per location per month billed annually, and that is all.
Ambient music or your own radio station?
You choose, and you can do it differently per room and per moment. If you only want music that sets the mood, that is exactly what you get: tracks in the style that suits your business, with no voice in between.
If you want more, it becomes your own radio station. A presenter announces the tracks and mentions your business by name, news comes by, national or local, and your own offers and jingles go in between. Other people’s adverts never come in between on a paid plan.
What to look for when choosing
Four questions help with any quote. Is the Buma/Stemra and Sena levy included in the price, or does it come on top? Do you pay per location or per zone? How long are you tied in? And can you steer each site and each room yourself?
At RadioMatic the answer is the same every time: no levy, per location, cancellable monthly if you pay monthly, and you steer everything yourself from one account.
Switching from your current music
If you now have a music service or a licence with Mijnlicentie, you do not have to cancel anything yourself. After your trial, once your station is running, we do it for you free of charge. So you are never without music. Read how the switching service works.
Tariffs: Buma/Stemra and Sena, tariff year 2026, via mijnlicentie.nl. This is information, not legal advice about your situation.
Background music by type of business
Every business sounds different, and Buma/Stemra and Sena charge differently per type of business too. Choose yours to read what plays there, what you pay now and what RadioMatic offers instead.
Shops
Hospitality and hotels
Healthcare and practices
Beauty, sport and wellness
On the road and leisure
Work out what you save on your current licence.
Slide in your situation and you will see what you currently pay in music rights every year. That amount disappears, on top of what you save on your current music subscription.
Why no Buma and Sena come on top at RadioMatic
Because RadioMatic makes the music with AI. There is no composer, no lyricist and no performing artist, so nobody for whom Buma/Stemra or Sena can collect anything. We also check the music continuously with recognition software and our own tools.
The full position is in our legal memorandum, with the articles of law.
Read the legal reasoningWhy RadioMatic is something other than a playlist or the radio
A business owner who wants music on the premises usually picks from three things. A playlist from a streaming service, an ordinary radio station, or a royalty-free music package. This is where they differ.
| Playlist | Ordinary radio | Royalty-free | RadioMatic | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New music | Fixed list | Yes, but not your choice | Limited catalogue | New every day |
| Music that is yours alone | No | No | No | Yes, your own hits |
| Fits the time of day | Switch it yourself | No | Switch it yourself | Automatic |
| Names your business | No | No | No | Yes |
| Your own offers | No | Only if you buy advertising | No | Yes, with no studio |
| Local news and weather | No | Yes, the station’s | No | Yes, your town, your choice of topics |
| Other people’s adverts | No | Yes | No | No |
| Buma/Stemra and Sena | Payable | Payable | See the terms | Not payable |
New music every day
The station keeps getting new tracks in the same style, because the music is generated rather than drawn from a fixed list. A track that lands well with your audience comes round more often, and then it is your hit. It was made for your station and plays nowhere else.
It names your business
Between the tracks, DJ voices announce what is going on at your place. Your offer, your opening hours, this week’s deal. That used to need a studio and a voice actor.
It moves with the day
The morning, the rush and the last hour each call for something different. That is set per part of the day and happens by itself, with nobody behind the counter picking a new list.
Local news if you want it
A short bulletin on the hour about your own town, with the weather and the traffic alongside. You choose which subjects you want, or you switch it off entirely.
No one else’s advertising
On an ordinary station the business down the road advertises in between your tracks. With us, nothing comes in between that is not yours.
Every location from one screen
Each site keeps its own mood, its own promotions and its own opening hours, and you run them all from the same place.
A playlist is worn out within two weeks, and on an ordinary station the business down the road advertises in between your tracks. With us the station is yours. Your style, your announcements, and the tracks that land with your audience come round more often.
You can also use RadioMatic directly in Claude or ChatGPT. Add a connector in your chatbot with the address https://radiomatic.ai/mcp/, in Claude via Customize and then Connectors. No login is needed. Then ask, for example: "What does music in my business cost, and what do I save with RadioMatic?" Connect RadioMatic to your chatbot
Questions about background music in your business
Ready to hear it for yourself?
Try RadioMatic free for 14 days. Your own station for your business, without Buma/Stemra and Sena, and cancel monthly if you pay monthly.