Affordable background music for your shop or business
Updated
The cheapest legal way to play music in your shop or business is music for which you pay nothing to Buma/Stemra and Sena. With the radio, Spotify or a business music service you always pay those fees, on top of any subscription. For a shop of 200 m² with five staff that is already € 608 a year in 2026, for a café up to 100 m² € 1,952 a year. With RadioMatic you pay from € 29.99 a month and nothing to Buma and Sena, because RadioMatic makes the music with AI.
What does music in your business really cost?
Music in a business almost always means two bills. The first is your music service, or nothing if you switch on the radio. The second is the payment to Buma/Stemra and Sena, for the creators and performers of the music. That second bill comes straight to you, through Mijnlicentie, and is often higher than the first.
Buma/Stemra usually charges by the square metres where the music can be heard. Sena charges some businesses per member of staff who hears the music, such as a shop or hair salon, and others per square metre. A few examples for 2026, base tariff per year. A shop of 200 m² with five staff pays € 608, a hair salon with eight staff € 692 and a café up to 100 m² € 1,952.
What are the options, and what do they cost?
**Switching on the radio.** No subscription, but the full Buma/Stemra and Sena fees. And between your tracks you hear other businesses advertising.
**Spotify or another consumer subscription.** Not allowed in a business, because the terms only permit personal use. Read why Spotify for business is not allowed.
**A business music service.** A subscription per location, with the Buma/Stemra and Sena fees on top. Always ask whether a quote includes them.
**Royalty-free music.** Buma/Stemra sometimes falls away, but since 2024 a Sena fee is generally still due. Read more about royalty-free music.
**AI music from RadioMatic.** From € 29.99 per location per month, paid yearly, and that is the whole bill. Because RadioMatic makes the music with AI, you pay no Buma/Stemra and no Sena.
For every type of business
The bill differs per type of business, because Buma/Stemra and Sena have different tables per sector. A supermarket or gym pays differently from an office or a waiting room. Work out below what you pay now, or see under music by industry what it costs for your business, from hair salon to swimming pool.
Where you often pay too much
**The discount you lose.** If you register yourself with Mijnlicentie and pay on time, you get up to 33.33% off. If you are late or only pay after an inspection, you pay the full tariff.
**Comparing a subscription without the fees.** A music service looks cheap until the Buma/Stemra and Sena bill is added. So always compare the subscription plus the fees.
**Multiple locations.** You pay the fees per location. For ten shops of 200 m² with five staff that comes to € 6,082 a year in 2026.
Tariffs: Buma/Stemra and Sena, tariff year 2026, base tariff, including the RAAP-PPI surcharge. Sources are on bumastemra.nl and sena.nl.
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.
What it costs with us
With RadioMatic you pay from € 29.99 per location per month, paid yearly, excluding VAT, and that is all. Because RadioMatic makes the music with AI, there is no composer, lyricist or artist to collect for. So you pay no Buma/Stemra and no Sena. We set this out in our legal memorandum.
You get a station of your own for your business, with new music every day in the style you choose. It works on the speakers already there, and the first fourteen days are free.
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
Related questions
Further reading
- What does Tunify (now Soundtrack) cost?The published tariffs, and why the levies still come on top.
- What does Mood Media cost in the Netherlands?No Dutch tariffs published. What is publicly available.
- Looking for an alternative to Synerplay?What Synerplay offers and costs, what is not included, and which alternatives exist.
- Looking for an alternative to Tunify?What Tunify costs, which other providers there are, and the bill people forget when comparing.
Ready to hear it for yourself?
Request access to the beta. Your own station for your business, 14 days free trial, and monthly cancellation if you pay monthly.