What is AI music in a shop, and what does it cost?
Updated
AI music in a shop is background music generated by a model, rather than music written by a composer and recorded by an artist. You hear a station that runs all day and follows the part of the day, not a playlist that comes round in the same order every morning. The biggest difference with ordinary shop music sits in the bill. For music by human authors, a shop up to 100 m² with no more than five staff pays € 466 a year in 2026 to Buma/Stemra and Sena together. That comes on top of your supplier’s subscription. Buma/Stemra writes itself that works made entirely by AI without a human creative contribution do not qualify for registration, copyright or payment. Do watch what a provider means by royalty-free, because two very different models hide behind that word. With RadioMatic you pay nothing to Buma and Sena, because the music is generated entirely by AI and there are therefore no rightsholders.
What exactly is AI music in a shop?
A model generates the tracks. There is no composer and no lyricist, there is no singer or band who played it, and there is no record that was released. What comes out of the speakers is music made only to be played. What that means in general is set out in AI music for business. This page is about what it does in a shop.
In practice you get a station that runs all day. That lets you steer it by part of the day. A calmer tempo at opening and while the shelves are being filled, more energy on a Saturday afternoon and on late-opening night, and winding down in the last half hour. Providers sell that as the main advantage. BusinessMusic.ai puts it like this on its site. "Our AI adjusts tempo and energy to traffic, time and context." If that holds, your staff also do not hear the same list in the same order every day.
It is no longer theory. In October 2025 VRT NWS reported that the Belgian DIY chain Brico plays AI music from supplier M-Cube, and that Carrefour plans to roll it out across its Belgian shops between 2026 and 2028. Carrefour gives two reasons. It is cheaper and it allows music made to order, for the festive season for instance. What else is known about that is on music in the supermarket.
What does AI music cost against ordinary shop music?
With ordinary shop music you pay twice. First your supplier for the subscription, and then Buma/Stemra and Sena for the rights. That second bill lands directly with you. For a shop up to 100 m² with no more than five staff it is € 466 a year in 2026, up to 200 m² € 608, and for a supermarket up to 1,600 m² € 2,516. Those are base rates. Register yourself and pay on time and you get up to 33.33% off. How the brackets are built up is on music in shops, and the tables per sector are on the rates page.
The subscription itself costs much the same at most providers, whether the music was made by people or by a model. My Instore Radio asks € 15.49 a month for its Lite package and € 22.29 for Pro, billed annually, according to its pricing page. Alenka Media lists $ 10 a month for a catalogue of independent artists and $ 15 for recognisable songs on its pricing page, with the note "Local music-rights licensing may apply". BusinessMusic.ai, which supplies AI music, starts at € 15.99 per location per month. It says the fees to collecting societies are included in that amount.
Some providers sell AI music as a one-off purchase instead. On its page Muziek voor Winkels Zonder SABAM, Fennec Group offers a Solo package at € 795 for five years, Retail at € 1,695 and larger packages for chains, described as "Eenmalige investering voor 5 jaar (geen jaarlijkse facturen)", a one-off investment for five years with no annual invoices. That is a different model from a monthly subscription, and it makes comparing harder than it looks.
Every comparison comes down to one question. Are the levies included, or do they come on top? Work out below what your shop owes Buma/Stemra and Sena, and hold that figure next to the quote. If you have several sites, the levies count per location, even where your subscription runs per account.
Do you still pay Buma/Stemra and Sena for AI music?
On the Buma/Stemra side it is clear. "Works made entirely by AI without a human creative contribution do not qualify for registration, copyright or payment," its frequently asked questions say. With no composer and no lyricist there is nothing to collect on anyone’s behalf.
On the Sena side it is a position, not an established fact. In our legal memorandum we argue that there is no performing artist and that the music is not released as a phonogram. Sena sees it differently and writes on its page about AI that using AI-generated music does not release users from the obligation to pay a fee for the public performance of music. For Sena the basis is the Neighbouring Rights Act, which in articles 1 and 7 requires a phonogram released for commercial purposes. Music made for one station and streamed only to that station is not released. On exactly that ground Sena lost a claim before the Gelderland district court in July 2025 (ECLI:NL:RBGEL:2025:6175).
That is why it matters what a provider means when it says you owe nothing. There are two models, and in the advertising they look alike. In the first, the provider pays the rights and passes the cost on. BusinessMusic.ai works that way. Its site says "We bundle those licensing fees into one flat price, so you never pay extra." In the second, there is no rights holder at all, because there is no human author. Fennec Group calls its music "100% rechtenvrij", entirely royalty-free, and RadioMatic sits in this second model too.
For you the difference is in what you have to be able to show when a letter arrives. Under the first model you want proof that a licence with Buma/Stemra and Sena has been taken out and paid for your site in the Netherlands. Under the second you want the reasoning for why there is no rights holder on paper, with the statutory articles alongside. A supplier’s declaration does not bind Sena. What happens if the bill comes anyway is on a fine from Buma/Stemra.
How do you choose an AI music provider?
First ask which of the two models the provider is in, and ask for the answer in writing. It is one sentence, and it decides whether another bill can still turn up later.
Then ask what the model was trained on. That is where the legal argument about AI music is actually being fought, not over whether you are allowed to play it. A provider without an answer there is selling you a risk. The background is on AI music for business.
The rest is practical. Does it play on the equipment already mounted on your wall, or does a dedicated player come with it? Is the price per location or per account, and what happens with a second site? How quickly does a new promotion go on air, and does every change mean a recording session or do you type it in yourself? Can each site have its own mood? The same questions apply to music with voices between the tracks. That is on retail radio and in-store radio.
Finally, ask for a trial and run it in the shop itself, not on headphones behind your desk. Background music is judged on the floor, with trolleys, chillers and talking customers in the mix.
Sources: BumaStemra on works made by AI, Sena on AI, Buma/Stemra, mechanical background music tariff 2026, Sena, 2026 tariff overview, VRT NWS, 15 October 2025, BusinessMusic.ai, Fennec Group, My Instore Radio and Alenka Media. Amounts are base rates per year; Buma/Stemra excluding VAT, Sena exempt from VAT and including the RAAP-PPI surcharge of 26.6%. Other providers’ prices as they publish them themselves. Retrieved on 22 September 2026. This is information, not legal advice.
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 does AI music cost with RadioMatic?
RadioMatic builds a station of your own for your shop. The music is generated entirely by AI and follows the part of the day, calm at opening and with more energy on a Saturday afternoon. Between the tracks come your own promotions, jingles and presenter moments in which a voice mentions your shop by name. On the hour a local news round can be added. With several branches you run everything from one dashboard, with its own mood per branch.
Starter costs € 29.99 per location per month, excluding VAT, billed annually. Paying monthly is 20% more. There is no composer and no lyricist, so Buma/Stemra has nothing to collect. For Sena there is no basis, because there is no performing artist and the music is not released as a phonogram. We set that out in the legal memorandum.
It plays on what you already have: Sonos, Chromecast, a browser, or line-in on your amplifier or PA. You try it free for 14 days. Once your application is approved, usually within five working days, your station is live in ten minutes. The prices are on the site.
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.
Related questions
Further reading
- What is retail radio or in-store radio, and what does it cost?Music plus voices per branch. Bespoke or a ready-made station, and which bills come with it.
- Which music system do you need for your venue or shop?Source, amplifier and speakers. What Sonos can and cannot do, and when to call an installer.
- Can you use Spotify in a business?No, and here is why. Plus what it costs you if you do it anyway.
- Can you use Spotify in a bar or restaurant?No. And what then lands on your doormat is a bill, not a fine.
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.