What is AI music in a shop, and what does it cost?

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. You set that station per 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.

AI music is already playing in shops. 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. The larger the shop, the higher the amount. Those are base rates. Register yourself and pay on time and you get up to 33.33% off. Work out at the top what it is for your shop. How the amounts are built up is on music in shops, and the tables per sector are on the rates page.

Which AI music providers there are and what they cost, from BusinessMusic.ai and Fennec to Tad AI and Soundraw, is set out side by side in AI music for shops and businesses compared.

Every comparison comes down to one question. Are the levies included, or do they come on top? Work out at the top 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.

The same goes for Sena. Sena can only collect for a recording that has been commercially released, and music made for one station is not released. On that ground Sena lost in court in 2025. Sena sees it differently. Why that does not apply to RadioMatic is explained in do you have to pay Sena for AI music?

So ask follow-up questions when a provider 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. RadioMatic works on this second model. The music is made entirely with AI.

If a letter arrives, you have to be able to show something different for each model. 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. The answer decides whether a bill from Buma/Stemra or Sena 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.