AI music for shops and businesses: the providers compared
Updated
If you want music in your shop or business without Buma/Stemra and Sena, you choose from three kinds of provider. An AI station or AI catalogue that runs all day, like RadioMatic, BusinessMusic.ai and Track Studios. A fixed library of AI tracks, like Fennec. Or a generator you use to make single tracks yourself, like Tad AI, Soundraw and Somio. The big difference is the bill. With RadioMatic you pay from € 29.99 per location per month and nothing to Buma and Sena, because the music is made entirely by AI.
Why RadioMatic is the best choice
- No Buma/Stemra and no Sena. Because RadioMatic makes the music with AI, there is nobody to collect for. The subscription is the whole bill.
- Every track checked. We continuously check the music with audio fingerprinting, like Shazam, and our own tools for similarity to existing protected work.
- A station of your own, not a folder of files. New music every day in the style you choose, with your own hits coming back, like on the radio.
- Just atmosphere music, or a complete business radio. You choose: calm music that suits your business, or with a presenter who mentions your business by name, news (national or local) and your own adverts. Never other people’s adverts, from Starter.
- Works on what is already there. Sonos, Chromecast, a browser, a media player or the line-in of your amplifier. No new equipment needed, and the music follows the time of day by itself.
- Fast and without risk. Fourteen days free, a reply within one working day and live in under ten minutes.
From € 29.99 per location per month, paid yearly. A shop of 200 m² with five staff now pays € 608 a year to Buma/Stemra and Sena. That amount goes, and so does your current music subscription.
The providers side by side
| Provider | What you get | Price | Buma/Stemra and Sena |
|---|---|---|---|
| RadioMaticBest choice | A station of your own that runs all day, on your existing speakers. Just atmosphere music, or with a presenter, news and your own adverts. New music every day, and the station remembers your hits. | From € 29.99 per location per month, paid yearly. Fourteen days free. | Nothing. The music is made entirely by AI, so there is no rights holder. Every track is checked with audio fingerprinting, like Shazam. Legal background. |
| BusinessMusic.ai | An AI station with schedules per time of day. | From € 191.88 per location a year, bespoke from € 299.88. | Included in the price according to the provider ("PRO/PRS rights fees included"). So you still pay them, through the provider. |
| Track Studios | An AI catalogue in the browser, with schedules, announcements and Sonos. | € 300 per location a year. | Not registered with Buma/Stemra and Sena, and according to the provider neither sends you an invoice. |
| MediSound | Royalty-free waiting room music for practices, via MediScreen. | Not on the site; according to MediSound on average 50% lower than what Buma/Sena charges. | According to MediSound you pay no Buma/Sena. For royalty-free music Sena has generally charged a fee since 2024 (how it works). |
| Fennec Group | A fixed library of 100 to 300 tracks in an app. Lyrics and style come from an in-house songwriter, AI makes the music. | One-off, for five years: € 795 (Solo, up to 200 m²) up to € 149,995 for large chains. | According to Fennec it replaces your Buma/Stemra payments, with documentation for every licence. |
| Tad AI | A generator. You make tracks yourself, download them and play them yourself. | Not shown on the business page. | Promises "full commercial licensing". The page does not mention public playing in the Netherlands, Buma/Stemra or Sena. |
| Soundraw | A generator, mostly used for video. Make and download tracks. | Not shown on the page for shops. | The page does not mention public playing or rights organisations. |
| Somio | A free generator of single tracks from a text prompt. | Free, according to the site. | Calls the tracks royalty-free for YouTube, social media and apps, among others. The site does not mention public playing in a business. |
| Business music service | Real artists, through for example Synerplay, Tunify or Soundtrack Your Brand. | A subscription per location. | On top. For a shop of 200 m² with five staff € 608 a year extra. |
Prices and claims from the providers' own sites, consulted on 24 September 2026: BusinessMusic.ai, Track Studios, MediSound, Fennec Group, Tad AI, Soundraw and Somio. Prices excluding VAT. If something here is wrong, email us and we will correct it.
Three kinds of provider
An AI station. You switch it on and it runs all day, with music that fits your business and the time of day. RadioMatic, BusinessMusic.ai and Track Studios work like this. With RadioMatic you also get a station that is yours, with your own hits coming back, and you can turn it into a complete business radio. The difference is the bill: at BusinessMusic.ai the rights fees are included in the price according to its own site, at RadioMatic there are none.
A fixed library. You buy a package of tracks and play them in an app. Fennec works like this, with a one-off price for five years. That feels like a bargain, until you realise you play the same 100 to 300 tracks for five years.
A generator. You make tracks yourself with a prompt and download them. Tad AI, Soundraw and Somio work like this. Handy for a video, but in a business you become the DJ. You make the playlists, you keep it varied and you handle the playing.
What to look for when choosing
Do you still pay anything to Buma and Sena? "Royalty-free" and "rights included" sound the same, but are not. In the second case you still pay the fees, just through the provider.
What was the model trained on? Ask every provider whether that is on paper. The maker of the model behind RadioMatic states publicly that it was trained only on rights-free sources, public domain and licensed work. Also ask whether the provider checks what comes out. RadioMatic does so continuously with audio fingerprinting, like Shazam, and its own tools.
A station or a folder of files? With a station you do nothing. With files you are responsible for what plays.
What does it really cost per year? Convert a one-off price for five years into an amount per year, and for a regular music service add the Buma/Stemra and Sena fees to the subscription.
What about Sena?
Sena says on its own site that AI music does not exempt users from paying. That is true for music released as a record, but not for music made for one station and never released. Read the full story in do you have to pay Sena for AI music?
Tariffs: Buma/Stemra and Sena, tariff year 2026, base tariff, including the RAAP-PPI surcharge. A shop of 200 m² with five staff: Buma/Stemra € 427, Sena € 181, together € 608 a year.
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.
With a music service now? That subscription goes too. Work out above what you pay Buma and Sena now, and have the overview with our proposal emailed to you.
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
- Affordable background music for your shop or businessWhat music in your business really costs, and how to avoid the second bill.
- 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.
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.