How much Buma/Stemra and Sena discount does your trade association give?
Updated
Your trade association gives 14 to 20% extra discount, but for a small business that does not earn back the membership. Members of KHN get an extra 17% discount on Buma. Members of ANKO get 15% on Buma and 14.5% on Sena. Members of INretail and NSO Retail get 14% on Buma/Stemra and 16% on Sena. That discount comes on top of the discount of up to 33.33% that everyone gets for registering themselves and paying on time. For a small business it amounts to a few dozen euros a year, while membership itself costs hundreds. Joining only for the discount rarely pays.
How much discount does each trade association give?
KHN gives hospitality members an extra 17% discount on Buma, on top of the registration and payment discount of 33.33%. The scheme also covers Sena through KHN, but KHN states no separate percentage for Sena on that page. If you joined after 27 January 2026, you can only take part this year with a new hospitality business that has not yet had an application, an inspector or an invoice from Buma or Sena.
ANKO, the trade association for hairdressers, gives 15% on Buma and 14.5% on Sena. VCHO, the association for Chinese and Asian hospitality, gives 17% on Buma and 14.5% on Sena.
INretail and NSO Retail both give 14% on Buma/Stemra and 16% on Sena. Vakcentrum gives independent retailers 15% on both, and Techniek Nederland states 15 to 20%. All of these pages are in Dutch.
Sena explains where the discount comes from in its 2026 tariff overview. It has a collective licence agreement with such an association, and the licences of all members are handled in one go. That saves administration, and that is what makes the discount possible.
Does it come on top of the 33.33% discount?
Yes. You get the big discount without any membership. Buma/Stemra and Sena give up to 33.33% to anyone who registers of their own accord and pays on time. If an inspection finds you without a licence, or you pay late, you lose it. How that works is on A fine from Buma/Stemra?
The trade association discount comes on top of that. It is calculated on the amount that has already been reduced. The associations’ own worked examples show this. According to ANKO, a salon with 3 to 10 FTE pays € 189.70 for Buma, and 15% comes off that, € 28.46. INretail puts a shop of 150 m² with 4 FTE at € 405 for Buma and Sena together, and € 346 through INretail.
Hospitality works the same way. A café of 31 to 100 m² pays Buma/Stemra € 448.02 in 2026 after the registration discount (hospitality tariff sheet). Take off KHN’s extra 17% and you save € 76.16 a year. Work out below what your own business pays without a sector scheme.
Do you earn the membership back?
Against the discount stands the membership fee. KHN says you can join "from 380 euros a year". INretail charges a shop with less than € 200,000 turnover € 454 a year plus a one-off € 80, and starters in fashion, shoes and sport € 200 for the first year. NSO Retail asks € 422 a year, VCHO € 495 for a restaurant and € 375 for a cafeteria, and ANKO € 76.25 a month for a salon with staff. All amounts come from the associations’ own websites.
Put those figures next to the discount and the conclusion is simple. For a small business, the Buma and Sena discount does not earn back the membership. A salon with 4 FTE saves about € 48 a year through ANKO and pays € 915 in fees. A shop that saves € 59 through INretail pays at least € 454.
That does not make membership pointless. Trade associations do more than arrange discounts, and for a chain with a lot of square metres the saving does add up. But if you join only for the Buma and Sena discount, you are fooling yourself.
What should you watch out for?
The schemes come with conditions. With KHN and Vakcentrum you pay by direct debit. You also cannot sign up at any time you like. KHN writes that joining mid-year is not possible unless you are about to open. What you tell ANKO before 1 November counts for the following year’s invoice. With Vakcentrum you register before 15 November.
If you are in a collective scheme, the invoice comes from the trade association rather than from Mijnlicentie. ANKO writes that registered members are invoiced through ANKO and everyone else gets the joint Buma/Stemra and Sena invoice. With VCHO and Vakcentrum the discount ends when your membership ends. Vakcentrum refunds nothing if you stop halfway through the year.
Some associations also arrange a discount with Videma, the separate bill for TV pictures. KHN members get 12% on the Videma licence for cafés (Videma), and Techniek Nederland states 7%. When you need Videma is explained on Radio or TV on in your business.
Sources: the member pages of KHN, ANKO, INretail, NSO Retail, VCHO, Vakcentrum and Techniek Nederland, the membership fee pages of KHN, INretail, NSO Retail and VCHO, Sena’s 2026 tariff overview and the Buma/Stemra tariffs, all in Dutch. Consulted on 22 September 2026. The percentages can change each year. Ask your trade association for the current figure.
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 RadioMatic does differently here
A trade association can make the Buma/Stemra and Sena bill smaller. It cannot make it go away. As long as you play music by human makers, that bill stays.
At RadioMatic the music is generated entirely by AI. Buma/Stemra itself says that works made entirely by AI without a human creative contribution do not qualify for copyright or payment. The same applies to Sena. The law requires a phonogram released for commercial purposes, and on that ground Sena lost in court in 2025. The full reasoning is in our legal memorandum. You pay one amount per location per month, from € 29.99 with annual billing, and you can try it free for 14 days. See pricing.
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.
Questions that come with this
Further reading
- Can you cancel Buma/Stemra, and how do you do it?Only if you stop playing the music you are paying for. Here is how.
- Playing music without Buma/Stemra and Sena. Is it possible?Which routes exist, what they really cost, and which one holds up.
- Royalty-free music in your shop or hospitality business. What does it mean?The word covers three different things. One of them does not help you.
- Received a letter from Mijnlicentie? These are your options.What that letter is, what your options are, and why ignoring it costs most.
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.