The bill

Can you cancel Buma/Stemra, and how do you do it?

Q: What if I still play ordinary music occasionally?

Then you have to keep paying. It is not about how often or how long. As soon as the public can hear music by human authors, payment is due.

Q: Do I arrange this myself or does my supplier?

The licence is in your name. If you switch to RadioMatic, we do it for you free of charge with your authorisation. That is our switching service.

Q: Do I get proof that it has been cancelled?

Ask for written confirmation with the end date on it, and keep it. At a later inspection that is the first thing you need.

Updated 4 October 2026

The short answer Yes, you can cancel Buma/Stemra, but only if you stop playing music you have to pay for. The licence is not a subscription you end whenever you like. It belongs to playing that music.

How it works You switch to music with no rights holder behind it and confirm that in writing, with the date you switched. If you keep playing the same music, cancelling makes no difference to what you owe.

Switching to RadioMatic Buma/Stemra itself says that music made entirely by AI, with no creative input from a person, does not qualify for copyright or payment. Sena can only collect for a recording that has been commercially released, and RadioMatic releases nothing. With RadioMatic you pay from € 29.99 a month, and nothing to Buma and Sena.

You can cancel, and keep your music

A station of your own. The best music in your business every day, and the station remembers your hits.
We handle your switch. After your trial we cancel Buma/Stemra, Sena and your old music service for you, free of charge. How the switching service works.
Just atmosphere music, or a complete business radio. With a presenter who mentions your business by name, news and your own adverts, if you want.
Works on what is already there. Sonos, Chromecast, a browser or the line-in of your amplifier.
14 days free. A reply within one working day and live in under ten minutes.

From € 29.99 per location per month. What you now pay Buma/Stemra and Sena goes, and so does your current music subscription.

Work out what you save Or have your Mijnlicentie invoice checked for free

Why can you not simply cancel?

Buma/Stemra and Sena do not sell you a service. They collect a fee that follows from the law. You pay because you play their music, not because you have a licence.

So if you cancel without changing your music, it gets you nowhere. You still owe the money, only now you no longer have a licence. In practice that produces a retroactive invoice rather than a saving.

How do you cancel Buma/Stemra properly?

You stop playing music you have to pay for and switch to music with no rights holder behind it. Then there is nothing left to collect and you can end the licence.

Notify them in writing, with the date you switched. Keep to hand what you play instead. You have to be able to show that your music falls outside their repertoire, or, more strongly, that there is no rights holder at all.

A statement from your new supplier belongs with that. Ask for it before you cancel, not after.

What should you not do?

Do not stop paying without cancelling and without changing what you play. Collection continues, and the period being recovered only gets longer.

Tariffs: Buma/Stemra and Sena, tariff year 2026. Sources are published on bumastemra.nl and sena.nl. This is information, not legal advice about your situation.

What it gets you

Work out what you save

Three questions, and you see what you now spend on Buma/Stemra, Sena and your music service.

1/3

What kind of business do you have?

What we give you for your cancellation

Switch to RadioMatic and you play music generated entirely by AI. There is no composer, no lyricist and no performing artist. Buma/Stemra itself says that such works do not qualify for copyright or payment. Nothing is due to Sena either.

That position is set out in full in our legal memorandum, with the articles of law alongside. That is exactly the document you need to support your cancellation.

Read the legal reasoning

Why 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
Several locations	Set up per location	No	Set up per location	Yes, from one place, each with its own mood
Buma/Stemra and Sena	Payable	Payable	See the terms	Not payable

One more thing

Questions about cancelling Buma/Stemra

Can I cancel retroactively?

No. You can cancel from the moment you stop playing music you have to pay for. For the period before that you still owe the fee.

What if I still play ordinary music occasionally?

Do I arrange this myself or does my supplier?

Do I get proof that it has been cancelled?

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.

Listen first

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