Music in the gym. What does it cost in Buma and Sena fees?
Updated
The short answer What music in your gym costs in Buma/Stemra and Sena fees depends on the square metres where the music plays. Work it out below for your gym. With RadioMatic it costs from € 29.99 a month, and you pay nothing to Buma/Stemra and Sena.
How it is worked out The amount follows the floor area where the music can be heard. Sena has its own rate for gyms. Buma/Stemra charges a gym without a bar the lower shop rate.
Why that falls away with AI Buma/Stemra itself says that music made entirely by AI, without a creative contribution 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. That is why you pay nothing to Buma and Sena with RadioMatic.
Work out what music in your gym costs now
Three questions, and you see what you now spend on Buma/Stemra, Sena and your music service.
How big is your business?
Music for your gym, without Buma and Sena
- 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.
How do Buma/Stemra and Sena classify a gym?
Buma/Stemra places sports spaces without a bar in category B of the background music tariff. That is the same category as an ordinary shop. If your gym has a bar or canteen, the hospitality tariff applies to that part.
Sena has its own table for gyms and fitness centres (2026 tariff overview, p. 12). For a gym up to 200 m² you pay Sena € 629 a year including the surcharge, against € 427 at Buma/Stemra. So the Sena bill is the higher of the two.
Do group classes count separately?
Yes. Alongside the tariff for the room itself, separate arrangements exist for music in group classes. If you play your own playlists at spinning, bodypump or yoga, assume you pay separately for that.
So ask Buma/Stemra and Sena how they classify your situation before you make your declaration. Which category you fall into matters more than how many square metres you have. Why you need to ask both is explained in The difference between Buma/Stemra and Sena.
Does one playlist suit all your members?
A gym has morning members, afternoon members and evening members, and they do not want to hear the same thing. A fixed playlist serves one group well and the rest moderately.
What works is a station that changes tempo per part of the day. Then nobody at the desk has to adjust the music.
Tariffs: Buma/Stemra and Sena, tariff year 2026, including the RAAP-PPI surcharge. Sources are published on bumastemra.nl and sena.nl. Also used bumastemra.nl, sena.nl, ECLI:NL:RBGEL:2025:6175.
What RadioMatic does in your gym
With RadioMatic the tempo follows the part of the day by itself, from the morning members to the evening members. The gym floor, the changing room and a bar or canteen can each get a mood of their own. Between the tracks you put your own announcements about class times or offers, and with several sites you steer everything from one dashboard.
You pay one amount per location per month. Buma/Stemra itself states that works made entirely by AI do not qualify for copyright or payment. The same applies to Sena. Sena can only collect for a recording that has been commercially released, and on that ground Sena lost in court in 2025. The full reasoning is in our legal memorandum.
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 |
| 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 |
Questions about music in the gym
Further reading
- Can you use Spotify in a business?No, and here is why. Plus what it costs you if you do it anyway.
- Radio on in your business? Then you pay Buma and Sena too.The radio counts like anything else. What it costs, when it does not count, and why TV is a third bill.
- Music without Buma and Sena. Is it possible?Which routes exist, what they really cost, and which one holds up.
- Paying too much to Buma/Stemra and Sena? Get your invoice checked for freeUpload your invoice or letter from Mijnlicentie and we check it.
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.
Rather talk first? Book a 15-minute call