Music in hospitality: what is allowed and what does it cost?
In hospitality music is almost always part of the venue, and it is priced that way: at the same floor area the hospitality tariff is higher than the retail one. If you play music by human authors, payments are due to Buma/Stemra and Sena. The terrace counts in principle.
Why hospitality costs more
Buma/Stemra and Sena sort spaces into categories, and hospitality sits in the highest one. The thinking is that music contributes more to the experience in a bar or restaurant than in a shop.
Whether you agree matters little: it is a tariff structure, not a negotiation. What you can influence is the floor area that counts.
What counts and what does not
It is about the space where the music can be heard. A terrace with speakers belongs to that. A kitchen where staff have the radio on does too in principle, even though it is not public.
A separate room you only use for private occasions counts as soon as music plays there. Private in the legal sense is narrower than it sounds in everyday use: a staff party in a bar is generally still a public performance. If you also play outside, see music on the terrace.
Music that follows the day
The practical side: a hospitality venue does not have one mood but four or five in a day. Quiet morning, busy lunch, calm afternoon, full evening.
A fixed playlist does not cover that. What you want is a station that switches per part of the day, without anyone behind the bar having to think about it.
Tariffs: Buma/Stemra and Sena, tariff year 2026, including the RAAP-PPI surcharge. Sources are published on bumastemra.nl and sena.nl.
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
One amount per location per month and no levies, because the music is generated entirely by AI and there is therefore no rights holder. For hospitality that difference is largest, because the tariff is highest there.
On top of that: presenters who pick up the mood per part of the day and mention your venue by name, and promotions between the tracks for your own menu or offers.
Read the legal reasoningQuestions that come with this
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