Why do supermarkets play music, and what does it cost?
Updated
Supermarkets play music because it affects how people move through the shop and what they buy. That has been studied for more than forty years, from tempo to the choice between French and German wine. It is not free. For music by human makers, a 1,000 m² supermarket in the Netherlands pays around € 2,516 a year to Buma/Stemra and Sena combined in 2026. In Belgium, Brico and Carrefour are switching to AI music partly for that reason, Brico through the supplier M-Cube. With RadioMatic you pay nothing to Buma and Sena, because the music is generated entirely by AI and there are therefore no rightsholders.
What does music do in a supermarket?
The classic study comes from an American supermarket. Ronald Milliman alternated slow and fast music there. With slow music, customers moved through the shop more slowly. Daily sales were then around 38% higher than with fast music (Milliman, 1982).
Music also steers choice. In a British supermarket, French or German music played at the wine shelf on alternate days. On French days far more French than German wine was sold, and on German days it was the other way round (North, Hargreaves and McKendrick, 1999).
Those effects are real, but they were measured in a single shop and in a different era. Most supermarkets have a plainer reason. A silent shop feels empty. Music softens the noise of fridges and trolleys. And your staff work in it all day.
Brico and Carrefour switch to AI music
In October 2025 VRT NWS (in Dutch) reported that the Belgian DIY chain Brico plays AI music from the company M-Cube. According to M-Cube, the music is generated with AI and then mixed by a human producer. Every track is run through Shazam to avoid it sounding too much like existing work. According to VRT NWS, X2O, Krëfel, Trafic, Oh’Green and Club also use M-Cube’s solutions.
At Carrefour, according to VRT NWS, some independent operators are already experimenting with AI music, and the rollout to all Belgian stores is planned for 2026 to 2028. Carrefour gives two reasons. AI music is cheaper, and it allows music made to measure, for the holidays for example. RetailDetail and Entertainment Business also reported on it.
The Belgian rights organisation Sabam is concerned. According to Steven Desloovere of Sabam, 25 to 28% of what songwriters earn from music in public spaces is at risk. Sabam also holds that payment is due when existing work has been used to train AI models. In Belgium, Ikea deliberately does not choose AI and plays royalty-free music by a human producer.
Can the same happen in the Netherlands?
Yes, it works the same way here. Buma/Stemra itself says that works made entirely by AI without a human creative contribution do not qualify for registration, copyright or payment (in Dutch). We have not found a similar announcement from a Dutch supermarket chain.
Do watch the word royalty-free, though. It can mean there is no rights holder. It can also mean that rights have been bought out or arranged through another organisation. Ask your supplier what they mean by it, and get the answer in writing. More on royalty-free music for commercial use.
M-Cube is also active in the Netherlands and appears on the list of background music suppliers that Buma/Stemra keeps. The second question for any AI supplier is about the training data. See AI music for business.
What does a supermarket pay Buma and Sena?
At Buma/Stemra a supermarket does not fall under the ordinary shop tariff. Supermarkets, department stores and self-service businesses are expressly excluded from it and fall into the more expensive category A (Buma/Stemra, mechanical background music, in Dutch). Sena has a tariff of its own for supermarkets, department stores and DIY stores, based on the floor area open to the public (Sena, 2026 tariff overview).
Together that comes to around € 839 a year up to 100 m², € 1,677 up to 400 m², € 2,097 up to 800 m² and € 2,516 up to 1,600 m² in 2026. A supermarket of up to 3,200 m² pays around € 2,943. Those are base tariffs. Register yourself and pay on time, and you get a discount of up to 33.33%.
If you run a chain, you pay per branch. A hundred supermarkets of 1,000 m² come to more than € 250,000 a year at the base tariff. Choose "Supermarket" in the calculator below to work it out for your own floor area. More on shops in general is on music in shops.
Sources: Buma/Stemra, 2026 mechanical background music tariff, Sena, 2026 tariff overview, VRT NWS, 15 October 2025, all in Dutch, and the studies mentioned. Amounts are base tariffs per year; Buma/Stemra excluding VAT, Sena exempt from VAT and including the RAAP-PPI surcharge of 26.6%. Consulted on 22 September 2026.
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 us you pay one amount per location per month. With several branches you run them all from one dashboard, with a mood of its own for each store. The music is generated entirely by AI. Buma/Stemra itself says that such works without a human creative contribution do not qualify for 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.
Between tracks you can feature your own offers, by time of day and by branch. On the hour, a local news round can play. It plays on the installation already on the ceiling, through the amplifier’s line-in or a browser. What we can and cannot verify about the training data of the model is also in the 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 |
| 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
- What does music cost in hospitality, and does the terrace count?The highest tariff of all categories, and why the terrace counts.
- What music suits your restaurant, and what does it cost?Mood by time of day, what research really says, and the levies at the hospitality rate.
- What music suits your hotel, and what do you pay for it?Lobby and bar at the hospitality rate, and the rooms as a separate bill.
- Music in the waiting room. Do you have to pay, and what fits?For dentists, physiotherapists and GPs. What you pay, and how music shields conversations at the desk.
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.