Music in the office and the canteen. When do you have to pay?
Updated
Music in the office, the canteen or the warehouse is free as long as no more than two employees hear it and no customers or visitors come in. From three employees you need a Buma/Stemra and Sena licence, according to Mijnlicentie. For an office with 3 to 10 FTE that costs about € 427 a year in 2026 at the base tariff, or € 285 with the discount for registering yourself and paying on time. A reception or showroom where visitors come counts as a public space. The three-employee limit does not apply there. With RadioMatic you pay nothing to Buma and Sena, because the music is generated entirely by AI. Buma/Stemra itself states that such works do not qualify for payment. The same applies to Sena.
From how many employees do you have to pay?
Mijnlicentie names two situations in which you need a licence. The first is music that customers or the public hear in a public space. The second is music that can be heard "by three or more employees in non-public spaces (such as canteens, warehouses and offices)".
So count the people who hear the music, not your whole workforce. If your company employs forty people and the radio is only on in a workshop with two mechanics, you do not need to arrange anything for that radio. An open-plan office with twelve people and a speaker in the middle does need a licence.
Where the music comes from makes no difference. Buma/Stemra even opens its tariff sheet for workspaces with it. "At many companies a radio is on or a PC plays tracks. You owe a fee for the use of that music." With headphones only the wearer hears the music, so you stay under the limit.
How do desks, canteen, warehouse and reception count?
For offices, workshops and warehouses, Buma/Stemra and Sena charge per FTE that can hear the music. Sena counts offices, dispatch areas, kitchens, warehouses, workrooms, garages and workshops among business premises.
The canteen is charged differently, per square metre. Buma/Stemra places company canteens in category A of its tariff for mechanical background music. Sena has its own table for staff restaurants, canteens and recreation rooms. The three-employee limit applies in the canteen too.
Reception has different rules. Buma/Stemra defines workspaces as "spaces in factories and offices not accessible to the public". If visitors, customers or suppliers come in, it is no longer a closed workspace. The music then falls under the rule for public spaces, and it no longer matters how many colleagues hear it. A waiting area works the same way, see Music in waiting rooms.
What does music in the office cost?
For workspaces in 2026, Buma/Stemra charges a base tariff of € 142.27 up to 10 FTE, € 284.54 for 11 to 25 FTE and € 569.08 for 26 to 50 FTE, excluding VAT (workspaces tariff sheet). Sena charges € 225.20 for 3 to 10 FTE, € 450.39 for 11 to 25 FTE and € 900.76 for 26 to 50 FTE, with a 26.6% surcharge on top (2026 tariff overview).
Added up, you pay about € 427 a year for an office with 3 to 10 FTE. With 11 to 25 FTE it is about € 855, and a warehouse with 26 to 50 FTE costs about € 1,709. Register yourself and pay on time, and you get a discount of up to 33.33%. That brings you to about € 285, € 570 and € 1,140.
A canteen up to 100 m² costs € 569.08 for Buma/Stemra and € 455.30 plus surcharge for Sena. Together that is about € 1,145 a year at the base tariff, or about € 764 with the discount. If you play different music in different rooms, Buma/Stemra charges each room separately.
If you do not register and are found during an inspection, you pay the base tariff without the 33.33% discount. See A fine from Buma/Stemra?
Can you play Spotify, YouTube or TV in the office?
If you put a personal account on the office speaker, you have a separate problem. Spotify and YouTube only allow personal, non-commercial use. That is regardless of what you pay Buma/Stemra and Sena. See Can you use Spotify in a business?
If you show TV programmes in reception, the canteen or a meeting room, you also need a Videma licence. It applies to companies with 3 FTE or more. For 3 to 10 FTE it costs € 95.67 per room per year (Videma, offices and businesses). More on that is on Radio or TV on in your business.
Sources: Mijnlicentie, do I need a music licence, the Buma/Stemra tariff sheets for workspaces and mechanical background music, Sena, 2026 tariff overview and Videma, offices and businesses, all in Dutch. Amounts are base tariffs per year unless the discount is mentioned; Sena including the 26.6% surcharge. Consulted on 22 September 2026. This is information, not legal advice.
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.
Office music without a Buma bill
In an office you want music that runs quietly and distracts no one. With RadioMatic the desks can hear something different from the canteen, and the music changes by itself with the part of the day. It plays through a browser on a PC, through Chromecast or through the Sonos speaker already in the canteen. No new equipment has to go in.
The music is generated entirely by AI. Buma 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. With several locations you run everything from one dashboard, with its own atmosphere per location. 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 have the radio on at work, and what does it cost?Dutch health and safety law says nothing about music, so you set the rules. What to agree with your team, and from which employee you pay.
- Music in the gym. What does it cost in Buma and Sena fees?Sena has its own rate for gyms, and group classes are counted separately.
- Music on the terrace. Is it allowed, and what does it cost?Outside counts towards the tariff, and the council looks at something else.
- Can you play music in your shop, and what does it cost?What it costs per square metre and per member of staff, and why the second bill is the surprise.
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.