Music in the waiting room: what fits and what is allowed?
Music in a waiting room does something different from music in a shop: it makes conversations at the desk less intelligible and it makes waiting feel shorter. Here too, music by human authors brings payments to Buma/Stemra and Sena, even though a practice is not a commercial space in the ordinary sense.
It is not only atmosphere, it is also privacy
In a waiting room people sit close to the desk. What is discussed there is often medical, and it should not be overheard. Background sound that lowers speech intelligibility is a simple and effective measure for that.
That does require the right kind of music: even, without sudden dynamics and without lyrics that draw attention. An ordinary chart playlist works against you.
A practice pays too
The payment obligation does not hang on whether you sell anything, but on public performance: music that can be heard by the public. A waiting room falls under that.
The tariff depends on the area where the music can be heard. For most practices that is the smallest bracket, so the amount is lower than for a shop. It does not disappear.
What else can go in
A waiting room is also where people have time. Calm announcements between the music — opening hours, how to reschedule, what to bring to a check-up — land better there than on a poster.
Third-party advertising does not belong there, in our view: in a medical setting that is out of place.
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, no levies, and music tuned to calm rather than energy. The music is generated by AI, so there is no rights holder and therefore no second bill.
You can have your own announcements recorded, per part of the day or per day. You decide whether anything comes between the tracks or only music.
Read the legal reasoningQuestions that come with this
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