What music suits your waiting room, and do you have to pay for it?
Updated
The short answer Good waiting room music is calm, with an even tempo, no sudden peaks and no lyrics that grab attention. With RadioMatic you pay nothing to Buma and Sena for it, because the music is made entirely with AI. You only pay the subscription, from € 29.99 a month.
With other music If you play music made by people, you pay Buma/Stemra and Sena for the waiting room too. What counts is that patients hear the music. A waiting room usually falls into the smallest bracket, though.
What music does Patients catch less of what is said at the desk, and the wait feels shorter.
Waiting room music 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.
Why is music in the waiting room also about privacy?
In many waiting rooms you sit right next to the desk. What is discussed there is often medical. The patient in the next chair would rather not overhear it.
Background music makes conversations harder to follow. That makes it a simple and effective way to shield the desk.
It only works with the right kind of music. That means even, without sudden peaks and without lyrics that draw attention. An ordinary chart playlist works against you.
Does a practice have to pay for music?
Yes. Whether you pay does not depend on what you sell. It depends on public performance, meaning music the public can hear. A waiting room full of patients falls under that.
Buma/Stemra charges by the area where the music can be heard, Sena by treatment room for a practice. So a practice often pays more than a shop of the same size. Work out below what it comes to for your waiting room.
What else can you play in the waiting room?
In a waiting room people have time. A calm announcement between the music lands better there than a poster on the wall. Think of your opening hours, how to reschedule an appointment or what to bring to a check-up.
Advertising from other companies does not belong there, in our view. In a medical setting it 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. Also used ECLI:NL:RBGEL:2025:6175.
Work out what you save
Three questions, and you see what you now spend on Buma/Stemra, Sena and your music service.
What kind of business do you have?
What RadioMatic does in your waiting room
With RadioMatic your waiting room plays music tuned to calm, so conversations at the desk are harder to follow. Between the tracks patients hear your own announcements, such as your opening hours or how to reschedule, per part of the day or per day. You decide whether anything comes between the tracks or only music. From Starter upwards no advertising from other companies comes in between.
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, so that bill falls away. 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 waiting room music
Further reading
- 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.
- Can you use Spotify in a business?No, and here is why. Plus what it costs you if you do it anyway.
- Received a letter from Mijnlicentie? These are your options.What that letter is, what your options are, and why ignoring it costs most.
- Music without Buma and Sena. Is it possible?Which routes exist, what they really cost, and which one holds up.
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