Can you have the radio on at work, and what does it cost?
Updated
Yes, you can have the radio on in the workplace. Dutch health and safety law says nothing about playing music. So you as the employer decide whether it is allowed and on what terms, under the right to give instructions (Arbowetweter, in Dutch). What the law does cover is noise. Above a daily dose of 80 dB(A) you have to make hearing protection available, and above 85 dB(A) wearing it is compulsory (Arboportaal, in Dutch). The bill comes from another direction. As soon as three or more employees can hear the music, you need a Buma/Stemra and Sena licence. For 3 to 10 FTE that is about € 427 a year at the base tariff. 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.
What does the radio do in the workplace?
In a warehouse, a workshop or a production hall it is quiet between tasks. Music fills those hours. Buma/Stemra even opens its tariff sheet for workspaces with it. "At many companies a radio is on or a PC plays tracks." Often nobody ever actually chose it. For many employers the radio was already there when they started.
There is research behind that experience. Teresa Lesiuk followed 56 software developers at four Canadian companies for five weeks in their own workplace, with and without music of their choice. In the week without music, mood and quality of work were at their lowest, and the work took longest (Psychology of Music, 2005). It is one study in one occupation, though, and the participants chose what they heard themselves.
The downside is just as well researched. Music with lyrics costs you reading comprehension. In an experiment by Sun and colleagues with 90 participants, people scored worse on reading tasks with sung music in the background than in silence. The effect was strongest when the lyrics were in their own language (Frontiers in Psychology, 2024). So a station full of lyrics works out differently at a packing table than in an open-plan office where people are reading reports.
And one thing is the same in every workplace. Between the tracks on a national station you hear advertising that is not yours every half hour, sometimes even a competitor’s. Your staff hear it all day, and so do any customers or suppliers walking past.
What do the health and safety rules say about music at work?
About music itself, the law says nothing. "Nothing is laid down about playing music in the workplace," writes Arbowetweter (in Dutch). An employer may set rules of their own, because "an employer may determine the rules on listening to music in the workplace on the basis of the right to give instructions". So you can allow music, ban it, or allow it only through headphones.
What the rules do cover is noise. The Working Conditions Decree works with three limits, which the Arboportaal sums up as follows. Above a daily dose of 80 dB(A) the employer has to make hearing protectors available. Above 85 dB(A) employees are obliged to wear them and you have to take measures. The limit value of 87 dB(A) may never be exceeded. That dose covers all noise at the workplace, not the music on its own.
If a hall is already loud without music, the radio adds to a dose that is there anyway. Where hearing protection is compulsory, background music makes little sense. In a quiet office or warehouse you will not reach those limits with background music. There the question is a different one, namely whether people can still hear each other and the forklift.
That is the real health and safety issue. Arbo Rendement writes that an employer has to take safety into account, because in a busy warehouse employees need to be able to sense everything around them, with their ears as well (Arbo Rendement, in Dutch). Headphones in a space where vehicles move are rarely a good idea, however tidy they look.
What should you agree with your staff?
Music is rarely pleasant for everyone. For one person it relaxes and for another it is a distraction, Arbo Rendement writes. The employer has to take account of the employees who say it bothers them, even if there are only a few of them. If a colleague does not dare to bring it up, ask them yourself.
The agreements that work in practice are small ones. Set out who decides the station and the volume, so that it is not fought over again every morning. Agree that the music goes off or down during meetings, phone calls and work where things can go wrong. Give people who are reading or calculating a quiet place, or allow headphones there. Arbo Rendement calls personal headphones an alternative, with the drawback that it cuts someone off from the rest.
Also watch who is listening in without being on the payroll. If customers, visitors or suppliers come in, the space is no longer a closed workspace. Then different rules apply, including for the bill. How that works out for a reception or showroom is on Music in the office.
That leaves the question of what can go between the tracks. A radio station is one-way traffic. An announcement for staff, a safety reminder or the message that the bus leaves at four has no place in it. Systems that combine music and spoken messages do exist. Shops use them as in-store radio, and they work just as well in a warehouse. See Retail radio and in-store radio.
When do you pay for music at work, and how much?
For a non-public workspace it comes down to one number. Mijnlicentie, the joint collection service of Buma/Stemra and Sena, writes that a licence is needed for music audible "for three or more employees in non-public spaces (such as canteens, warehouses and offices)". If at most two people hear it and no customers come in, you owe nothing.
From three employees the tariff goes per FTE that can hear the music. 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 (workspaces tariff sheet). Sena charges € 225.20, € 450.39 and € 900.76 for the same brackets, plus the RAAP-PPI surcharge of 26.6% (2026 tariff overview). Together that is about € 427, € 855 and € 1,709 a year at the base tariff.
Register of your own accord and pay on time, and you get up to 33.33% off. That brings it to about € 285, € 570 and € 1,140. The tables per type of space, including the canteen that is charged per square metre, are on Music in the office. The tariffs per sector are on the tariffs page. Work out what it is for your company below.
Only switching on the radio changes nothing. The fee is attached to playing music to people, not to the source. The station only pays for broadcasting. See Radio or TV on in your business. Which routes there are to play music without those two bills is on Music without Buma and Sena.
Sources: Arbowetweter, music in the workplace, Arboportaal, what the law says about noise, the Dutch Working Conditions Decree, Arbo Rendement on making agreements, Mijnlicentie, do I need a music licence, the Buma/Stemra workspaces tariff sheet and Sena 2026 tariff overview, all in Dutch, plus Lesiuk, Psychology of Music 2005 and Sun et al., Frontiers in Psychology 2024. Amounts are base tariffs per year unless the discount is mentioned; Buma/Stemra excluding VAT, 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.
Your own station for the workplace
With RadioMatic each location gets a station of its own. You set the mood per part of the day, calmer in the morning and more tempo when it gets busy. Between the tracks you put your own announcements, such as a safety reminder, the message that the canteen is open or a thank you for a target reached. You type them into the dashboard, and nothing has to be recorded in a studio. If you would rather have music only, you switch off the DJ moments and local news.
From Starter upwards it is advertising-free. So you no longer play another company’s message on your own floor. It runs on what is already there, through Sonos, Chromecast, a browser or line-in on the amplifier or PA. 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. Starter costs € 29.99 per location per month, excluding VAT, paid annually. Paying monthly is 20% more. See the 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.
Related questions
Further reading
- 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.
- Why do supermarkets play music, and what does it cost?What music does to shopping, the Belgian switch to AI music, and the levies per square metre.
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.