Radio on in your business? Then you pay Buma and Sena too.
Updated
The short answer Yes. Even if you only switch on the radio in your business, you pay Buma/Stemra and Sena. Mijnlicentie writes that you need a licence when customers or the public can hear the music, "also when using radio". In a space without customers, such as a workshop, that only applies once three or more staff hear it.
What you pay now What the radio costs you in Buma/Stemra and Sena fees, you work out below. If you show TV programmes, you also need a licence from Videma.
A station of your own With RadioMatic you pay from € 29.99 a month, and nothing to Buma and Sena, because the music is made entirely by AI.
Work out what the radio costs in your business
Three questions, and you see what you now spend on Buma/Stemra, Sena and your music service.
What kind of business do you have?
A station of your own instead of the radio
- 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 talks about your business between the songs, if you want, and with Professional also news and your own adverts.
- 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.
Doesn’t the radio station already pay?
Many business owners think so. The station does pay, but for something else. A station pays for broadcasting. You pay for playing it in your business, and that is a separate communication to the public. Sena writes in its 2026 tariff overview (in Dutch) that its tariffs apply to music played "by means of radio, television, streaming services, CD player and/or other playback equipment".
Buma/Stemra puts it just as plainly in its tariff sheet for workspaces. "At many companies a radio is on or a PC plays tracks. You owe a fee for the use of that music."
If you mostly listen to a talk station, that makes no difference. According to INretail, on its page about Buma/Stemra and Sena, the fee "already takes into account that you do not listen to music 100% of the time".
When does the radio count, and when not?
Mijnlicentie applies two rules (do I need a music licence). Where customers or the public come, you need a licence as soon as the music can be heard. In a space without public, such as a canteen, warehouse or office, only once three or more employees hear it.
So a radio in the workshop behind the business, where two mechanics work, needs no licence. The same radio in the shop at the front does. MKB Servicedesk puts it the same way, as music heard by customers, guests or more than two employees.
Volume does not matter. Quietly in the background can still be heard. How it works out for offices and canteens is on Music in the office.
What does the radio in your business cost?
The tariff depends on the space, not on the source. A shop up to 100 m² with at most 5 staff pays Buma/Stemra and Sena about € 311 a year together in 2026, after the registration discount. Work out at the top what it is for your business.
In hospitality it is higher. A café of 31 to 100 m² pays about € 1,302 a year together after the same discount. VAT is added to the Buma part.
The calculator at the top shows the base tariff, so without that discount. For the shop that is € 466, for the café € 1,952. More about shops is on Music in shops, more about hospitality on Music in hospitality.
What do you pay for a TV in your business?
Buma/Stemra and Sena are not the right address for the pictures of a TV programme. Videma handles that, directly and not through Mijnlicentie. Videma adds that it "does not arrange permission for playing musical works in a TV programme; Buma and Sena handle that". If a TV in your business shows a music channel, you can end up with three bills.
A café up to 50 m² pays Videma € 247.34 a year in 2026 after the discount, and KHN members pay slightly less (Videma, cafés). A shop pays more per branch (Videma, retail). Pay channels such as ESPN, Viaplay and Ziggo Sport are not covered by that licence.
If there is a TV in the reception, canteen or meeting room of your company, it falls under the licence for offices and businesses, from 3 FTE. It costs € 95.67 per room per year for 3 to 10 FTE (Videma, offices and businesses). MKB Servicedesk sums up Videma’s tariffs as "a few tens to a few hundred euros" a year (A television in the business).
Sources: Mijnlicentie, do I need a music licence, Sena, 2026 tariff overview, the Buma/Stemra tariff sheets for workspaces, background music and hospitality, the tariffs of Videma, INretail and MKB Servicedesk, all in Dutch. Consulted on 22 September 2026. This is information, not legal advice. Also used videma.nl, videma.nl, videma.nl, mkbservicedesk.nl, ECLI:NL:RBGEL:2025:6175.
As easy as the radio, without Buma and Sena
Switching on the radio is the easiest way to have music in your business. RadioMatic is just as easy. Your own station plays on what is already there, through a browser, Chromecast, Sonos or line-in on your amplifier.
The difference is in what you hear. The music is generated entirely by AI, and Buma/Stemra itself says that such works without a human creative contribution do not qualify for copyright or payment. 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. Between the tracks you hear no one else’s advertising. You hear DJ moments that talk about your business, local news on the hour and your own promotions.
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 Professional, no studio |
| Local news and weather | No | Yes, the station’s | No | Yes, with Professional, your town |
| 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 radio and TV in your business
Further reading
- Can you use Spotify in a business?No, and here is why. Plus what it costs you if you do it anyway.
- 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 without Buma and Sena. Is it possible?Which routes exist, what they really cost, and which one holds up.
- A fine from Buma/Stemra? There is no such thing. This is what you pay.There is no fine. What you do lose is the discount, and it is a big one.
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