The bill

Royalty-free music in your shop. What does it mean?

Q: What is the difference with rechtenvrij?

None. It is the same term in two languages. Both say something about your licence with the supplier, not about collective levies in the Netherlands.

Q: Does this apply to music in my own videos?

Different rules apply there, because that is synchronisation and not a public performance in a space. This page is about music that can be heard in your premises.

Q: How do I know whether an author is affiliated?

Buma/Stemra and Sena maintain repertoire data. In practice it is hard to settle that conclusively per track, and the burden of proof sits with you.

Updated 4 October 2026

The short answer Royalty-free music is not a legal term, and that is exactly the problem. The word is used for three different things, and only one of them means for certain that you pay nothing to Buma/Stemra and Sena.

The three meanings It can mean music you pay for once instead of per use, music whose rights have expired, or music with no rights holder at all. Only in that last case can you be sure you owe nothing. With expired rights that only holds if the recording is free as well.

With RadioMatic RadioMatic's music has no human composer. You pay from € 29.99 a month, and nothing to Buma and Sena.

Truly royalty-free, because it is made with AI

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.

Work out what you save Or have your Mijnlicentie invoice checked for free

What do sellers mean by royalty-free?

With most suppliers of royalty-free background music, royalty-free means you buy one licence and may then use the track without limit within the terms. It means you do not keep paying that service.

That says nothing about Buma/Stemra and Sena. If a human composer who is affiliated is behind it, then in the Netherlands you simply owe payment on top of what you paid the stock service. Two bills, and the second arrives later.

What ought royalty-free to mean legally?

Nothing is genuinely due only when there is nobody who can claim anything. That is the case for work whose term of protection has expired and whose recording carries no neighbouring right, and for music with no human author.

For everything in between a rights holder exists. Whether and when they come forward changes nothing about their right to a fee. The three routes are set out in playing music without Buma and Sena.

What should you ask a provider?

Do not ask a provider whether the music is royalty-free, because the answer tells you almost nothing. Ask whether the Buma/Stemra and Sena levies are included in the amount, and if not, who pays them.

With most providers the answer is that the levies come on top and the bill sits with you. That is not a criticism of them. It is how the system works, and they cannot change it. But as long as you do not ask, you cannot compare quotes fairly.

Tariffs: Buma/Stemra and Sena, tariff year 2026. Sources are published on bumastemra.nl and sena.nl.

What it gets you

Work out what you save

Three questions, and you see what you now spend on Buma/Stemra, Sena and your music service.

1/3

What kind of business do you have?

How does it work at RadioMatic?

RadioMatic music has no human author. No composer, no lyricist, no performing artist, no commercially released phonogram. So there is nobody who can claim anything. That is a different situation from a licence where you do not keep paying.

That is why we do not call our music royalty-free in the marketing sense. We say that no rights holder exists. That is more precise, and you can check it.

Read the legal reasoning

Why 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

One more thing

Questions about royalty-free music

I bought a licence from a stock service. Am I not covered?

For your relationship with that service, yes. For Buma/Stemra and Sena, no, unless the music has no affiliated rights holders. Ask the stock service in writing for a definitive answer.

What is the difference with rechtenvrij?

Does this apply to music in my own videos?

How do I know whether an author is affiliated?

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.

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