Sinterklaas music in your shop, what is allowed and what does it cost?
Updated
The short answer Sinterklaas music in your shop is allowed, but you generally pay Buma/Stemra and Sena for it. What that is for your shop, you work out below.
Old songs too Sinterklaas kapoentje is free as a melody. The recording you play is not. It carries rights of the singers and the record company, and Sena collects for those. For newer songs you pay Buma/Stemra as well.
Your own station With RadioMatic you run your own Sinterklaas station in November. Only for those weeks? You can. Then you cancel monthly and pay 20% more. You pay nothing to Buma/Stemra and Sena, because the music is made entirely with AI.
Work out what music in your shop costs now
Three questions, and you see what you now spend on Buma/Stemra, Sena and your music service.
How big is your business?
Your own Sinterklaas station
- A Sinterklaas mood that suits your business. Cheerful for a toy shop, cosy for a bakery or bookshop.
- From Sinterklaas to Christmas. After 5 December you switch your station to the Christmas mood, and back again in January.
- Your own messages in between. Surprise tips, shoe gifts, your Pakjesavond offers and the opening hours around 5 December, read by a presenter who talks about your business between the songs. That comes with Professional.
- 14 days free. A reply within one working day and live in under ten minutes, on the speakers already there.
From € 29.99 per location per month. For music by human makers you also pay Buma/Stemra and Sena. With RadioMatic you do not.
Aren't Sinterklaas songs simply free?
Many Sinterklaas songs are old. Sinterklaas kapoentje, Zie ginds komt de stoomboot and Sint Nicolaas, o kindervriend are free as lyrics and melody, because their makers died more than seventy years ago. But what you play in the shop is a recording, and that has its own rights for the singers, the musicians and the record company. Sena collects for them as long as the recording is less than seventy years old. And today's songs, from TV or the arrival parade, are fully protected, so you pay Buma/Stemra for those too.
Sinterklaas in your shop, without the hassle
With RadioMatic you switch on a Sinterklaas mood in November that suits your business, and between the music a presenter tells your customers what they want to know, for example that you have surprises and shoe gifts, what your offers are, and when you are open around Pakjesavond. After 5 December you switch it to Christmas.
New music is added every day, and the tracks that work come back. So your staff do not hear the same row of songs for four weeks.
Can I play a Spotify Sinterklaas playlist?
No. Spotify and other personal subscriptions only allow personal use, in November too. Read why Spotify for business is not allowed.
Copyright: 70 years after the maker's death (Dutch Copyright Act, Art. 37). Neighbouring rights in a recording: 70 years after publication (Neighbouring Rights Act, Art. 12). 2026 tariffs, base tariff, for a shop of 200 m² with five staff: Buma/Stemra € 427, Sena € 181.
What a Sinterklaas station costs with us
With RadioMatic you pay from € 29.99 per location per month, excluding VAT, and that is all. Because the music is made with AI, there is nobody to collect for. Also read about Christmas music in your shop.
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 Sinterklaas music in your business
Further reading
- Christmas and New Year music in your shop, what is allowed and what does it cost?Why old carols and Auld Lang Syne are not free, and how to get through the holidays without Buma and Sena.
- What does music in a shop cost in 2026?What music in a shop costs in Buma/Stemra and Sena fees, per square metre and per member of staff, with a calculator.
- What is retail radio or in-store radio, and what does it cost?Music plus voices per branch. Bespoke or a ready-made station, and which bills come with it.
- Can you use Spotify in a business?No, and here is why. Plus what it costs you if you do it anyway.
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