Can you use Spotify in a bar or restaurant?

There is no such thing as a fine, and that matters more than it sounds

Many owners search for "fine Spotify hospitality". The word is wrong, and it changes what you should expect. Buma/Stemra and Sena are not regulators and cannot impose an administrative fine. They are collecting societies that recover a fee on behalf of rights holders.

What happens in practice is an invoice, usually retroactive over the period you played music without a licence. If you do not pay, the next step is civil proceedings, not a penalty order.

That does not make it optional. But it does mean you are dealing with a bill rather than a sanction, and that the amount traces back to a tariff rather than to an inspector’s discretion.

Hospitality pays more than retail

Buma/Stemra and Sena work with categories, and hospitality sits in a different one from a shop. At the same floor area the hospitality tariff is higher. That is a choice in their tariff structure, not something you can negotiate around.

If you also play music on a terrace, that area counts in principle. Work it out below for your own situation.

What an inspection actually looks like

Buma/Stemra and Sena collect jointly under the name mijnlicentie.nl. It almost always starts with a letter or an invoice; a visit on site happens but is not the rule.

Ignoring a letter is the most expensive option. The claim does not go away, and the period being recovered only gets longer.