What does music cost in your business?
For every type of business, this page shows how Buma/Stemra and Sena charge. Work out your own amount with the calculator, and follow the link for your business to see the rates and the source.
The bill for music in a business comes from two organisations that work separately. Buma/Stemra collects for the people who wrote the music, Sena for the performers and the record companies. Each sends its own invoice, even though collection runs through the same desk.
What most owners do not know is that the two often use a different basis for the same premises. Buma charges a shop by the square metre, Sena charges that same shop by the number of staff who can hear the music. That is why a butcher of 80 m² with twelve staff pays Sena more than twice what a bookshop of 300 m² with six staff pays, even though the bookshop is almost four times the size.
Which basis applies to your business decides what it costs to grow. Work out your own amount below, or find your business in the list after that.
Background music for business. What is allowed, what does it cost and what are your options?
Work out what you save
Three questions, and you see what you now spend on Buma/Stemra, Sena and your music service.
What kind of business do you have?
Find your business
Buma counts your metres, Sena your people
Buma counts the floor, Sena counts the people who can hear the music. Take someone on and the Sena bill goes up. Make the shop bigger and the Buma bill goes up.
Both by member of staff
Only the number of people working counts here. The size of the premises makes no difference to either.
Both by square metre
Only the floor area where music can be heard counts here. The number of staff makes no difference to either.
By treatment room
Sena charges per treatment room, with the waiting room as a separate licence. Buma charges by floor area. The calculator includes the waiting room.
Bases taken from the 2026 tariff texts of Buma/Stemra and Sena. Each page gives the source and the reference date.
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 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 |
The best 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. Your own offers and announcements come with Professional.
It moves with the day
Calm in the morning, more tempo during the rush, softer again in the last hour. That switches over by itself per part of the day, 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. News comes with Professional.
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.
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