Music licensing company OneMusic explains how proper music licensing can keep cafés on the right side of copyright law.
Everybody loves music, and playing tunes in a café can help create a pleasant atmosphere for customers and make them want to keep coming back. Some studies have even shown music can influence people to spend more time somewhere and buy more.
Those playing music in their business, however, are required to have a licence. Otherwise, they may be at risk of copyright infringement.
Many business owners don’t realise that playing music comes with legal obligations under the Copyright Act 1968, including:
- playing the radio
- listening to a CD
- streaming digital music
How to get a licence to play music in a business
Established in 2019, OneMusic is an Australasian Performing Right Association Limited and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (APRA AMCOS) and Phonographic Performance Company of Australia Limited (PPCA) joint music licensing initiative.
The organisations came together under OneMusic to simplify the licensing process for customers by creating one licence that allows Australian businesses to play music commonly heard on radio, TV, streaming services, or music purchased online or in stores.
A OneMusic ‘blanket licence’ covers most popular music available worldwide. The organisation keeps track of the music played through various sources and uses music recognition software to ensure licence fees go directly to the music creators.
You can easily obtain the correct licence by using the licence selection tool linked from the home page of the OneMusic website.
Is a licence needed to play the radio in a small shop?
Music on free-to-air TV or radio played in your business is a public performance of that music and protected under the Copyright Act. This needs permission from the copyright owners of the music and a OneMusic licence provides this permission.
Background music for dining spaces is based on number of seats in your space, where music can be heard, and what device you’re using to play the music. The Dining licence information guide can be used to gain understanding of the costs of different music licences.
Is OneMusic a legitimate licensing initiative?
It is a great idea to be alert to scams in business. Many organisations have been cautious about purchasing a licence through OneMusic as they may be more accustomed to these licences being offered under other organisation names such as APRA. OneMusic is a legitimate licensing initiative and is listed on the Australian Business Licence and Information Service (ABLIS).
What happens a business plays music without a licence?
In Australia, the Copyright Act (1968) protects the rights of music creators by that artists are fairly compensated for their work.
Playing music in a business without a licence can constitute a copyright infringement, which may lead to legal action as well as costs covering the outstanding licensing fees and potentially other damages and legal fees.
What are my options to play music other than OneMusic?
If a business-owner wants to play music without taking out a OneMusic licence, there are other options.
- Obtain written permission directly from all the artists and music creators who own the songs you wish to play.
- Play music that is ‘royalty free’. But be careful; sometimes music labelled as ‘royalty-free’ is in fact not entirely free from the payment of ongoing royalties and you may still require a licence to avoid copyright infringement.
Dispelling common misconceptions
A frequent misunderstanding is that a music streaming service subscription is sufficient for public playback. The streaming services most people every day only covers personal use and their terms reflect this.
Also, background music suppliers simply provide the music, but not the licence to play to the public. A separate commercial licence is required for any public playback in business settings.
For more information on music licensing, visit OneMusic’s Dining information page.
