Do I need a licence?

A licence is almost always required to play music in a public space. Playing music publicly is called ‘public performance’ and, unlike when playing music at home or in the car in your personal time, it requires permission from the owners of the copyright in that music.

Music licensing is as crucial as any other service and legal requirement that businesses need to arrange. Failure to comply may result in legal action.

Getting a licence also ensures music creators are rightly paid for their creations. They rely on compensation for the services they provide, just as a business does. Read more in our Frequently Asked Questions.

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The law of music licensing

In Australia the Copyright Act (1968) makes it a legal requirement to first seek permission to play music in a business/commercial setting regardless of what industry you operate in or how you play music. 

Music means business

All the many thousands of businesses in Australia that have a OneMusic licence have legal access to the majority of the world’s music and they are part of the music economy that allowing even more music to be created. Read more.

Audoo Audio Meters

New technology adopted in Australia to help emerging, mid-career, or heritage music creators get paid their share of music licences fees businesses pay to OneMusic.

Where do music licence fees actually go?

OneMusic keeps track of the music being played in a huge database drawn from radio and television stations, performance reports, streaming services, music recognition software like Audoo and data from background music suppliers. Read more