A venue playing music is likely to need a music licence or other permission from the copyright owners.
If you play music protected by copyright in a public place for a commercial purpose you need permission or you need to obtain a music licence. Legally this music use is different to playing music at home or in your car. This is called public performance of music.
If you are playing music in your venue, it is highly likely you need a 'public performance' music licence. Almost all popular music heard on TV, radio and streaming services is protected by copyright law. This applies to businesses who plays music, no matter the industry.
The media, entertainment, hospitality, retail, and fitness industries are just a few examples of sectors that rely heavily on music to create atmosphere, increase customer satisfaction, and positively influence customer experience.
However, not all businesses understand that the ‘public performance’ of music is also protected by copyright, which means that businesses need to get permission from the owner of the copyright in the music before they play that music in their business.
OneMusic is authorised to issue ‘public performance’ music licences on behalf of copyright owners for the vast majority of commercial music from around the world.
No - subscribing to a streaming service (paid or free) or even just turning on the radio doesn’t automatically give you the legal right to play that music in your business.
Firstly, the most popular streaming services that most of us use every day are only for our personal use (take a look at your music streaming service’s Terms of Use to see this in play).
More importantly, to play music that is protected by copyright ‘in public’ (that is, in your business), you need to get permission from the owners of that music copyright.
When your business has a OneMusic licence, you have the right to play the vast majority of popular and well-recognised music from around the world.
‘Royalties’ are what is paid to music creators when their copyright-protected music is used, particularly by other people. For instance, by radio stations, on TV or when played ‘in public’ by a business.
OneMusic keeps track of the music being played in a huge database that has been collected from music users across Australia, including from radio stations, TV broadcasts, music streaming services and live performances.
OneMusic then pays APRA AMCOS and PPCA the licence fees it collects so that they can pay ‘royalties’ to help music creators continue their work.
What happens if a business doesn’t pay for a music licence? Playing music that is protected by copyright in a business without permission may be an infringement of copyright, which may lead to legal action and significant costs.
A court proceeding can result in your business having to pay, not only the licence fees that would have applied, but additional costs such as ‘damages’ and legal fees - read more.
OneMusic is a genuine music licensing organisation that has issued hundreds of thousands of ‘public performance’ music licences to businesses, individuals and organisations throughout Australia since 2019.
You can easily confirm OneMusic’s legitimacy by checking with various official websites, such as The Australian Business Licence and Information Service and the Australian Copyright Council.
The performing right organisations behind OneMusic have been licensing the use of music for almost 100 years. Launched in 2019, OneMusic is a joint initiative of APRA AMCOS and PPCA. In an effort to simplify the licensing process for customers, one licence was created to cover music use by songwriters, publishers, recording artists, record labels and composers.
"Our Tasting Bar & Brewery in Newtown is the physical home of our beer & gin, and the spiritual home of our whole company. The vibe we set in here mirrors the vibe we send out to the whole of Australia.
Here at Young Henrys we have always been super supportive of our local music scene, from slinging beers to bands practising down the road, to presenting tours for acts travelling around the country. Everyone at YH lives and breathes for our community, and music is a massive part of that."
-Ross Tipper, Young Henrys.
"We are keen to see musicians paid fairly, particularly up and coming ones. Live music has become a very important part of our business so we have made some great friends within the live music world."
The cost of a licence depends on the devices you use, how you use music, and the music source.
The Hotels, Pubs, Taverns, Bars & Casinos scheme has been formulated after extensive consultations with your industry and is designed for a range of hospitality businesses using our music that entertain, feed or accommodate their customers. This could be any venue from a pub, bar, tavern and casino to an accommodation hotel or resort. By purchasing this licence and declaring the uses you require you’ll be covered for OneMusic’s rights when playing background music, including on TV screens in the bar and music in dining areas, featured and live music, recorded music for dance, DJs, and more. Learn more about how the licence fee for this scheme was set.
Download your licence agreement (PDF 191kb)
Playing music in-store can be as important as how you display your products, the lighting you choose and your store fit-out. Music has a profound effect on customer behaviour, keeping people in-store longer and improving the customer experience.
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Australian Hotels Association NSW
Independent Brewers Association
Small Business Association of Australia
Hospitality NT
Tasmanian Hospitality Association
Australian Hotels Association South Australia (AHA SA)
The Tax Institute
Australian Hotels Association (National)