7 November 2023
Learn what royalty free music really means, how it works, and how to check if a track is safe to use for business or content.
The terms ‘royalty-free’ music and ‘PPCA-free’ music can mean lots of different things and they don’t always mean that you don’t need a OneMusic Australia licence. True ‘royalty-free’ music is where all the copyright owners of the recording of the music as well the song itself (the lyrics, melody, etc.) have came to prior payment and use arrangements and agree not to be paid ongoing royalties like most songs generate. True royalty-free music is rare.
Not all music that is called ‘royalty-free’ music is the same. Sometimes it could mean that just the recording is ‘royalty free’ and that the underlying written songs still require an ongoing payment to the creators.
A recording may be ‘royalty-free’ because the supplier already has the permission from the record label that owns the recording, or it could be that the supplier has themselves arranged for a ‘sound-a- like’ recording to be made (sometimes this is called ‘PPCA-free’).
Unfortunately, in our experience, often what is sometimes called ‘royalty-free’ music is in fact not entirely ‘free’ from the payment of ongoing royalties and that you may still require a licence from OneMusic Australia.
You may think that royalty free is a cheap option, but like anything you only get what you pay for. If you’re happy with a much smaller catalogue of music then royalty free may be OK for you. If you want your customers to feel the groove with familiar music, OneMusic has you covered.
Getting a licence ensures music creators are rightly paid for their creations. They rely on compensation for the services they provide, just as a business does. To find out what a licence for your business may cost, read more.
Download the information sheet (PDF 258kb)
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Public performance music licensing is where the owners of copyright in music grant permission for others to play their music in a public setting. In practice, music is publicly performed when played at retail stores, public events, like food and wine festivals, and in restaurants and bars, gyms, and dance schools.
Read moreIn most cases, businesses incl pubs, shops, gyms, dance schools, child care services and many more need to have permission to play music for their customers or staff. For most of the world’s commercially-available music, you can get that permission through a licence from a music rights organisation in your country. Publicly using music that is protected by copyright without permission could be infringing copyright, which is contrary to Australian law.
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