You want the perfect atmosphere for your business. The right song at the right time keeps customers longer, motivates your team, and makes your brand feel professional. But one question comes up again and again: Am I using music legally?

If you've ever wondered "Can I get fined for playing music in my business?" or "What licenses do I actually need?", you're in the right place.

Why Is Business Music Different From Personal Listening?

Paying for a streaming platform like Spotify Premium isn't enough. When you play music in your store, restaurant, gym, hotel, or office, you're making a commercial use of that music. This is completely different from personal use, and the law requires specific licenses to protect the rights of artists, songwriters, and producers.

Spotify's own terms of service explicitly state that the platform is for personal, non-commercial use only. Playing it in a public-facing business, even with a paid subscription, is not authorized and can result in fines from performing rights organizations. The same applies to Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube, and any other consumer streaming service.

Every time a song plays in your business, two separate legal uses happen simultaneously:

• Storage: The music is stored or cached on a system (like Brandtrack's platform)
• Public performance: The music is played publicly through speakers in a commercial environment

These two uses require payments to the people behind that music. But paying every artist individually would be impossible. That's why every country has Collective Management Organizations (CMOs), also called Performing Rights Organizations (PROs) in the US, that manage music rights and issue licenses on behalf of creators.

Why Are Multiple Organizations Involved in Music Licensing?

Every song has two different types of rights holders:

• Authors and composers (who wrote the song)
• Record labels / phonogram producers (who produced the recording)

These groups are represented by different CMOs. For example, in the United States, authors are represented by organizations like ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and GMR, while record labels are represented by SoundExchange. This structure is standard worldwide; each country has its own CMOs managing the same split between composition rights and recording rights.

For businesses, this means that getting fully licensed often involves dealing with more than one organization. Negotiating directly with PROs can cost $2,000 or more per year per location in the US alone, depending on your business type, square footage, and how the music is used.

What Does Brandtrack Handle for You?

Here's the good news: Brandtrack always covers all licenses related to music storage on its platform. This is built into the service so you don't have to worry about where the music is hosted or who needs to be paid for that part. Brandtrack handles it automatically.

All Brandtrack plans include commercial music licenses, with agreements covering the majority of collective management societies worldwide, including ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and GMR in the US, plus their international equivalents across 35 countries.

As for the license of public performance, it depends on your country. Playing music in a commercial space is legally considered a public performance, and this license must be paid to authors, composers, and record labels.

Here's where it varies:

• Some countries: Local regulations allow Brandtrack to manage this license for you as part of your subscription
• Other countries: Law requires the business owner to obtain this license directly from local CMOs

But don't worry. When you need to handle it yourself, Brandtrack tells you exactly which organizations to contact, what license you need, and how to do it quickly. We guide you every step of the way.

Can You Get Fined for Playing Unlicensed Music?

Yes. In the United States, copyright law sets statutory damages starting at $750 per song infringed, and penalties can reach $30,000 per violation or up to $150,000 if the infringement is deemed willful. PROs like ASCAP and BMI actively monitor businesses through site visits, social media, and online event calendars. Enforcement typically starts with a warning letter, but ignoring it can escalate to lawsuits.

This isn't limited to the US. Most countries have similar enforcement mechanisms through their local CMOs. The risk applies to any business playing music publicly, whether it's a single café or a chain with hundreds of locations.

What Licenses Do You Need? A Quick Summary

Using music in your business requires two things:

1. Music storage license: Brandtrack covers this automatically in all plans
2. Public performance license: Brandtrack covers this in some countries; in others, your business handles it directly with local CMOs (with Brandtrack's guidance)

With plans starting at $12 per zone per month and setup in under 5 minutes, Brandtrack makes it simple to use music legally across all your locations, no special hardware required, no PRO paperwork to navigate on your own.

Your Peace of Mind

Our goal is to help you use music in your business with complete peace of mind, knowing everything is 100% legal. With Brandtrack, you don't have to be a music licensing expert. We handle the technical and legal complexity, including 250+ pre-curated playlists, AI-powered Smart Playlists that adapt to your business in real time, and commercial licenses built into every plan, while you focus on what matters: creating the best experience for your customers.