Retail Music Licence | Shops & Stores | TheMusicLicence

Music in shops and stores can help to enhance the atmosphere.

Whether you’re playing background music on the shop floor or in back office areas for staff, you’ll usually need TheMusicLicence.

By obtaining TheMusicLicence you will be able to play PRS for Music and PPL music legally and enjoy its benefits whilst ensuring that its creators are fairly rewarded for their work.

The power of background music

Whether you’re playing background music on the shop floor or in staff and office areas for staff, background music in your shop or store has the potential enhance the experience you provide to your customers and staff. The right playlist could even help you promote your products or services!

Turn a shop floor into a fiesta and find out more about the power of background music for retail businesses…

How is my music licence cost calculated?

If you play music to customers on a shop floor (100 sqm or less), your combined yearly music licence for a retail shop could cost around £307 (excluding VAT).

The cost of TheMusicLicence varies depending on the specific characteristics of each retail premises so please contact us for a quote. Before doing so, please ensure you’ve read our Music Licence Quote Checklist for each section that is applicable to you, and have the relevant information ready so we can provide an accurate quote for your shop or store music licence.

Quote Checklist

Background music

The areas where music is played, such as the shop floor, office areas and cafés
The square meterage of each area where music is audible

Specially featured entertainment events, e.g. DJs, discos and fashion shows

Number, capacity, duration and attendance of in-store specially featured entertainment events held per year
The square meterage of each area where such events are held

Music videos

Number of TV screens music videos are played on

Telephone music on hold

Details of any telephone on hold music

Understanding your music licence royalties

To help you understand how much TheMusicLicence could cost, you can view the individual PPL and PRS for Music tariffs that may be applicable to you.

PPL Tariffs

Background music in offices

View PDF
Background music in shops and stores

View PDF
Background music in restaurants and cafés

View PDF
Fashion shows

View PDF
Specially featured entertainment

View PDF
Telephone on hold music

View PDF
Background music - music videos (VPL tariff)

View PDF

PRS for Music Tariffs

Hotels, restaurants and cafes

View PDF
Telephone music on hold

View PDF
Music in the workplace

View PDF
Shops and stores

View PDF

FAQs

Do I need TheMusicLicence?

Under The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, permission is needed from the copyright holders – generally those who create, record and publish music – in order to play or perform music in public (broadly, this means in any other context than a domestic one).
Through their many thousands of members, PPL and PRS for Music manage these rights in the vast majority of commercially released music available, and license that music for use by businesses and organisations in the UK via TheMusicLicence.
This means that, if you play or perform music in your business or organisation in the UK, you will usually need TheMusicLicence. Instead of potentially having to contact many thousands of music rights holders individually for permission to play or perform their music, TheMusicLicence gives you those permissions in a single, simple transaction.

Can I play or perform music by specific artists only?

TheMusicLicence covers millions of songs and recordings, including the most popular and well-loved music not just from the UK but also from around the world.
You can play or perform the music of specific artists only if you wish, but it will not affect the cost of your licence. That’s because the cost is not calculated based on which music artists you play, but instead depends on factors such as the size of your business or organisation and the ways you use music.

Where does the money go?

When businesses and organisations pay PPL PRS Ltd for TheMusicLicence, we pass those royalties on to our parent companies, PPL and PRS for Music (after deduction of our running costs). The royalties are shared between PPL and PRS for Music based on which of their respective licensing tariffs apply to the music usage under your licence, and the costs due under those tariffs.
PPL and PRS for Music each have databases storing details of millions of musical compositions and recordings. Together with a wealth of information about what music is being used by customers, this enables PPL and PRS for Music to determine fairly and efficiently which of their members to pay, and how much to pay them.
This means that, by purchasing TheMusicLicence, you are supporting the future of music by helping to ensure its creators are paid for their work, so that the people who write, perform and record it can continue making the music you love.