Professional Services Music Licence

You can play music in your business in different ways. Whether it’s playing background music for your employees and clients via digital devices or by tuning into the radio. You can play music in the following ways:

• Radio & TV
• Streaming services – this may require a commercial streaming service. Before using platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, Youtube etc, please check that their terms and conditions allow for commercial use before playing music in your business
• CDs, MP3s & other recordings
• Live Music

If you play or perform music in your professional services business, the chances are you need TheMusicLicence.

Under The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, permission is needed from the relevant copyright holders – those people who create music – in order to play or perform music in public

Obtaining TheMusicLicence gives you this permission, in relation to the vast majority of commercially available music. This ranges from grassroots and independent artists and composers through to the biggest names in the business.

Once you have paid for your licence or arranged a direct debit, you will be legally permitted to play or perform the vast majority of commercially released music from around the world, in accordance with the terms outlined in your tariffs and TheMusicLicence Terms & Conditions.

Your licence confirmation will be sent to you either via email or post (depending on your chosen communication method).

If you would like to change your preferred communication method, please our Customer Services Team.

Speak to our friendly team today

0800 0720 808

(8am–6pm, Monday–Friday)

It is easy to forget that music is used all the time within TV programmes, advertisements during commercial breaks and other broadcasts.

TheMusicLicence gives you permission to use the music contained in television programmes . A TV licence only allows you to receive the broadcast signal for the television. If you wish to use the TV in public, such as your business premises you will need TheMusicLicence (see ‘What does playing music ‘in public’ mean?’).

Even if you are only playing recordings in your business or organisation for employees, you’ll usually need TheMusicLicence.

Music that's played outside of a domestic environment is classed as a public performance, even if the music can only be heard by employees in the workplace, canteen or staff areas.

TheMusicLicence gives you permission to play music in your business or organisation for your employees.

If you're unsure about whether you need a licence, please contact us.

Speak to our friendly team today

0800 051 6833

(8am–6pm, Monday–Friday)

Your music licence fees are distributed to music creators via PPL and PRS for Music.

PPL and PRS for Music are both collective management organisations. They issue licences and collect royalties for certain uses of copyright-protected music, on behalf of their many hundreds of thousands of members. They then distribute those royalties to members.

PPL represents record companies and performers for the use of recorded music, while PRS for Music represents songwriters, composers and music publishers for the use of musical compositions and lyrics (for both recorded music and live performances).

PPL and PRS for Music set up PPL PRS Ltd to offer a single joint music licence, on behalf of them both, for playing and performing music in public (see ‘What does playing music ‘in public’ mean?’).

PPL and PRS For Music receive reporting and information on recorded music played by the TV broadcasters, radio stations, music suppliers and UK businesses that they license. In some cases, this information is provided on a track-by-track basis, which is then reviewed against the data they hold to identify the applicable performers and recording rightsholders members whom they should pay.

Where it is not feasible to receive track-by-track usage information, such as from smaller TV and radio stations and businesses, they use a combination of methods to identify the music that has been played. This includes the use of data captured at the point of licensing and through market surveys (in relation to the types of music used by different types of customers).

PPL PRS Ltd was created to provide customers with a streamlined music licensing service – TheMusicLicence – with a single point of contact to make it easier to legally play and perform music in public. PPL PRS Ltd is equally owned by PPL and PRS for Music.

PPL PRS Ltd started trading in 2018. Prior to 2018, businesses and organisations would have had to purchase two separate licences from PPL and PRS for Music instead.

Under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, permission is needed from the relevant copyright holders – those who create, record and publish music – in order to play or perform music in public.

Broadly speaking, this includes any presentation of music outside of a domestic setting. For example, it will include using music in the following ways as part of your business or organisation (for the benefit of customers and/or employees): playing recorded music via any device including the CDs, MP3, vinyl, tape and other records; showing TV broadcasts or other audio-visual content containing music; or putting on live performances of music.

There are a range of tariffs to cover the different uses of music across various venue types. However, the use of this music will usually require permission from the copyright holders and TheMusicLicence will give you that permission, covering the vast majority of commercially released music.