Playing the Radio at Work or in a Shop: Do You Need a Licence?

Published 13 September 2026

Putting the radio on in an office, a shop, a café or a workshop feels like the most ordinary thing in the world. In most countries it is also a public performance of the music being broadcast, and public performances need a licence from the organisations that collect royalties for songwriters and record labels — even when the radio station itself already pays to broadcast.

This guide explains the principle, how it works in the United Kingdom, the United States and several other countries, and where 72FM fits. It is general information, not legal advice; the licensing organisations named here will tell you exactly what applies to your business.

Why the station's licence does not cover you

A radio station pays royalties to broadcast music to people listening privately. When a business plays that broadcast to staff or customers, the music is being performed again, to a new audience, in a commercial setting. Copyright law in most countries treats that as a separate use, licensed separately — which is why a shop can need a licence to play a station that is free to listen to at home.

United Kingdom: TheMusicLicence

In the UK, playing the radio, the TV or any other recorded music in a business for staff or customers generally requires TheMusicLicence from PPL PRS, a joint venture of the two organisations that used to license businesses separately: PPL (for recordings) and PRS for Music (for songwriters and publishers). That includes a radio in a staff kitchen, an office or a shop floor.

The cost depends on the type and size of the business and how music is used — for shops, mainly the size of the area where the music can be heard. PPL PRS publishes its tariffs and has a sector-by-sector guide to what you need.

United States: a small-business exemption for radio

The US works differently. Businesses that play recorded music generally need licences from the performing rights organisations — ASCAP, BMI, SESAC and GMR — but US copyright law (17 U.S.C. § 110(5)) exempts some businesses that simply play the radio or TV:

• Food and drink establishments under 3,750 gross square feet, and other businesses under 2,000 gross square feet, can play broadcasts without a licence.
• Larger businesses can still qualify if they limit their equipment: for audio, no more than six loudspeakers, with no more than four in any one room.
• The exemption only applies if no admission is charged to hear the music, the broadcast is not retransmitted beyond the premises, and the station's own transmission is licensed.

Two cautions. The exemption is written for broadcasts from FCC-licensed stations and for cable and satellite transmissions; it does not clearly cover internet-only stations or streams from stations in other countries, so do not assume a stream from anywhere is exempt. And it covers broadcasts — not playlists, CDs or streaming services, which need licences in the ordinary way.

Other countries

• Canada: SOCAN (songwriters) and Re:Sound (recordings) license background music, and since 2019 their joint venture Entandem lets businesses buy the licence in one transaction.
• Australia: OneMusic Australia licenses music in businesses, and says playing the radio in a workplace, shop or café is generally a public performance — with lower-priced categories for businesses that only use broadcast radio.
• Ireland: IMRO represents songwriters and PPI represents record labels for music played in public.
• Europe: most countries have national collecting societies — GEMA in Germany and SACEM in France among them — that license music in businesses.

If your country is not listed, search for its music collecting society and "background music licence"; almost every country has one.

Offices with no customers

A radio heard only by staff is still, in many countries, music played in a workplace, and the UK and Australian licensing bodies both include workplaces in their licences. The exemptions and prices vary, so check rather than assume that a back office is private.

Alternatives to licensing the radio

• Licensed background-music services built for businesses include the public performance licence, or tell you exactly which licence you still need, in their subscription.
• Royalty-free or directly licensed music is available from services that own or license the rights for business use.
• Headphones at the desk are personal listening, not a performance to others — the simplest answer for an office where people want different things.

Where 72FM fits

72FM is a player for personal listening. It streams stations from the public directory as the broadcasters publish them, and it does not provide, include or sell any licence for playing music in a business. If you play any station — from 72FM, a radio set or anywhere else — to staff or customers, the licensing rules above apply to you in the ordinary way.

For listening at your own desk, radio for working from home and radio for focus and coding have ideas, and headphones for radio covers keeping it to yourself.