Everything there is to know about music licensing in Australia & New Zealand.
All B2B music services in Australia & New Zealand require you to pay music licence fees. Here is a breakdown of how it works.
SoSound is a B2B music service licensed for commercial use in public spaces. SoSound reports to music licensing agencies to cover the reproduction (mechanical rights) licence requirements and you the business pay the public performance licence fees that are particular to your business type and size.
Businesses playing music in a public space are required to pay a music licence to the local Copyright Collecting Society (e.g. OneMusic in Australia and New Zealand, PRS-PPL in the UK, GEMA in Germany, SACEM in France, etc.). This is required to broadcast background music even if the business has subscribed to a legal music service such as SoSound
End-user / online music streaming offerings, such as Spotify, Pandora, Deezer or Apple Music, are only licensed for personal use and businesses are breaching copyright laws if used in a commercial setting.
Some other considerations.
Music is one way to stay relevant and up to date or timeless depending on your customer demographic.
Music is not part of every business’ marketing mix. For many businesses especially in hospitality, if the marketing team understands how music can create the right ambience then it should definitely be part of that mix. When music styling is done well it makes customers feel something; a positive connection to your business. Music is good for business, it also encourages browsing and buying as well as just making customers feel comfortable in your place. The more comfortable they are, the longer they’ll stay. Therefore, paying for that music, including fees, is a good investment.
The proceeds from the fees you pay go towards the artists who created that music - you could take that one step further and say that in creating that music they have also created the vibe you are trying to bring to your business. For many artists, the royalties they receive are the only income they get. A lot of this depends on how you value what music can bring to the customer experience or brand. So much advertising can be done to get people in the door (if it gets people in the door at all); once you have them in-store and at the point of sale, music is a good way to keep them there and happily shopping.
Zones? A zone is an area where the music device is playing the music. Usually one zone per player location.
How much? Pricing in mostly based on the sqm or the number of seats in a commercial setting; the space where a business plays music to the public.
How do you pay? Public performance fees are invoiced directly to the business as an annual fee. The reproduction (mechanical rights) fees are paid either by the business as an annual amount or if the business uses a background music supplier then this fee is paid quarterly by your music supplier.
What happens if you don’t pay? You are in breach of copyright law and your local Copyright Collecting Society will give you options.