Short answer: BMI music license cost depends on your business and music use. For restaurants and bars, BMI’s current linked rate card, checked October 7, 2026, sets an annual minimum of $550 for recorded or enhanced recorded music, $600 for live music, or $485 for TV/radio alone. The occupancy calculation can produce a higher bill. These are BMI fees for this category, not your total music budget or a salon, gym or one-off event quote.
Some smaller venues using only radio or TV broadcasts may fall within the statutory exception in 17 U.S.C. §110(5). Check the size, equipment and no-admission-charge criteria before assuming the TV/radio fee applies; this exception does not cover streaming or live music.
Sonosfera at a glance
Sonosfera is a background-music streaming subscription for US businesses with its own directly licensed catalogue.
Who it is for: Sonosfera is for US venue owners who want background music and are happy to use its own catalogue rather than request named chart recordings. The US monthly plan is $14.99 a month per zone, checked October 7, 2026; each zone is an independent music stream.
No ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC license needed for Sonosfera music under an active plan. Your subscription licenses Sonosfera’s own catalogue at the business locations on your plan. Radio, a band, a DJ or another music service you add still needs its own permissions. Sonosfera does not pay an existing BMI bill or cover outside recordings.
Limitation: this is an original-catalogue service, not a way to play any track you already own. Check US plans and billing options after deciding whether that catalogue suits your venue.
The restaurant calculation, with its boundaries
Use the eating-and-drinking rate card only when BMI confirms that category fits your business. The worksheet combines the relevant music-use rate with legal occupancy, then applies a minimum. A low occupancy figure therefore does not necessarily produce a low annual fee. This is an estimate from the linked card, not an offer from BMI, and another category may use a different calculation.
Not a restaurant or bar? Start with BMI’s business-category licensing page to identify the right agreement. Retail stores, salons and offices may use different rate cards; the restaurant worksheet below is not their quote.
The BMI restaurant card supplies these inputs:
| Input | Annual rate or minimum | Meaning for the worksheet |
|---|---|---|
| Live music, one night a week or less | $7.10 per occupant | Add the applicable live rate |
| Live music, two or more nights a week | $8.90 per occupant | Use the higher-frequency live rate |
| DJ, one night a week or less | $6.60 per occupant | Use only the highest applicable recorded rate |
| DJ, two or more nights a week | $7.35 per occupant | Use only the highest applicable recorded rate |
| Karaoke, one night a week or less | $5.70 per occupant | Use only the highest applicable recorded rate |
| Karaoke, two or more nights a week | $7.25 per occupant | Use only the highest applicable recorded rate |
| TV/radio only | $1.77 per occupant | Applies only without live or recorded music reported |
| TV/radio-only minimum | $485 a year | Check whether the statutory exception applies first |
| Interactive/other recorded music | $4.10 per occupant | Check the recorded category actually used |
| Recorded/enhanced minimum | $550 a year | Compare with the calculated annual fee |
| Live-music minimum | $600 a year | Use the applicable minimum when live music is included |
The card also distinguishes DJ, karaoke and TV/radio-only use. Within the recorded categories, use the highest applicable rate; do not add every recorded category together. TV/radio-only is not an extra line to add when live or recorded music is already reported. Check the full card for seasonal use and any occupancy calculation without a legal occupancy certificate.
Two worked budgets for the same room
Consider a hypothetical restaurant with a legal occupancy of 100, operating year-round. Using only the card’s interactive/other recorded category gives 100 × $4.10 = $410 a year before the minimum. The recorded-music minimum makes the worksheet result $550 a year. This illustrates the arithmetic; it does not establish whether your particular music source belongs in that category.
Now suppose that same restaurant adds live music one night a week while retaining that recorded use. The applicable rates add: $7.10 + $4.10 = $11.20 per occupant per year. At 100 occupants, the result is $1,120 a year, above the live-music minimum. Both examples use the current linked BMI card, checked October 7, 2026.
Changing the program changes the estimate. A venue should describe its actual use to BMI rather than choose the lowest row. The card does not state an explicit year on the page, so save the version used and confirm it remains applicable when you obtain or renew your license.
A music budget has more than one line
Your BMI amount is one possible rights cost, not the price of supplying the music. Keep the music subscription, speakers and any other necessary rights separate. The US performing rights organization (PRO) guide explains the different organizations alongside the US music licensing overview; the SESAC quote checklist and GMR coverage audit address their distinct cost questions.
Before budgeting a separate fee for background playback, inspect your commercial provider’s current US coverage. Soundtrack states that its US plan includes ASCAP, BMI and GMR licenses, that SESAC music is unavailable on the service, and that uses such as live music, admission and timed exercise can need additional permissions. Its claim belongs to the music and uses it supplies; it is not evidence that your whole premises is covered.
Sonosfera takes a different catalogue approach. Compare its music for US restaurants if an original catalogue suits the room. The US restaurant music-service comparison helps compare providers after checking rights scope. Do not count a provider subscription and a separate society payment for the same use automatically, and do not remove an existing license solely because you have bought a new subscription.
Keep a renewal sheet beside the quote
The most useful record is the one your staff can update when the music changes. Save the applicable BMI category, rate-card version, occupancy document, declared uses, annual amount and license dates together. A new Saturday performer, karaoke night or staff playlist should trigger a review of that record rather than quietly becoming part of the routine.
Copy this short handover into your venue notes:
| Item to record | Your entry |
|---|---|
| Business and licensed address | |
| BMI category and rate card checked | |
| Legal occupancy and supporting document | |
| Background source and its written coverage | |
| Live, DJ, karaoke and other uses | |
| Quote amount, billing period and renewal date | |
| Person responsible for reporting changes |
BMI’s licensing FAQs describe its general-licensing update and the need to keep music-use information current. BMI’s eating-and-drinking terms exclude ticketed music attractions; those performances need separate coverage. For a ticketed or occasional event, use the separate US one-off event guide rather than applying a restaurant worksheet blindly.
Start with the applicable current worksheet, then decide which catalogue you actually want to play. Compare Sonosfera’s US plans if its own-catalogue music fits that decision.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to pay both BMI and ASCAP?
Often, yes, if you license directly and play works represented by both organizations: a BMI license does not authorize ASCAP’s represented works. Check actual repertoire and provider or direct permissions; the US PRO guide explains the distinction.
How much is a BMI license for a restaurant?
BMI’s linked eating-and-drinking card, checked October 7, 2026, sets annual minimums of $550 for recorded/enhanced music and $600 for live music. Multiply legal occupancy by the applicable annual music-use rates, then pay the higher of that calculation and the highest applicable minimum. This is a category-specific estimate, not a quote for every business.
Does Sonosfera cost the same as a BMI license?
Sonosfera is a music subscription, not a BMI license or an invoice-payment service. Its US monthly plan costs $14.99 a month per zone, checked October 7, 2026, and licenses its own catalogue at plan locations while the plan is active; outside music needs separate permissions.
Can I cancel BMI immediately after switching music providers?
Check your BMI agreement’s termination terms and every music source still used at the venue before requesting cancellation. A new background subscription does not resolve an existing bill or provide rights for a band, television or outside playlist.
