In the UK, the music licence and the music supplier are two separate costs — most providers charge for the music, not for your public-performance rights.
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"Royalty-free" or "PRS/PPL-exempt" services use catalogues outside the main societies, which is why they avoid those fees — chart music is a different story.
Always confirm the current licence position with TheMusicLicence before assuming any service removes your obligation.
Sonosfera is a fit if you want curated, business-ready playback without paying for mainstream chart repertoire.
Use Sonosfera for eligible catalogue background playback in United Kingdom, then keep DJs, live music, radio, uploaded tracks, venue terms, and local permissions in their own checks.
Sonosfera was started by a salon operator who got caught out by PPL/PRS licensing letters and built the music platform they wished existed. The team behind this blog has spent years inside hair and beauty businesses, clinics, and hospitality venues — booking the bills, dealing with the licensing letters, and learning the hard way that most Spotify playlists don't work for a professional environment.
Spotify vs Custom Channels vs Sonosfera: UK business music
By Sonosfera Team
Direct answer: Spotify, Custom Channels and Sonosfera are not the same kind of choice. A standard Spotify account is not a clean business music source for a UK venue; Custom Channels positions itself as music for business; Sonosfera is a curated catalogue route for venues that do not need mainstream chart playback. If you run a cafe, salon, gym or shop, start with the closest venue path: music for cafes, background music for salons, background music for gyms, or background music for retail, then compare current UK pricing and TheMusicLicence separately.
If you run a UK venue and you are weighing up Custom Channels against the alternatives, the first thing worth untangling is what you are actually paying for. There are two separate costs in business music, and providers love to blur them: the music itself (the catalogue and the player) and the public-performance licence that lets you play music to customers at all. Pick the wrong service and you can end up paying twice, or assuming you are covered when you are not.
This guide is for UK cafe, salon, gym, and retail owners comparing business music services in 2026 — people who want a straight answer on source, price and licensing, not a sales pitch. It compares public positioning across the better-known options, and it is honest about where Sonosfera does and does not fit.
In the UK, most venues that play recorded music in public need TheMusicLicence — a single licence administered by PPL PRS Ltd on behalf of two collecting societies: PRS for Music (which collects for songwriters and composers) and PPL (which collects for performers and record labels). A collecting society is simply an organisation that licenses music on behalf of its members and distributes the royalties. You can check whether your business needs it, and what the current rate is for your venue, directly at TheMusicLicence.
Here is the catch. Many "background music for business" services sell you a catalogue and a player, but the licence is a separate obligation you still have to deal with. Others build their whole pitch around catalogues that sit outside PRS and PPL — so-called royalty-free or "PRS/PPL-exempt" music — which is genuinely how they avoid those fees. Both can be legitimate. What matters is reading each provider's licensing claim carefully and confirming it against the society, rather than against the marketing copy.
The moment you want to play mainstream chart music — the songs your customers recognise — you are almost always back in PRS/PPL territory, whatever the supplier costs.
Current market snapshot
The table below lists providers with a public pricing route or a clear, stated licensing position. Where a provider only quotes on request, it is noted as quote-led rather than guessed at.
Confirm exactly what the licence covers before relying on it legally.
A few providers — including Startle, Imagesound, and Soundtrack — are demo- or quote-led and do not publish standard pricing, so a like-for-like price comparison is not possible from public pages. Worth noting: Soundtrack's own UK guidance is unusually clear that public-performance rights are not included and that businesses should obtain TheMusicLicence where it applies — a useful reminder that supplier and licence are separate.
Where Sonosfera fits
Sonosfera is a curated background-music service built for small venues — salons, cafes, gyms, studios — by people who run them. It plays its own catalogue rather than the mainstream charts, which is the honest trade-off: you are not getting the latest Top 40, you are getting consistent, vetted music designed to sit comfortably in the background all day. That positioning is closest to the royalty-free providers above, and it suits owners who care more about the room feeling right than about playing recognisable hits.
It is not the right pick if your concept depends on famous songs your customers will sing along to. For that, you are squarely in PRS/PPL territory and should budget for the licence accordingly.
A quick buyer checklist
Match the service to your country, venue type, and how you actually play music (in-store player, app, scheduled zones).
Separate the music cost from the licence cost, and never assume one removes the other.
Open the provider's own pricing and licensing pages before you rely on any number or claim.
Keep your invoices and any licensing certificates for the service you actually use.
FAQ
Do I still need a music licence if I use a royalty-free service?
Often you can avoid TheMusicLicence specifically because royalty-free catalogues sit outside PRS and PPL — that is the whole point of them. But the only safe way to confirm your situation is to check directly with TheMusicLicence, since it depends on what you play and where. Do not rely on a provider's marketing claim alone.
What is the difference between PRS and PPL?
PRS for Music collects royalties for the people who write songs (songwriters and composers), while PPL collects for the people who perform and record them (performers and record labels). In the UK both are bundled into a single TheMusicLicence, administered by PPL PRS Ltd, so you deal with one licence rather than two.
How much do these services cost?
Among the providers with public pricing routes here, costs vary by venue, location count, contract and feature set. Several enterprise-style suppliers are quote-led and do not publish a standard rate, so you will need a demo to get a figure.
Can I just play Spotify in my business instead?
Consumer streaming services are licensed for personal, not commercial, use, so playing a standard Spotify account in your venue is not a substitute for a proper business music service plus the right public-performance licence. A purpose-built business service exists precisely to keep that side clean.
If you want a simpler route built around curated, business-ready playback in the UK, review country-aware pricing and compare the alternatives first at /compare/uk.
