Direct answer: Yes. UK nail salons must hold a valid music licence for any music audible to clients or staff — including Spotify, Apple Music, radio, or CDs. TheMusicLicence from PPL PRS Ltd is the standard route, starting at approximately £238.33/year + VAT. Alternatively, services like Sonosfera include all licensing for £19.99/month, removing the need to deal with PPL PRS entirely.
Fast facts
- TheMusicLicence for a small nail bar typically starts at approximately £238.33/year + VAT.
- PPL PRS inspectors do not book appointments — they walk in, listen, and ask for your certificate.
- Personal Spotify breaks two rules at once: copyright law AND Spotify's own Section 4 terms.
- Fines can be backdated up to 6 years — a 3-year unregistered salon faces significant retrospective liability.
- Sonosfera costs £19.99/month — commercial licence included, no PPL/PRS fees owed.
You are 45 minutes into a complex BIAB set. Your client is relaxed, the salon smells of acrylic and coffee, and your carefully curated Spotify playlist is playing in the background. Then someone walks in asking to see your paperwork.
PRS and PPL inspectors do not make appointments. They walk into high street nail bars, listen to what is playing, and ask for your commercial music certificate. If you do not have one, that £9.99 personal Spotify subscription suddenly becomes a massive legal liability.
Most nail technicians assume that because they pay for a streaming service, they hold the rights to play it at work. The reality is much more expensive.
Do nail bars need a music licence? The legal truth
Yes. If anyone other than you can hear the music, it counts as a public performance.
A nail salon music licence in the UK is required whether you play Spotify, Apple Music, CDs, or even the local radio. The law makes no distinction between a 200-seat restaurant and a two-desk nail studio. If music is audible to clients or staff, you must pay for the rights to broadcast it.
This usually means buying TheMusicLicence from PPL PRS Ltd. This combined licence covers the two separate copyright bodies in the UK. One pays the performers, and the other pays the songwriters.
Here is the detail that catches most salon owners out: PPL PRS can legally backdate your fees up to 6 years if they catch you playing music without a valid licence.
Why your personal Spotify account is breaking the law
Read Section 4 of Spotify’s terms and conditions. It explicitly prohibits commercial use.
