By Sonosfera Team
Direct answer: if a UK business plays mainstream recorded music in public without the right permission, it should check TheMusicLicence and keep written proof of the music source it uses. Most venues should check TheMusicLicence for chart or mainstream music. A provider-owned or royalty-free catalogue can sit outside PPL/PRS only for that provider's own playback, so keep the certificate and do not mix in Spotify, radio, DJs, live acts, or guest playlists. If you run a customer-facing venue, start with the right Sonosfera route for your room: background music for salons, music for cafes, background music for retail, or background music for gyms. Then check current UK pricing and PPL PRS separately for any outside music source.
Fast facts
| Question | Practical check |
|---|---|
| Worried about no licence? | Check the music source first: mainstream music usually points to TheMusicLicence. |
| Using Spotify, radio, TV, or chart playlists? | Treat it as PPL/PRS territory unless the official licence route says otherwise. |
| Using Sonosfera or another royalty-free provider? | Keep the provider certificate and use only the covered catalogue through the covered app. |
| Comparing services? | Compare catalogue scope, certificate wording, app control, venue fit, and current pricing route. |
If you play music where customers or staff can hear it, UK law usually treats that as a public performance — and a public performance of most commercial music needs a licence. That single fact catches out a lot of cafe, salon, gym and shop owners who assume a personal Spotify or Apple Music account is enough. It isn't, and the gap between what people think they need and what the rules actually say is where unexpected invoices come from.
This guide is for owners and managers of small UK venues who want to play background music legally without overpaying. It explains what the main licence covers, when a service genuinely lets you skip it, and how to compare providers without taking marketing copy at face value.
The one licence most UK venues need: TheMusicLicence
In the UK, the rights to recorded music sit with two collecting societies, and most businesses are covered by a single joint product called TheMusicLicence:
- PPL (Phonographic Performance Limited) collects on behalf of record companies and performers — the people who made the recording.
- PRS (PRS for Music) collects on behalf of songwriters, composers and publishers — the people who wrote the song.
Since these two societies joined forces, you generally buy one combined licence rather than negotiating with each separately. You can check who needs it and what it costs on the official site, TheMusicLicence from PPL PRS. The fee is not a flat number: it varies by the type of business, the size of the space or audience, and how the music reaches people (in-store speakers, on-hold phone music, a TV in the corner, live performance, and so on). Because the tariffs change, the only reliable figure is the current one — check the live rate at pplprs.co.uk rather than trusting a price you read in a blog.
When you genuinely don't need PPL/PRS
There is a legitimate way around TheMusicLicence: play music that isn't in the PPL/PRS repertoires at all. This is the lane that royalty-free and AI-generated business-music services sell into. If every track is either commissioned, owned outright by the provider, or created by artists who have assigned the relevant collecting-society rights, then the provider should be able to explain the catalogue route — and a reputable provider will give you a written certificate or licence statement confirming it.
That is a real saving for many small venues, but two cautions apply:
- The exemption is only as good as the catalogue. It covers the provider's own music, played through the provider's app. The moment you switch to chart radio, a personal streaming account, a guest DJ, a live act, or a third-party playlist, you are back into licensable territory and TheMusicLicence rules apply again.
- Read the certificate, not the headline. "Royalty-free", "PRS/PPL-exempt" and "licensed" are marketing phrases until a document backs them. Ask for the certificate, keep a copy, and keep your invoices for the service you actually use.
Comparing UK background-music providers honestly
The table below lists UK providers and how they publicly frame licensing. Treat pricing pages as a starting point for a current quote, not a fixed promise — and treat any catalogue-exemption claim as the provider's positioning, confirmed only by its own certificate.
| Provider | Pricing visibility | How they position licensing |
|---|---|---|
| Background Sounds | Public pricing page | Royalty-free, non-PRS/PPL; certificate available on request |
| RadioSparx UK | Public tiered pricing route | Royalty-free background music for UK businesses |
| Tribe of Noise for Business | Public business pricing route | Legal alternative to consumer streaming; positioned against PRS/PPL fees for chart music |
| Auracle Sound | Public app-subscription route | Licensed background music for business |
A few providers — including Startle, Imagesound and Soundtrack — don't publish standard pricing and work on a quote or demo basis, so they're left out of the price table above. They are still worth a mention for the opposite reason: rather than claiming to remove your obligations, they openly explain that most UK businesses need PPL/PRS, and some build that licensing into their service. That honesty is a useful signal when you're weighing a "you'll never pay PRS again" pitch against one that says "here's how the licensing actually works." You can see Startle's own framing on its music and atmosphere pages.
Where Sonosfera fits
Sonosfera is a background-music service built by a salon owner for small UK venues, and it sits in the royalty-free lane: the catalogue is original music made for businesses, so playing it through the app doesn't pull you into PPL/PRS for those tracks. The honest version of the pitch is the same caution as above — that covers Sonosfera's own catalogue, not chart radio, a personal Spotify account, or a guest playlist you bring in.
If you want to weigh it against the alternatives, the UK comparison page lines the options up side by side, and the best background music services for UK businesses guide goes deeper on fit. Pricing is on the country-aware pricing page, and you can start a free trial before committing.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a licence to play the radio or Spotify in my cafe?
Usually yes. Playing the radio, a TV, or a personal streaming account where customers or staff can hear it counts as a public performance of music that is in the PPL/PRS repertoires, so TheMusicLicence applies. Personal Spotify and Apple Music accounts are licensed for personal use only, not business use.
What is the difference between PPL and PRS?
PPL collects royalties for the record label and performers who made the recording; PRS collects for the songwriters and publishers who wrote the song. Most UK businesses cover both at once through the single combined TheMusicLicence rather than dealing with each society separately.
How much does TheMusicLicence cost?
It depends on your business type, your size or audience, and how you use music, so there is no single figure. Get the current rate for your specific situation directly from pplprs.co.uk.
Can a royalty-free service really let me skip PPL and PRS?
Yes, when the music genuinely sits outside the PPL/PRS repertoires — for example commissioned, provider-owned or AI-generated tracks — and the provider gives you a certificate confirming it. The exemption only covers that provider's catalogue played through its app; switch to chart music, radio, a DJ or an outside playlist and the standard licensing rules return.
Sources
- TheMusicLicence (PPL PRS) — PPL PRS Ltd
- Background Sounds pricing — Background Sounds
- Background Sounds — Background Sounds
- Startle music — Startle
- Startle atmosphere — Startle
- Imagesound music — Imagesound
Next step
Before you commit, match the service to your venue type and the music you actually play, then compare the options on /compare/uk. If you'd rather use an own-catalogue route for everyday background music, review country-aware pricing and start there.
