Guide
Do you need a license to play music in your business?
For clinics, spas, acupuncture clinics, hotels, schools and offices: the law in brief, the license names, if any, that the performing rights organizations use for each kind of business, Spotify's own terms, and what to ask.
Last reviewed October 12, 2026.
US copyright law gives copyright owners the exclusive right to perform their songs "publicly", including "at a place open to the public" (17 U.S.C. 106 and 101). ASCAP, BMI, SESAC and GMR each say on their own sites that getting permission to play music publicly is the business's responsibility, and each sells licenses by type of business, such as "Hotels and Motels". Whether your business needs one, and which, depends on what you play and how: a question for your attorney. (Read October 12, 2026.)
This guide is general information about US law and business music services. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your practice, talk to a lawyer.
eleMusic wrote this guide and sells background music to US businesses, so we are not neutral; we draw no conclusion for yours. Dental practices: Do dental offices need a music license?
What does the law say about music in a business?
Section 106 of the Copyright Act gives a song's owner the right "to perform the copyrighted work publicly", and section 101 says that to perform a work "publicly" means:
(1) to perform or display it at a place open to the public or at any place where a substantial number of persons outside of a normal circle of a family and its social acquaintances is gathered; ...
17 U.S.C. 101, US Copyright Office text, read October 12, 2026; clause (2) is left out
It names no kind of business.
Section 110(5)(B) exempts some radio and TV in a business when the transmission is "originated by a radio or television broadcast station licensed as such by the Federal Communications Commission" (or, for audiovisual transmissions, a cable system or satellite carrier), within size, speaker and screen limits and other conditions. Its text does not mention streaming apps or music services; our radio guide quotes its conditions word for word.
What does each PRO call the license for your kind of business?
Each performing rights organization (PRO) sorts its licenses by type of business. These are the names its own pages use for six kinds: a place to start, not a finding that a license fits you, or that none does. No fees are shown.
| Kind of business | ASCAP | BMI | SESAC | GMR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clinics and health systems | "Health Care Facilities License Agreement" (filed; not on its web list) | "Hospitals & Other Healthcare Facilities" | "Hospitals & Healthcare Facilities" and "Professional Offices (Dentists, Physicians, Lawyers and Other Professional Offices)" (filed) | None named; the list has "Fitness & Health" |
| Massage studios and spas | None named | None named | "Health Clubs, Athletic Clubs and Spas" (filed) | None named |
| Acupuncture clinics | None named | None named | None named | None named |
| Hotels | "Hotels and Motels" | "Hotels, Motels & Lodges" | "Hotel" (Quick Start); "Hotels, Motels and Resorts" (filed) | "Hotels & Motels" |
| Colleges and universities | "Colleges and Universities" | "Colleges & Universities" | "Colleges and Universities" (filed) | "Colleges & Universities" |
| Offices | "Business - Music in the Workplace" | "Corporations, Manufacturing Plants, Warehouses, and other Industrial Facilities", whose agreement covers an "executive or general office" | "Music in Business" and "Professional Offices" (filed) | "Music In Business" |
Read the definitions too: ASCAP's and BMI's health care agreements name "clinics" among the facilities they cover, and both exclude some professional offices outside a health care facility.
No list names a class for K-12 schools. The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) describes "a new K-12 School music license" offered with BMI and "a custom music license" offered with GMR; ask your district office.
Can a business use Spotify Premium?
Spotify's help article says:
As laid out in our Terms and Conditions, Spotify is only for personal, non-commercial use. This means you can’t broadcast or play Spotify publicly from a business, such as bars, restaurants, schools, stores, salons, dance studios, radio stations, etc.
Spotify Support, "Spotify for public or commercial use" (US), no date shown, read October 12, 2026
For Premium, Spotify's Paid Subscription Terms say a single-user plan is for the account holder's "own personal use". Personal streaming accounts are licensed for personal, non-commercial use, which is why business music services exist. Can a dental office play Spotify? quotes more of Spotify's terms; our streaming guide covers other personal services.
What does a business music license cost?
We do not print PRO fees. ASCAP's FAQ says "The annual rate depends on the type of business," and the PROs' pages name what a fee is based on:
- Hotels. BMI, recorded music only: "Annual fee based on number of guest rooms and music use".
- Hospitals and clinics. BMI: "flat rate per bed per year" for in-patient facilities, "flat rate per facility per year" for ambulatory care.
- Professional offices. SESAC's filed agreement: "the number of Employees".
BMI adds that "Fees adjust annually based on the U.S. Consumer Price Index." Ask each PRO for its current schedule.
How do you choose a business music provider?
Ask each provider, in writing:
- Who signs, and for which sites? For a school district, a health system or a group of studios, does each site need its own plan?
- Which spaces does it reach? A hotel lobby and guest rooms, a spa's treatment rooms and reception, a school office and assembly hall.
- How does it fit a PRO license we hold? BMI's hotel license, for one, says it does not include "the right to publicly perform music by any commercial music service". Which licenses, if any, cover the provider's music?
- What does it count, and for how long? A location, a zone or a device; the term; renewal and cancellation.
- What does it leave out? Hold music, TV and video, events, classes built around the music, other locations.
Where does eleMusic fit?
Original instrumental music, generated and mastered by eleMusic. No vocals, no ads, no commercial recordings. eleMusic does not register its generated catalog with ASCAP, BMI, SESAC or GMR. Our Terms say eleMusic "does not license the Content through any PRO" (Section 11.1). A plan gives the customer a limited right "to play the Content through the Player, as ambient background audio, within the physical premises of that Location" (Section 9.1). Hold music, video or TV, events and other locations are excluded (Section 9.2), and the Terms leave "deciding what licenses your business needs" with you (Section 11.2).
Plans are priced per location by how many devices play at once, from $15 a month for 1 device; eleMusic does not sell or include a license from any PRO. Every location with an active plan or trial gets an Original Catalog Certificate in its name (what it covers, and what it does not).
eleMusic is PRO-free: it never registers its tracks with ASCAP, BMI, SESAC or GMR, so there is no performing rights fee for the music you play through eleMusic. Radio, TV, music on hold and any other music you play still need their own licenses. We cannot control or verify what others register, and we do not promise that no PRO or other person will contact you or make a claim. The certificate describes our catalog and your subscription; it does not determine your practice's legal obligations. The certificate is not a license from any performing rights organization and is not legal advice.
ASCAP, BMI, SESAC and GMR are trademarks of their respective owners. eleMusic is not affiliated with or endorsed by any performing rights organization.
Setup by setting: clinics and health systems, massage studios and spas, acupuncture clinics, hotels and schools, or all of them on who it's for. A letter from a PRO? Read our PRO letter guide.
What should you ask your attorney?
- Which of our spaces are "a place open to the public" under 17 U.S.C. 101: reception, a treatment room with one client, a guest room, a staff room, a school office?
- Which license would each PRO apply to us, and do our current licenses name every space and audio source?
- Does a PRO license we hold treat music from a background service separately, and how does that fit our provider's terms?
- Could an exemption in 17 U.S.C. 110 apply to anything we play, such as a front desk radio?
- With several sites, or a district or health system signing for many, how should licenses and music plans be arranged?
Sources
- US Copyright Office: Copyright Law of the United States (Circular 92), Chapter 1, sections 101, 106 and 110, accessed October 12, 2026
- ASCAP: Music License Agreements and Reporting Forms (license classes), accessed October 12, 2026
- ASCAP: Music Licensing FAQs, accessed October 12, 2026
- ASCAP: 2026 General Licensing Agreements and Rate Schedules, as filed with the Colorado Secretary of State (Health Care Facilities License Agreement), accessed October 12, 2026
- BMI: Music License Agreements and Reporting Forms, accessed October 12, 2026
- BMI: Music Licensing for Hotels and Other Lodging Establishments, accessed October 12, 2026
- BMI: Music License for Hotel / Motel (license agreement), accessed October 12, 2026
- BMI: Music Licensing for Hospitals, Clinics and Other Health Care Providers, accessed October 12, 2026
- BMI: Music License for Health Care Multiple Use License (license agreement), accessed October 12, 2026
- BMI: Music License for Business Multiple Use (license agreement), accessed October 12, 2026
- SESAC: Get a License (Licensing Quick Start, business types), accessed October 12, 2026
- SESAC: Who is responsible for paying music licensing fees? (May 5, 2022), accessed October 12, 2026
- SESAC: 2026 licensing agreements, as filed with the Colorado Secretary of State, accessed October 12, 2026
- Global Music Rights: Obtain a license (business types), accessed October 12, 2026
- Global Music Rights: FAQ, accessed October 12, 2026
- NFHS Copyright: BMI License (K-12 schools), accessed October 12, 2026
- NFHS Copyright: GMR License (K-12 schools), accessed October 12, 2026
- Spotify Support: Spotify for public or commercial use (US), accessed October 12, 2026
- Spotify Paid Subscription Terms (US), Section 2.1, accessed October 12, 2026
- eleMusic Terms of Service, Sections 9.1, 9.2, 11.1 and 11.2 (version 2026-10-11), accessed October 12, 2026
Hear it in your own rooms.
Eight instrumental stations and one access code, on a tablet or laptop in each room, or cast to your TV. From $15 a month for one device; Practice covers up to 5 devices for $24.
New locations start with a 14-day trial. A card is required and nothing is due at checkout. A reminder goes to the billing email before the trial ends, and you can cancel in Manage billing or by emailing hello@elemusic.fm. Unless you cancel before the trial ends, the card is charged the plan price when it ends. See the Terms of Service and the Refund and Cancellation Policy.