1Do you need a music licence?
If customers can hear commercially released music, that is a public performance under section 106(4) of the Copyright Act, and you need permission. In practice that means licences from ASCAP, BMI, SESAC and GMR, because a normal playlist crosses all four repertoires.
The exemption in section 110(5)(B) covers other businesses under 2,000 gross square feet, excluding parking, or larger premises staying within six loudspeakers and no more than four in any one room. It applies to ordinary broadcast radio and television only. A streaming account, an internet radio station or a phone plugged into the system all fall outside it immediately. Our music licensing guide works through it in full.
RadioB2B removes the question. Every track is licensed at source through RadioPRO Ltd, a UK collective management organisation, and none is registered with a US performing rights organization, so no performing rights royalty arises on what you play through the service.
2Programming the floor by session
Gym traffic is unusually predictable, which makes scheduling easy. Match tempo to who is actually in the building.
| Period | What works |
|---|---|
| Early morning | Steady 120 to 128 BPM for the pre-work crowd, who want momentum without aggression. |
| Mid morning | Around 105 to 115 BPM. Quieter hours, often an older membership, longer sessions. |
| Afternoon | Back to 115 to 125 BPM as the after-school and shift-work traffic builds. |
| Evening peak | The busiest block. 125 to 135 BPM, held there, because this is the session people judge the gym on. |
| Late | Ease down to 110 BPM for the last hour, which encourages the room to empty on time. |
You can try the scheduler on the live console on our home page before signing up for anything.
3Zones: floor, studio, reception, changing rooms
Four areas with genuinely different jobs, and each is its own zone.
- The weights and cardio floor on the tempo schedule above.
- The studio muted by default, so it never fights an instructor running their own class audio.
- Reception markedly quieter. Staff sell memberships here and need to be heard.
- Changing rooms on low ambient programming, which also masks conversation.
4Hardware you already own
There is nothing to buy and nothing to install. The player runs in any browser and casts directly to Sonos, Chromecast and AirPlay. There are iOS and Android apps as well, so staff can change a zone without opening a laptop, and when the internet drops the player keeps going from a cached queue rather than leaving you in silence.
5Class timetables and member messages
Record your own audio and schedule it. A reminder that the spin class starts in ten minutes, a personal training offer during quiet hours, or a notice about opening times over a holiday.
6What it costs
$249 a year, per year, flat, music included. That covers the full catalog, background music video channels for any screens, the scheduler, your own announcements, staff accounts and the Music License Certificate. It does not scale with your square footage or your occupancy, which is the mechanism that makes PRO fees climb.
For comparison, minimum ASCAP and BMI general licences alone totalled roughly $817 a year in 2026, before SESAC and GMR, and before any back-dated period they may assess. Bundled commercial music services typically run $27 to $45 per location per month. See how the routes compare.
Try it in your own space
Fourteen days free, no card required. Build a day's schedule, cast it to the speakers you already have, and hear how the room changes before you decide anything.
7Instructor-led classes are a separate question
RadioB2B covers the music you play through the service. An instructor streaming their own playlist from a phone into the studio system is outside it, and that music may carry its own PRO liability. If your classes run on instructor-supplied audio, deal with that separately, whatever background music service you use.
8Questions
Do gyms need a music license?
Yes, if members can hear commercially released music. That is a public performance under 17 U.S.C. 106(4). PROs treat fitness premises as a higher tier than ordinary background music, because music is considered part of the service.
Why are gym music licence fees higher than for a shop?
Rate schedules weight premises where music is a feature of the experience rather than incidental. Class programming, floor area and membership numbers all push a fitness venue up the schedule.
Does this cover music played by class instructors?
No. RadioB2B covers music played through the service. An instructor connecting a personal device to the studio system is outside that, and should be handled separately.
Can reception play something different to the gym floor?
Yes. Each independently controlled output is a zone with its own station, schedule and volume, so reception can stay conversational while the floor holds tempo.
Cost figures are indicative 2026 published minimums and typical market pricing, not quotations. General information, not legal advice. See our Terms of Use and Service Agreement.