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.
2The hours either side of the main set
A resident DJ handles peak. Everything around it is still licensable, and it is usually the part nobody has planned.
| Period | What works |
|---|---|
| Setup and load-in | Whatever the crew wants, around 100 BPM. Out of public earshot, so it is staff morale, not programming. |
| Doors | Warm and building, 100 to 110 BPM, while the room is still half empty and the queue is coming in. |
| Pre-peak | Lift to 118 to 124 BPM to hand over to the booth with the room already moving. |
| Post-set | Back to 110 BPM as the main room thins and the bars stay busy. |
| Close and clear | Under 90 BPM. A deliberate drop clears a floor faster than an announcement. |
You can try the scheduler on the live console on our home page before signing up for anything.
3Zones: main room, bars, smoking area, green room
Each independently controlled output is a zone, and each runs its own station and schedule.
- The main room for the hours the booth is not live.
- Bars and mezzanine kept lower, so orders can be taken without shouting.
- The smoking area or terrace, usually under a noise curfew and worth its own volume ceiling.
- The green room and offices, out of public earshot entirely.
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.
5Door messages and event promotion
Record your own audio and schedule it into the rotation. A ticket link before the weekend, a cloakroom reminder at close, or a promotion for next month that runs on the nights you choose and stops on its own.
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.
7Questions
Do nightclubs need a music license?
Yes. Playing commercially released music where the public can hear it is a public performance under 17 U.S.C. 106(4). Clubs are also among the venues PROs monitor most closely, and rates rise where dancing is offered and music is central to the business.
Does this cover our resident DJ?
No. RadioB2B covers the music delivered through the service. A DJ playing their own commercially released repertoire is a separate performance and remains your licensing question. This is why the service is priced for the hours around the set, not instead of it.
Why pay for music outside the main room?
Because those hours are licensable too. Doors, bars, terraces and private hire all count as public performance, and a venue that has cancelled its PRO licences still needs the music in those spaces to be cleared.
Can we run private hire on a different schedule?
Yes. Each zone runs its own station and schedule, so a wedding in the main room and a normal club night on the terrace do not have to sound the same.
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.