1Do restaurants need a music licence?
If diners 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 restaurants and bars under 3,750 gross square feet, excluding parking, and larger premises within six speakers total and four per room. It applies to ordinary broadcast radio and television only. A Spotify playlist, an internet radio stream or a phone behind the bar all fall outside it immediately. See our music licensing guide for the full detail.
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 PRO, so there is no performing rights royalty to pay on what you play through the service.
2Programming the service
Restaurants are the clearest case for dayparting, because the same room does four jobs. Build the schedule once and it repeats, with a different plan for weekends if you want one.
| Service | What works |
|---|---|
| Breakfast | Warm acoustic and soft soul around 65 to 75 BPM. Quiet enough for conversation and newspapers. |
| Lunch | Upright bass and brushed drums, 90 to 100 BPM. Lifts turnover without rushing anyone. |
| Afternoon | Downtempo and light house, around 105 BPM, for the flat period between services. |
| Dinner | Low light programming, strings and Rhodes, 70 to 80 BPM. Slower tempo lengthens the table dwell time. |
| Late bar | Nu disco and funk edits, 110 to 120 BPM, when the room turns from dining to drinking. |
You can try the scheduler on the live console on our home page before signing up for anything.
3Zones: patio, bar, private room
Most restaurants are several rooms pretending to be one. Each independently controlled output is a zone, and each zone runs its own station and its own schedule.
- Dining room on dinner programming while the bar runs something with more energy.
- Patio on a separate station, because outdoor sound behaves differently and neighbours have opinions.
- Private dining set quiet, or muted entirely, for a function.
- Restrooms and corridors kept low, on ambient programming.
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. If your dining room is already wired to a Sonos amp, that is the whole installation.
There are iOS and Android apps as well, so a manager can change the room from behind the pass without opening a laptop. And when the internet drops, which it does mid-service, the player keeps going from a cached queue rather than leaving you in silence.
5Announcements and specials
Record your own audio and drop it into the rotation at set times. Happy hour reminders before five, a bookings message during the lunch rush, a last orders notice. They blend into the music at the volume you set rather than interrupting it.
6What it costs
$249 a year, flat. That covers your zones, the full catalog, 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 total 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.
Try it through a full service
Fourteen days free, no card required. Build a day's schedule, cast it to your Sonos, and see how the room sounds before you decide anything.
7Live music, DJs and karaoke
RadioB2B covers the music you play through the service. A live band playing covers, a DJ with their own set, a karaoke night, or a customer's phone connected to your system are all outside it, and those performances may still require PRO licences. If you run live events, budget for that separately whatever background music service you use.
This is true of every commercial music service, not just ours. Providers that imply otherwise are describing their own catalog, not your live programme.
8Questions
Will my guests recognise the music?
Generally not by name, and that is the trade. Our catalog is independent music programmed by people, so it sounds right for the service without being this month's chart. If your concept depends on guests recognising specific hits, you want a bundled mainstream service instead, and our comparison page covers those honestly.
What do I show a licensing representative?
Your Music License Certificate. It names your business and the locations it covers and carries a QR code that opens a live verification page. Most owners print it and keep it by the till.
We have three sites. Does one login cover them?
Yes. One dashboard controls every location, with per-site schedules, staff accounts and usage reporting. Above fifteen locations we price groups directly, so call us.
How long does setup take?
Minutes. Open the player in a browser or cast to an existing Sonos, pick a station, and build the schedule when you have time. The certificate is issued as soon as the account is active.
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.