Spotify in your shop: why it's not allowed and what you can do instead
Many shop owners and hospitality entrepreneurs play music via Spotify, Apple Music or another streaming service. Understandable — it's cheap and easy. But it's not allowed. Spotify is intended exclusively for personal, non-commercial use. And since 2022, this has been actively enforced.
What do Spotify's terms say?
Spotify's terms of use are clear: the service is intended for "personal, non-commercial use only." Playing music publicly in a shop, restaurant, hotel or office is a violation of these terms. The same applies to Apple Music, Deezer, YouTube Music and all other consumer platforms.
The Amsterdam Court of Appeal ruling (2022)
On 24 May 2022, the Amsterdam Court of Appeal ruled that Buma/Stemra had abused its dominant market position for years. Streaming services like Spotify paid much lower licence fees than commercial music services, while Buma/Stemra tolerated businesses using cheap personal subscriptions for commercial purposes.
The court obliged Buma/Stemra to tighten its own terms and actively enforce them. Since then, Buma/Stemra has been conducting unannounced inspections at shops and hospitality venues to check which music source is being used.
Which licences do you need?
Every business that plays existing music in a publicly accessible space needs two licences:
Buma/Stemra — for composers, lyricists and music publishers (copyright). Rates are based on the number of locations and floor area. For a small shop, this starts at around €80 per year.
Sena — for performing artists and producers (neighbouring rights). Rates are based on the number of FTEs per location. The basic rate for a single retail location is around €200 per year.
Both licences can be arranged via mijnlicentie.nl. Trade associations such as INretail and KHN offer discounts for their members.
What are the risks?
Businesses caught using Spotify commercially risk:
- Back payments up to 5 years from Buma/Stemra
- Fines ranging from several hundred to thousands of euros
- Termination of your Spotify account
- In case of persistent violations: legal proceedings
Why a static playlist isn't enough
There are commercial music services that are licensed for business use. But most of them only provide a catalogue or playlist — and after that, you're on your own. Choosing the right music, aligning it with your brand, adapting to busy periods or time of day: that's all up to you. In practice, this means outdated playlists and music that doesn't match your venue.
Kaires works fundamentally differently. Instead of a playlist, you get full-service music management. The music is continuously tailored to your brand identity, the time of day, expected footfall and even the weather. No manual management, no outdated playlists — music that always fits the moment.
Kai: royalty-free, all included
Kai is our music service, drawing from our own royalty-free catalogue. The compositions don't fall under Buma/Stemra and the performances don't fall under Sena. No separate licences, no back payments — one fixed monthly fee. Smart curation, continuously tailored to your brand and the moment.
For brands that want to skip the rights administration entirely, this is the most carefree route: legal, predictable in cost, and free of Buma/Stemra paperwork.
Prefer existing music? Bespoke playlists
Some venues — fine dining restaurants, lifestyle retail — actually want to work with familiar titles. For that we offer Bespoke playlists: a hand-curated series of playlists with existing music, tuned to your brand and your time of day.
In that case Buma/Stemra and Sena remain mandatory — as they would for any commercial use of existing music. You arrange this yourself via mijnlicentie.nl, or we'll guide you. Either way, the curation is on us.
Summary
Spotify in your venue is cheap, but it's not legal and enforcement has tightened. At Kaires you can go two ways: Kai with our own royalty-free catalogue (no licence headaches), or bespoke playlists with existing music (where Buma/Stemra and Sena simply apply). In both cases you escape outdated playlists, and we keep the music sharp on your brand.
Want to know which route fits your venue? Schedule a no-obligation call — we're happy to help.