What every venue owner needs to know about music licensing – The law, fines, and infringement

What every venue owner needs to know about music licensing – The law, fines, and infringement

What's the fine for playing music without a licence?

A penalty from a copyright infringement is not called a 'fine'. They are called 'Damages', but they still reflect costs a Court says a business has to pay for infringing. Businesses are often unaware they may be infringing copyright when playing music in their premises and, if a business plays music protected by copyright without permission, it can end in legal proceedings with thousands of dollars in damages payable by that business.

Copyright laws and publicly performing music in Australian businesses

Playing music in a public place without the permission of the owners of the copyright in that music can result in an infringement of the copyright in that music. 

Under Australian Copyright Legislation, you are not permitted to ‘publicly perform’ music in a business without the appropriate permission from the owners of the copyright in that music. That is, businesses must seek permission from the owners of music for the right to play that music to the public, such as customers or staff. 

So, whether you play music in your business from a radio, CD player, TV, or a music streaming service, permission from the copyright owner is required when it is publicly performed outside of a domestic setting. A public performance music licence provides music users with the permission they need to

What music requires a public performance music licence?

The vast majority of commercial music heard on radio or available on streaming services is protected by copyright. This means that for most music you will need to get permission from the copyright owner of that music before you perform that music in public.

OneMusic has been authorised by the owners or controllers of copyright in almost all musical works (the written songs) and the recordings of those musical works from around the world to give permission to music users in Australia to publicly perform that music.

There is music that businesses can publicly perform without a public performance licence, which is sometimes called ‘royalty free’ music. It is very unlikely that this type of music is the popular music that you have heard on radio, but it is open for each business to identify and use authentic ‘royalty free’ music if that suits their needs. Because genuine ‘royalty free’ music is either not protected by copyright, or the owners have chosen not to seek public performance royalties, it is often the case that a public performance music licence will not be required when that music is the only type played publicly at the premises.

Purchase a public performance music licence to avoid additional costs 

Failing to obtain a public performance music licence not only denies artists their hard-earned income, it can also have significant financial consequences for your business. 

In one case, a Melbourne cafe and bar was fined nearly $200,000 for playing music without a licence when the an Australian court found that the business owner flagrantly disregarded the rights of musicians, and failed to license the public performance of recorded music despite numerous attempts at contact.

Recently, in a copyright infringement case brought by the Australasian Performing Right Association, a popular South Australian karaoke venue was ordered to pay $136,000 for failure to hold a valid licence for the public performance of music at the venue. This included $70,000 in additional court-ordered damages and $10,000 in legal costs.

Copyright laws exist to enable artists to earn income for their creative works, so it is important that when a business publicly performs music, they ensure they have the appropriate permissions and, where necessary, pay for the appropriate public performance music licence. 

In short, businesses that play music in public often require a public performance music licence to ensure they are not in breach of Australia’s copyright laws. By securing a OneMusic public performance licence, business can support music makers while also remaining copyright complaint and avoiding the significant financial cost that an infringement of copyright could entail.