Playing music in a shop or waiting room: public performance, ASCAP and BMI
Background music is one of the easiest ways to shape the mood of a shop, a salon or a waiting room. It also raises a question many owners only meet later: do you need a license to play it? This article explains the basic idea in U.S. law, what one well-known exemption actually says, and what changes if the sound is not music at all.
This is general information about U.S. law, not legal advice. Other countries have their own rules and their own societies. If you are unsure, ask the licensing organizations or a lawyer. The statute text below is from the U.S. Copyright Office's publication of Title 17, as read on November 3, 2026.
Music for customers is a public performance
Section 106 of the Copyright Act gives the owner of a musical work the exclusive right "to perform the copyrighted work publicly". Playing a recording for customers in a place open to the public is generally treated as a public performance of the songs on it, whether it comes from a CD, a file or a streaming app. The right belongs to the songwriters and publishers.
In practice, many owners get permission through performing rights organizations such as ASCAP and BMI, which license the public performance of the songs of the writers and publishers they represent. ASCAP's help pages for businesses answer questions such as why a business needs a license to play music and what a public performance is (see the link below). A personal streaming subscription is not that kind of license.
The small-business exemption in Section 110(5)
Owners often hear that small shops are exempt. Section 110(5)(B) does create an exemption, but it is narrower than the rumor. It covers a "communication by an establishment of a transmission or retransmission embodying a performance or display of a nondramatic musical work" that is "originated by a radio or television broadcast station licensed as such by the Federal Communications Commission", or, for audiovisual transmissions, by a cable system or satellite carrier. In other words, the text is about playing a licensed broadcast. It does not mention CDs, music files or streaming services.
There are also limits on size and equipment. For an establishment that is not a food service or drinking establishment, the space must have less than 2,000 gross square feet, or, if it is larger, the equipment must stay within limits: for audio, at most 6 loudspeakers (no more than 4 in any one room), and for audiovisual means, at most 4 audiovisual devices, no more than 1 in any one room, none with a diagonal screen larger than 55 inches. For a food service or drinking establishment the size threshold is 3,750 gross square feet. Other conditions apply as well, and the exemption does not turn a streaming playlist into a licensed broadcast. Read the full section, or ask a lawyer, before relying on it.
What changes if the sound is not music
Performing rights organizations license musical works. A recording of waves, a campfire or birds is not a musical work, so there is usually no song for a society to license. That does not remove every question: each recording has its own license terms, and some "nature" tracks include music. If you want to avoid music-licensing questions altogether, choose a source whose audio is natural sound only, and keep its license on file.
A short checklist
- Find out what is actually being played: songs, a broadcast, or natural sound.
- For songs, ask which organizations license them in your country, and what they require of a business of your size.
- Do not assume a personal subscription covers your venue (streaming services, YouTube).
- Keep the license or written permission where staff can find it.
keensense, for comparison
keensense is a service run by the people who wrote this article. It shows natural scenery in a web browser. Its sound is recorded natural sound (waves, a campfire, rain, birds), with no music. Our commercial page says that playing it needs no ASCAP, BMI or PRS license; that is our own statement, so please read the license terms and check with your own advisor if it matters to you.
- Setup: open a dedicated URL in the browser of a TV, tablet or PC you already have. No account, sign-up, installation or special hardware (an internet connection is required).
- Scenes: campfire, candle, forest (five times of day), beach, park (cherry blossoms in spring, autumn leaves), night sky and a sea of clouds. A venue can choose one, or let the scene change automatically every 15, 30 or 60 minutes.
- Price: $69 per month or $690 per year. One license covers one location, with any number of screens inside that facility. A 7-day money-back guarantee applies if it doesn't work on your equipment or network.