The basic rule: public performance requires a license
When music is played in a commercial setting where customers or clients can hear it, that is a "public performance" under copyright law. Rights organizations — also called collecting societies or performing rights organizations (PROs) — exist to collect fees on behalf of composers and publishers for those performances.
In Sweden that is STIM. In Germany, GEMA. In the UK, PRS. In Norway, TONO. Each one covers a national repertoire, and many have bilateral agreements that extend their reach internationally.
What they can bill you for
Rights organizations can legitimately invoice your venue for playing music that is registered in their repertoire. This includes:
- Commercial radio played through speakers
- Chart music from any source — streaming, CDs, downloaded playlists
- Music from services that use label catalogs (even if those services hold a master recording license)
- Background music providers whose catalogs include registered works
Even if you pay a business music service, that service's license may not cover all the collecting-society fees. Many services pay the PRO directly and pass the cost on, or advertise "all fees included" while meaning only specific societies in specific territories.
What they cannot bill you for
Rights organizations can only collect on works in their registered repertoire. If a piece of music was never submitted to a collecting society, no collecting society has the legal right to invoice you for it — regardless of how it sounds or who plays it.
This is the basis for AI-generated royalty-free music services. If the music is owned entirely by the service and has never been registered with a collecting society, no PRO can claim fees on its behalf.
Specifically, collecting societies cannot bill you for:
- Music owned outright by the service provider, not submitted to any PRO
- Tracks in the public domain (copyright expired)
- Music licensed directly from the rights holder under terms that exclude PRO collection
- Original compositions created for your venue that have not been registered
How inspections actually work
STIM, GEMA, PRS and other societies conduct field inspections. An officer may visit your venue, identify music playing, and issue an invoice based on floor area, opening hours and venue type. The invoice covers the entire period of alleged unlicensed use — not just the visit date.
If you play a mix of registered and unregistered music, the inspector cannot reliably distinguish them during a brief visit. The burden of proof that your music is outside their repertoire rests with you — which is why a verifiable compliance certificate matters.
The certificate question
If challenged, a venue playing Track Studios music can produce a signed certificate that identifies the catalog, states it is not registered with any collecting society, and links to a public verification page. The inspector can confirm the certificate is genuine. If the music playing matches the catalog on the certificate, they have no legal basis to invoice.
This is not a loophole — it is how copyright law is meant to work. Rights organizations represent their members' registered works. They do not have jurisdiction over unregistered works, no matter how much revenue they would prefer to collect.
Practical checklist
- Identify every source of music currently playing in your venue.
- For each source, confirm whether its catalog includes works registered with collecting societies.
- If it does, confirm the service holds the relevant PRO licenses for your territory — and that those fees are included in your subscription.
- If you use a royalty-free AI catalog, obtain a compliance certificate and keep it accessible in your venue.
- If an inspector visits, present the certificate and ask them to identify specific works they claim rights to. Without a registered work, there is no billable event.