How to Obtain a Public Performance License: PROs, Fees, and Exemptions

To obtain a public performance license, apply directly to each performing rights organization (PRO) whose catalog your business plays — typically ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and sometimes GMR — through their websites, supply details about your space and how you use music, and pay the annual fee each one sets. Federal copyright law gives songwriters and publishers the exclusive right to control public performances of their work,¹ and “public” reaches almost any space beyond a private home: restaurants, retail stores, gyms, salons, hotels, medical offices, bars, and event venues.² Piping in background music counts. Hiring a DJ counts. Whether anyone is actually listening does not matter.

Which PROs You Need to License With

Each PRO controls a different catalog, and one PRO’s license does not cover another’s songs. Because co-written songs often have writers spread across different organizations, most businesses that play a wide variety of music end up carrying licenses with at least three PROs.³

ASCAP represents over 1.1 million songwriters, composers, and publishers, covering more than 20 million works.³
BMI licenses more than 22.4 million works on behalf of its affiliated songwriters and publishers.⁴
SESAC is smaller, with over 1.5 million songs, and offers customized blanket licenses through its online portal.⁵
GMR (Global Music Rights) is the newest and smallest. There is no self-service portal; you email licensing@globalmusicrights.com and negotiate a rate based on your business type and how you use music.⁶

A song co-written by an ASCAP member and a BMI member requires clearance from both. GMR’s catalog is small but includes some high-profile artists, so whether you need it depends on your playlist.

How to Apply

ASCAP and BMI both accept applications through online portals. SESAC provides a “Licensing Quick Start” tool that identifies the right license type before routing you to its portal.⁵ GMR handles the whole process by direct contact.⁶

Whichever PRO you’re applying to, they will ask for the same core information:

Square footage of the area accessible to customers, excluding kitchens, storage, and parking. This is the single biggest factor in your fee, so check it against building plans or your lease.
Maximum occupancy and seating capacity.
How you deliver music: recorded background audio, live performances, a jukebox, or a DJ. Live music typically carries a different rate than background audio.
Special features such as dance floors, cover charges, and whether music is the main draw or just atmosphere.

Answer to match your actual operations. If your application says “background music only” but you host a weekly open-mic night, that mismatch can void your coverage. Keep a file with your floor plan, occupancy certificate, and a short description of how you use music; it speeds up the initial application and every renewal after it.

What a License Costs

Almost every business buys a blanket license, which grants the right to play any song in the PRO’s catalog for a set period. Negotiating song by song is impractical. ASCAP alone maintains over 100 different rate schedules for different business types.³

For restaurants, bars, and similar establishments, ASCAP’s 2026 minimum annual fee is $502. The fee climbs from there based on square footage, capacity, and how prominently music features in the business. A small café with background music pays far less than a nightclub with a dance floor and live acts. Jukebox-only operations have a lower ASCAP minimum of $237.⁷ BMI, SESAC, and GMR each set their own rates, so your total annual outlay is the sum of the licenses you carry.

PROs generally accept credit cards and electronic transfers, and most offer annual or quarterly billing. If a payment lapses, your license expires, and any music played after that point is unlicensed.

The Venue Holds the License, Not the Performer

When a band, DJ, or solo artist performs at your establishment, the venue is legally responsible for the public performance license, not the performer. BMI states this directly: because the business authorizes the performance of music, the license belongs to the business owner.⁸

This covers everything from a wedding band at a reception hall to a cover artist at a sports bar. A DJ’s own PRO memberships or licenses do not protect your venue. Your blanket license needs to be in place before the first note. Some event venues fold the licensing cost into their rental fees to avoid gaps.

Personal Streaming Accounts Do Not Cover You

Playing your personal Spotify, Apple Music, or Pandora account over your shop’s speakers is one of the most common licensing mistakes. Consumer streaming subscriptions are licensed for private, non-commercial listening only. Using them in a business breaks both the service’s terms and federal copyright law, because the personal license carries no right to perform the music publicly.

The fix is either a set of PRO blanket licenses (after which any music source works) or a commercial music service built for businesses. Soundtrack Your Brand, Rockbot, SiriusXM for Business, and Pandora for Business bundle public performance licensing into their subscription fees, at least for the catalogs they carry. Some of these services clear certain PROs but not all of them, so read the fine print to confirm whether you still need to add blanket licenses on top.

Whether an Exemption Applies to You

A few narrow exemptions in federal law let some businesses skip PRO licensing. They are narrower than most people expect.

The Homestyle Exemption

A business can play a radio or television broadcast on a single receiving device of the type commonly found in a private home — a standard radio or a regular TV — without a license, provided no admission is charged and the signal is not retransmitted beyond the immediate space.⁹ This covers over-the-air radio and TV only. Internet streaming, CDs, and live music are not covered.

The Fairness in Music Licensing Act

Larger establishments can still qualify for an exemption, but only for retransmissions of licensed radio and TV broadcasts.⁹ Streaming, recorded playlists, and live music remain outside the exemption.

Size thresholds differ by business type:

Restaurants, bars, and drinking establishments under 3,750 gross square feet (excluding parking) qualify automatically. Larger spaces must also meet the equipment limits below.
All other retail or commercial establishments under 2,000 gross square feet (excluding parking) qualify automatically. Larger spaces must meet the equipment limits.

For establishments above the size threshold, the equipment limits are:

Audio only: no more than six speakers total, with no more than four in any single room or adjoining outdoor space.
Audiovisual: no more than four screens total, no more than one screen per room, and no screen larger than 55 inches diagonally. The audio component still has to stay within the six-speaker, four-per-room limit.

The one-screen-per-room rule is easy to miss. A sports bar with two TVs in the same room falls outside the exemption regardless of total screen count.

Nonprofit Performance Exemption

A separate exemption covers certain nonprofit performances. The performance must have no commercial purpose, and none of the performers, promoters, or organizers can receive any payment.⁹ The event must either charge no admission or direct all net proceeds (after reasonable production costs) exclusively to educational, religious, or charitable purposes. Even when all those conditions are met, the copyright owner can block the performance by serving a written objection at least seven days before the event. Paying the sound engineer or giving the band gas money can disqualify the whole event.

Alternatives to Blanket Licensing

If the fees do not fit your budget, two categories of music let you avoid PRO licensing entirely.

Public domain music. Compositions with expired copyrights can be performed freely. Watch the distinction between the composition and the recording: a song written in 1900 is public domain, but a 1990 recording of it is not. If you want to play a specific recording, confirm that both the composition and the recording are in the public domain.

Royalty-free music libraries. Various companies license tracks specifically cleared for commercial use. You pay once or subscribe, and no per-play royalties apply. The catalogs do not include recognizable hits, but they work for background ambiance. Verify that the license terms cover public performance; some royalty-free licenses only clear use in videos or podcasts, not in-store playback.

The catch with either option is “exclusively.” The moment someone plugs in a phone and plays a copyrighted pop song over the speakers, you are back to needing PRO coverage.

What Happens if You Skip It

PROs identify unlicensed businesses on their own. Contact often starts with a letter inviting you to get licensed, but no law requires warning before a lawsuit is filed. PROs also send investigators into establishments to document which songs are played, and that documentation becomes evidence in an infringement case.

Statutory damages for copyright infringement run from $750 to $30,000 per work, at the court’s discretion. If the court finds the infringement was willful, the ceiling rises to $150,000 per work.¹⁰ Courts can also award the copyright owner’s attorney fees. A single evening with a 20-song playlist can produce liability that dwarfs years of licensing costs.

Keeping the License Accurate

After you’re licensed, the ongoing obligation is renewing on time and updating your information when your business changes. Expanding your space, adding a dance floor, or starting a live-music night all change the terms your license needs to reflect. A license that describes a smaller or quieter operation than what you actually run carries the same legal exposure as having no license at all.

Renewals go through the same online portals as the initial application. Most PROs send reminders, but set your own calendar alert well ahead of expiration rather than relying on them. Seasonal businesses can ask ASCAP about seasonal performance rates, which carry the same $502 minimum but adjust the fee for operations that don’t run year-round.⁷

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 17 USC 106 – Exclusive Rights in Copyrighted Works
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 17 USC 101 – Definitions
3
ASCAP. ASCAP Music Licensing FAQs
4
BMI. Music Licensing
5
SESAC. License the Best Music for Your Business
6
Global Music Rights. FAQ
7
ASCAP. Rate Schedule and Statement of Operating Policy for Restaurants, Bars, Nightclubs, and Similar Establishments
8
BMI. Music Licensing FAQs
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 17 USC 110 – Limitations on Exclusive Rights: Exemption of Certain Performances and Displays
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 17 USC 504 – Remedies for Infringement: Damages and Profits