Music Licensing for Bars, Restaurants, Breweries, Wineries and other Eating and Drinking Establishments

Musicians, DJs, entertainers or other vendors are not responsible for the public performance fees. Since it’s the business or organization who hired the performer for the enjoyment of their customers, it’s their responsibility to cover the licensing fees associated with that performance.

Although your digital music subscription gives you access to an enormous catalog of music, it does not provide the necessary copyright clearance to play those songs in a public setting. Once you decide to play as part of your business any copyrighted music publicly, you need permission from the copyright owners.

The term “original music” generally means musical works written by the performing musicians. With over over 22.4 million musical works by more than 1.4 million songwriters, composers and music publishers in BMI’s repertoire, it is very likely that at least some of the original music that you’re using is represented by BMI. BMI fosters the development of up-and-coming songwriters, many of whom perform in businesses like yours, by ensuring that they are paid when their music is played publicly. Performing songwriters have access to our BMI Live program which allows them to submit their setlists from live performances at BMI-licensed venues to be considered for payment. In addition, many times these performers are asked to play a song known by the general public that was written by someone else, like a cover song. Those types of performances also require permission.

Yes. A music license with another performing right organization allows you to perform only copyrighted music represented by that organization. It does not cover public performances of the award-winning music licensed by BMI. This is because each songwriter or composer may belong to only one performing right organization at any given time, so each PRO licenses a unique repertoire of music. For a look at 100% BMI works, go to bmi.com/songview.

A BMI music license can cost a little more than a dollar per day- depending on the size of the establishment, the type of music being played (recorded, live, DJ, karaoke, etc.), and how often music is performed (once a week, once a month, etc.). A venue’s occupancy rate also factors into the cost of a license and is determined by an outside third party, such as occupancy posted by a local fire department. 

Yes, but those agreements do not authorize the performance of TV, cable and radio to the public by businesses and other organizations. However, there are certain exemptions provided by copyright law, including the size of your establishment, how many TVs you have in each room, their screen size, how many speakers you have and if you charge a cover charge. Contact a BMI Representative to learn if these uses need to be licensed for your business.

The BMI Eating and Drinking Establishment license is flexible, offering you the ability to change your licensing fee up to three times per year.

Your licensing fee goes to BMI’s affiliated songwriters, composers and music publishers in the form of royalties. Your payment supports the continued creation of music, which enhances the overall experience for your customers.