Music licence for restaurants and cafés ​

Background music, the kitchen radio, the TV on the wall and a band on a Friday night all come under two separate sets of rules. Copyright law says you need permission to play music in public, and for the vast majority of commercially released music that permission is TheMusicLicence from PPL PRS. Licensing law decides whether the council must license the music as entertainment, and a restaurant licensed to serve alcohol on the premises does not need that for music between 8am and 11pm, within limits. One never replaces the other. Copyright law is the same across the UK; the council rules in this guide are for England and Wales.

Why playing music needs permission ​

Under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, the copyright owner has the exclusive right “to perform, show or play the work in public”, and anyone who does it “without the licence of the copyright owner” infringes the copyright. For a sound recording, film or broadcast, “The playing or showing of the work in public is an act restricted by the copyright”.

In PPL PRS’s words, “PPL represents record companies and performers” for recorded music, and “PRS for Music represents songwriters, composers and music publishers”. Between them they issue one licence: GOV.UK says you “now need a single licence from PPL PRS, instead of separate licences from PRS for Music and PPL”. You usually need it to “play recorded music in public or at your business (including background music on a CD, radio or music channel)”, and GOV.UK lists “restaurants and cafes” among the places. It covers live music too. Without it you are infringing copyright, and “You could be sued for damages.”

Radio, TV and streaming ​

• We only have a radio in the kitchen. Do we need a licence? Usually, yes. Radio stations pay PPL and PRS for Music to broadcast, but PPL PRS says that “does not include playing the radio in public, such as business premises”.
• Is a TV licence enough? No. “A TV licence only allows you to receive the broadcast signal”. Programmes, adverts and sport all carry music, so showing TV at your business usually needs TheMusicLicence as well.
• Can we play a personal streaming account? No. PPL PRS says popular streaming platforms “are for personal use only”, and “If you want to play music in your business via a streaming platform you will require a commercial streaming service”. “You will still need TheMusicLicence”.
• Music you bought. A CD or download “permits you to listen to it at home for your personal use”. At your business it is a public performance.
• Royalty-free music. “You do not need a licence to play royalty-free music.” If you think your music is not covered by PPL PRS, it asks for your supplier’s confirmation.

The broadcast exception does not help. Section 72 of the Act lets you show or play a broadcast to an audience that has not paid to get in without infringing the copyright in the broadcast itself. It does not cover an “excepted sound recording”, which the Act defines, in part, as a recording “of music with or without words spoken or sung”, and since 15 June 2016 it no longer covers films in the broadcast either. The music still needs permission.

Music only your staff can hear ​

“Even if you are only playing music in your restaurant for employees, you’ll usually need TheMusicLicence.” PPL PRS treats music played outside a home as a public performance, even if only staff in the staff areas can hear it. Its discretionary policy of not charging “workplaces with only one worker, where music is not made available to any visitors/customers” is a discretion, not a right, and fits only if you work alone and no customer can hear the music.

What it costs. We do not quote figures here. PPL PRS says the fee depends on “the size of the business or organisation and the ways it uses music”, measured by things such as floor area, number of employees or capacity, and the devices you play music on. Ask PPL PRS for a quote.

Does the council need to license the music? ​

This is licensing law, under the Licensing Act 2003, in England and Wales. Recorded and live music can be “regulated entertainment”, which needs a licence, but there are wide exemptions.

• Premises licensed for alcohol. If your premises licence covers alcohol for drinking on the premises, live or recorded music needs no entertainment licence while you are open for alcohol sales, “between 8am and 11pm”, and, if it is amplified, for an audience of “no more than 500 persons”. Music conditions already on your licence are suspended for that music.
• Unamplified live music between 8am and 11pm needs no licence anywhere.
• A café or takeaway without an alcohol licence, or licensed only for late night refreshment, is a workplace: live music there needs no licence between 8am and 11pm for up to 500 people. That does not cover recorded music, and GOV.UK says a licence may be needed by “anyone that provides recorded music to an audience on premises not licensed for the sale or supply of alcohol”.
• Background music. Music “incidental to some other activity” is not regulated entertainment. The Home Office guidance says it depends on the facts, and asks whether the music could “be described as ‘background’ music”. Quiet music while people eat may well be incidental, but in a disputed case the council decides first and, ultimately, the courts.
• Live TV and radio. Showing a programme as it is broadcast is not regulated entertainment.

Can we have a live band without a council licence? Yes, within those limits. Beyond them, for example amplified music after 11pm or to more than 500 people, the music must be on your premises licence or covered by a temporary event notice: see our alcohol licence guide, and for late night refreshment, opening a takeaway. On a review of your licence, the council can also add music conditions that apply even within these hours.

One licence does not replace the other ​

We have a premises licence. Do we still need PPL PRS? Yes. The Home Office guidance says: “The deregulation of licensing for the provision of entertainment under the 2003 Act does not remove the requirement for licences for the use of copyright works.” A restaurant that needs no council licence for its music still needs TheMusicLicence, and a premises licence that covers late live music gives no copyright permission.

Wales and Scotland. The council rules above apply in Wales too. The Licensing Act 2003 does not apply in Scotland, which has its own licensing law, so ask your council there. Copyright law is the same in all of the UK.

A short checklist ​

• TheMusicLicence from PPL PRS if you play commercially released music, including a radio or TV, even for staff only.
• A commercial streaming service, not a personal account.
• Royalty-free music: written confirmation from your supplier.
• Licensed for alcohol on the premises: music 8am to 11pm while open for alcohol, no more than 500 people if amplified; anything else on the licence or a TEN.
• No alcohol licence: live music 8am to 11pm for up to 500; ask the council about recorded music that is more than background.
• Check your licence for music conditions added on a review.

Sources ​

• legislation.gov.uk, Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988: the right to play a work in public and infringement (section 16, section 19), the free showing of broadcasts and excepted sound recordings (section 72, films removed from 15 June 2016).
• GOV.UK, Get a licence to play live or recorded music, an older page last updated 1 May 2019: who needs TheMusicLicence, restaurants and cafés, the single licence, royalty-free music, being sued for damages.
• PPL PRS, Restaurants & Cafés, updated 1 September 2026: music for employees, the radio, who PPL and PRS for Music represent, live performances.
• PPL PRS, Help, updated 5 September 2025: the TV licence and sport, music you bought, royalty-free suppliers, how the fee is worked out, the discretionary one-worker policy.
• PPL PRS, Music Streaming, updated 22 September 2026: personal streaming platforms and commercial streaming services.
• legislation.gov.uk, Licensing Act 2003: music in premises licensed for alcohol and licence reviews (section 177A); incidental music, broadcasts, licensed venues, workplaces and unamplified music (Schedule 1, paragraphs 7, 8, 12A, 12B and 12C).
• Home Office, Revised guidance issued under section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003 (September 2026): broadcasts (16.5), live music (16.28 to 16.30), recorded music (16.35), workplaces (16.45), licence reviews (16.57), incidental music (16.59 to 16.63), copyright licences (16.72).
• Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Entertainment Licensing, an older page from 26 March 2015: when a council licence may be needed, including recorded music where there is no alcohol licence.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. For your own premises, ask PPL PRS about TheMusicLicence and your council’s licensing team about entertainment.