Music Licensing - The Basics
Under New Zealand law you need permission from music creators to use their music in your business.
This permission is required regardless of how you play music – whether you play the radio, TV, CDs, or use digital music services such as Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube. Simply buying music or paying for a subscription service does not give you the permission you need to play music in a business setting. Your OneMusic licence gives you permission to play essentially all commercially released music from here and around the world.
All businesses that play music, from cafes, bars and nightclubs to retail stores, gyms, hairdressers and pharmacies, need permission from music creators to play their music.
A public performance is the playing of music in a business, commercial environment, or any other non-domestic setting. In these settings, even if a performance is given for free, the audience is small or you are playing music to the members of a club or society, this does not exclude it from being a public performance under the Copyright Act (1994).
Simply buying music does not provide the rights to use this music in a commercial or public setting. Music is sold for private/domestic use, so any use of this music by a business or organisation is a public performance that requires licensing. This includes music in all forms, from live music, to digital music services, even talkback radio and sports on TV.
Licence fees take into account how music is used by different types of businesses and organisations, the value it offers, the size of a business and any other relevant factors that may have been raised by the industry groups we meet with regularly. Click here to find the licence for you.
Whether you're a new business or an established one, if you're playing music you should apply for your OneMusic licence immediately.
Yes it is. The Copyright Act clearly establishes these public performance rights. The Copyright Act also outlines the penalties for anyone in breach of the Act.
No - similar copyright laws exist around the world and music licensing organisations operate in many other territories around the world.
When you hear about music royalties, that’s what we do.
Your OneMusic licence fee is distributed by APRA AMCOS and Recorded Music NZ, who are the companies behind OneMusic. Each organisation has a commitment to their music creators and their own distribution policies.
Every month over 330 million lines of music data is analysed from digital music services, background music suppliers, radio stations, television stations, live performers and more. After minimal administration costs all money collected is paid to our local and international music creators – songwriters, composers, publishers, recording artists and record labels.
Find out more from APRA AMCOS and Recorded Music NZ.
OneMusic is a joint licensing initiative between APRA AMCOS and Recorded Music NZ. Before OneMusic, businesses needed a licence from both APRA AMCOS and Recorded Music NZ (previously known as PPNZ Music Licensing) to cover all copyrights in music. Requiring separate licences was both confusing and time consuming for businesses. OneMusic was created to offer a single music licence covering the permissions needed for businesses and organisations to play essentially all commercially released music in public.
Learn more about APRA AMCOS and Recorded Music NZ.
OneMusic New Zealand is a joint licensing initiative between APRA AMCOS New Zealand and Recorded Music New Zealand. OneMusic Australia is a joint licensing initiative between APRA AMCOS Australia and the Phonographic Performance Company of Australia (PPCA). PPCA represents record labels and recording artists for the public performance of sound recordings. Learn more about OneMusic Australia here.
To be fair to the businesses that hold a OneMusic licence, and to the musicians who created and own the music being played, OneMusic runs a compliance programme. This involves visiting businesses to confirm whether they play our members’ music and if so, following up to ensure an appropriate licence is taken out. Our licensing team provides those using music with all the information they need and are happy to talk through any issues or questions. If a business using our members’ music simply refuses to hold the appropriate licence, legal proceedings are issued to reach a resolution.
Sign in to your online account and use the ‘Cancel music cover’ option from the dropdown menu at the top right corner of your dashboard. You’ll be able to choose from a range of cancellation options and your request will be sent to the OneMusic team for review and processing.
Find out more about why you need a licence and the authenticity of our rights from other industry and government bodies and New Zealand associations.
No. OneMusic is a joint licensing initiative between APRA AMCOS and Recorded Music NZ. Both APRA AMCOS and Recorded Music NZ are non-government, member organisations representing owners of music and the recordings of that music. Music and sound recordings are protected under New Zealand law by the Copyright Act (1994). To find out more about each organisation visit APRA AMCOS and Recorded Music NZ.
While there’s little doubt that music can empower political messages and galvanise supporters, political parties should be aware of the complexity and risks involved when using music for political purposes at events and in videos, whether on social media or in advertising.
Click here to view the Political Parties’ Guide to Music Licensing. This guide sets out risk management factors that political parties and political organisations should consider in advance of using music for political purposes.
Common Queries
Through the membership of APRA AMCOS and Recorded Music NZ and reciprocal agreements with similar organisations around the world, a OneMusic licence grants you the legal permission you need to use essentially all commercially released music from here and around the world - from local indie rock bands to the world's biggest artists. The repertoire is added to daily as new music is created, released and registered. If you have any questions about whether the music you play is covered by your licence please contact us on 0800 800 663.
It would be unrealistic to expect every business and organisation to provide us with complete playlists of all the music they play.
When you hear about music royalties, that’s what we do. Every month we analyse over 330 million lines of music data from digital music services, background music suppliers, radio stations, television stations, live performers and more. We match what is being played and distribute to the songwriters, composers, publishers, recording artists and record labels who make and own the music you play your business.
Yes. Playing music from the radio in a commercial setting is a public performance of that music.
Radio means an electronic device designed to receive and communicate radio signals from New Zealand radio broadcast stations. If you play exclusively radio only in your business the fee is 50% of the published rate on the licence as radio programming includes competitor advertising, DJs, and music cannot be customised.
Radio includes local and national radio stations (for example The Hits, The Breeze, The Rock, ZM, Newstalk ZB), however does not include internet radio stations or digital music services e.g. Spotify.
Yes. When Free-to-air and paid television is broadcast by a business or organisation this is a considered a public performance under the Copyright Act (1994) and requires a licence. It's not just music videos, it's all channels, shows, sports, even movies.
Through APRA AMCOS and Recorded Music NZ, OneMusic holds reciprocal agreements with similar organisations and rights holders around the world. Royalties are collected for the use of other countries’ music in New Zealand, and they collect royalties for the use of our members’ music in their countries.
Your OneMusic licence gives you permission to play essentially all commercially released music from anywhere around the world.
When calculating the premises area of your business, you should include the area where music is played to the public. For instance, if music is played in toilets or outside areas that are open for use by customers, these areas should be included. However, areas used solely by staff such as storage areas, kitchens, staff rooms and toilets etc do not need to be included in the premises calculation.
Square metres are calculated by multiplying the length and the width of your premises area. For instance, if an area is 20 metres wide by 50 metres long it would be 1000 square metres. If you are pacing out the length and width of the premises area, each long stride will be approximately one metre.
When you hold a OneMusic licence you receive the legal permission you need to play millions of songs from all corners of the globe. You can be sure your business is complying with copyright law and that music creators are being paid for the use of their work. You also receive a sticker for your window to show your customers, guests or members that you support music creators.
We understand that there are discrepancies between businesses, from opening hours, number of customers, location, turnover and more. These differences would require additional reporting to OneMusic. Instead, we’ve created simple, easy licenses to accommodate music use across all business types.
Without OneMusic businesses would have to seek permission from every songwriter, composer, publisher, recording artist and record label, for every single song they play.
The OneMusic licence covers you for the use of our music in your business regardless of the source – whether it’s from radio, CDs, or a digital music service.
You should be aware that a OneMusic licence, even when it includes Digital Delivery only gives you permission to use our music in your business. It does not override the Terms of Use for the personal digital music service, nor does it give you permission to use that particular digital music service for a commercial purpose – that permission can only come from the owners of that digital music service.
Even with our licence, the use of digital music services by you in your business may be in breach of the terms and conditions of your end user agreement with that service. You should check with your service provider.
When you play our music in a business you need our permission to do so. Additional permission also applies when using a digital music service, downloading or copying our music.
Under the Copyright Act (1994), these rights are distinct and have different treatments and restrictions:
Digital Delivery covers the reproduction and/or temporary storage (caching) of music copied for the purposes of public performance.
More about Copyright
Find out more about why you need a licence and the authenticity of our rights from other industry and government bodies and New Zealand associations.
Copyright duration differs around the world. For music creators in New Zealand, copyright in musical works continues for 50 years after the end of the calendar year in which the author died. Copyright in sound recordings continues for 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the sound recording was made.
You can find a full copy of the Copyright Act (1994) on the New Zealand Legislation website.
We recommend that anyone with questions about music licensing should contact their own independent lawyer or other legal advisor. If you are looking for more general advice, most industry trade associations are aware of music licensing requirements for businesses and host information on their websites.
Where does the money go?
OneMusic distributes the licence fees it collects to APRA AMCOS and Recorded Music New Zealand - the bodies behind the licensing initiative. After the deduction of administration and operational costs, all licence fees collected by OneMusic are distributed by APRA and AMCOS to their members and international affiliates, and by Recorded Music New Zealand to its licensors.
Both APRA AMCOS and Recorded Music New Zealand maintain their own distribution practices and policies, which are available online:
Recorded Music New Zealand Distribution Policy
APRA AMCOS Distribution Rules and Practices
An important part of APRA’s and AMCOS’ Distribution Practices for OneMusic licence fees is the use of Music Recognition Technology (MRT). By using MRT, APRA AMCOS can help the creators of the music that is actually played get their royalties.
The Audoo Audio Meter™ is a small plug-in MRT device that recognises music played in the areas in which they are placed – for instance, a small bar or a retail space. The device fingerprints songs and sends that data to APRA AMCOS. There are a growing number of Audoo devices already installed in businesses throughout New Zealand. To learn about how Audoo works, and how to get one installed in your business, read more here.
How to apply for a licence
To set up a OneMusic music licence for your business, simply click the GET A LICENCE button for our website and follow the prompts to get started.
You’ll be asked a few simple questions about how your business uses music so we can determine the correct cover. Once you’ve completed the online form, you can create your OneMusic Account to review your details, manage your cover, and view your invoices going forward.
If you need help at any point during the process, our team is available via Live Chat or at [email protected]
When setting up your OneMusic music licence, you will need
Depending on the type of licence required for your industry, you may be asked for the premises size in m2 or how many members or classes you run (for dance or fitness categories for example).
Only the owner of the business can apply for a licence and your details will be required as the primary account holder.
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