What a business needs before it plays music: the five licences
Playing music in a shop, restaurant, hotel, gym or office takes five licences. Two are held by the music supplier and three cover playing the music on your premises. A personal streaming account provides none of them.
Five is the baseline, and it is the position in Singapore. In Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam there is a sixth: the singers and musicians on a recording are entitled to be paid when it is used commercially. They cannot refuse permission, but they must be paid. MUSICVYBE clears every one of these rights, in every market it serves.
The five licences a business needs
Every track carries two sets of underlying rights, and playing it in public engages three more.
The publishing rights belong to the songwriters and their publishers, and cover the song itself: the composition and the lyrics. The recording rights belong to the label, and cover that particular recording. A music supplier needs both, licensed for business use, before it can supply a track to a business. A supplier without them is distributing music it has no right to supply, which is music piracy.
Playing the music on business premises then engages three more licences:
| Licence | What it covers | Who provides it |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Recording rights | The right to supply the sound recording | The music supplier, licensed by the label |
| 2. Publishing rights | The right to supply the song: the composition and lyrics | The music supplier, licensed by the publisher |
| 3. Public performance of the composition and lyrics | Playing the song where customers, guests or staff can hear it | The rights holders, either through a licence the business holds or cleared at source by a directly licensed supplier |
| 4. Public performance of the sound recording | Playing the recording where customers, guests or staff can hear it | The rights holders, either through a licence the business holds or cleared at source by a directly licensed supplier |
| 5. Reproduction of the sound recording | Downloading, copying or caching the recording on a player | Cleared by the supplier for your territory |
A licence covering one of these never covers another. “We have a music licence” says very little until you know which of the five it is.
Why streaming services don’t cover businesses
Consumer streaming services hold publishing and recording rights for one purpose: streaming to individual listeners for personal use.
Each platform passes that same limited permission on to its users, and none can pass on rights it was never given. That is why every major platform’s terms say personal and non-commercial. A business playing a personal streaming account is missing all five licences: the platform is not licensed to supply music to businesses, and it provides no public performance or reproduction rights for business premises.
Holding public performance licences does not fix this. They cover licences 3 and 4, but the music still comes from a supplier that is only licensed to supply it for personal use. Here is what each platform’s terms say:
Can I use Spotify in my business?
What Spotify’s terms say, and why paid plans don’t change it.
Can I use YouTube in my business?
What YouTube’s terms say, and why paid plans don’t change it.
Can I use Apple Music in my business?
What Apple Music’s terms say, and why paid plans don’t change it.
Can I use Amazon Music in my business?
What Amazon Music’s terms say, and why paid plans don’t change it.
Can I use TIDAL in my business?
What TIDAL’s terms say, and why paid plans don’t change it.
Who collects for licences 3 and 4 in Singapore and Malaysia?
The five licences are the same in every market. What changes is which collecting bodies issue licences 3 and 4 to a business that holds them itself.
| Market | Collecting body | Licence it collects for |
|---|---|---|
| Singapore | Composers and Authors Society of Singapore (COMPASS) | 3. Public performance of the composition and lyrics |
| Singapore | Music Rights Singapore (MRSS) | 4. Public performance of the sound recording |
| Malaysia | Music Authors’ Copyright Protection (MACP) | 3. Public performance of the composition and lyrics |
| Malaysia | Public Performance Malaysia (PPM) | 4. Public performance of the sound recording, and 5. reproduction where the copy is made for that performance |
| Malaysia | Recording Performers Malaysia (RPM) | 4. Public performance of the sound recording (the performers’ share) |
Under collective rights management, these bodies grant licences and collect on behalf of rights holders who could never deal with every venue individually. In Singapore, licence 4 has applied since the Copyright Act 2021 came into force in November 2021, as a right for record labels to be paid when their recordings are played in public. IPOS confirms that a licence covering the music alone does not cover this sound recording right (IPOS guidance).
Licences 1 and 2 are not collected by these bodies; they are held by the music supplier. Licence 5 is normally cleared by the supplier too, with one exception: in Malaysia, a PPM licence also covers copies of recordings in its repertoire made for the licensed performance. With a directly licensed supplier, licences 3 and 4 are cleared at source as well, so the business does not need to hold them separately.
What happens without the licences?
A business playing music without the licences it needs is liable for prosecution, and the business operating the premises is the party that answers for it.
In Singapore the governing law is the Copyright Act 2021. In Malaysia it is the Copyright Act 1987, as amended in 2022. Under both, a business playing music without the licences it needs is liable for prosecution, as well as civil claims from the rights holders. Liability sits with the operator of the premises, not the supplier, the installer or whoever set up the speakers.
In January 2026, a Singapore court fined Slim Entertainment, the operator of Catwalk KTV Lounge, S$20,000 in a private prosecution brought by COMPASS. The lounge was charged with 20 counts, 10 for musical works and 10 for lyrics, after it ignored repeated letters and two licensing executives recorded the songs being performed as ordinary customers. A separate prosecution was brought against the director personally. For this offence, a company faces a fine of up to S$40,000 per charge; an individual faces a fine of up to S$20,000, up to two years in jail, or both. (CNA report)
This page is general information, not legal advice. If you have received a claim or a letter from a collecting body, speak to a lawyer.
The direct-licensing alternative
MUSICVYBE licenses directly from rights owners, so all five licences are covered by one arrangement, in territory, in Singapore and Malaysia. There is no separate society position to hold, renew or reconcile.
Common questions
Do I need a licence to play music in my business?+
Yes. Playing copyrighted music where customers, guests or staff can hear it needs public performance licences, and the music itself must come from a supplier licensed to supply it for business use. In total, five licences are involved.
What are the five licences?+
Recording rights and publishing rights, held by the music supplier; public performance of the composition and lyrics; public performance of the sound recording; and reproduction of the sound recording.
Does a personal streaming subscription cover business use?+
No. Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, Amazon Music and TIDAL all limit their services to personal, non-commercial use. Paid plans do not change that.
Is one licence enough?+
No. Each of the five licences covers a different right, and holding one never covers another. A public performance licence for the composition, for example, does not cover the sound recording.
Who is liable if a business plays music without the right licences?+
The business operating the premises. Liability does not pass to the music supplier, the installer or a staff member who chose the music.
Does music in staff-only areas need a licence?+
Yes. Music audible to staff on business premises falls within public performance licensing in Singapore and Malaysia, not only music that customers can hear.
Clear all five licences with one subscription
MUSICVYBE licenses directly from rights owners, so performance and reproduction are covered together, in territory. Fully managed across Lite, Pro and Signature.
Related pages
| Page | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Music Licensing in Singapore | The licences, the collecting bodies and the Copyright Act 2021 |
| Singapore Background Music Licensing Guide | The five-licence framework applied to Singapore, in full |
| Music Licensing in Malaysia | The licences, the collecting bodies and the Copyright Act 1987 |
| Malaysia Background Music Licensing Guide | The six rights in Malaysia, including performers’ pay |
| Indonesia Background Music Licensing Guide | The six rights in Indonesia, and what LMKN covers |
| Vietnam Background Music Licensing Guide | The six rights in Vietnam, and Decree 134/2026 |
| Music Licensing Laws in Malaysia | How Malaysian law applies to music played on business premises |