Can you play Apple Music in a shop, café, gym or office?
No. Apple Music is governed by the Apple Media Services Terms and Conditions, which allow Apple’s services and content to be used only for personal, noncommercial purposes. Apple treats any other use as a material breach of the agreement.
What do Apple’s terms actually say?
Apple Music does not have separate terms of its own. It is covered by the Apple Media Services Terms and Conditions, which also cover the iTunes Store.
The first of the Usage Rules in the Apple Media Services Terms and Conditions states:
“You may use the Services and Content only for personal, noncommercial purposes”
Apple goes further than most platforms here: the terms say any other use of the services and content is a material breach of the agreement. Apple Music is one of those services.
Does paying for Apple Music make it allowed?
No. Every Apple Music plan is a paid subscription, and every plan sits under the same Usage Rules: personal and noncommercial. Paying for a subscription buys a personal listening service, not a commercial licence.
The same applies to whose account it is. A manager’s Apple ID, a staff member’s iPhone or an account set up in the company’s name are all governed by the same terms.
Why is Apple Music only for personal use?
Because of the rights Apple Music holds. Playing music in a business takes five licences, and Apple Music’s licences from the labels and publishers cover personal listening only.
Every track carries two underlying sets of rights. 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 before it can supply a track to anyone. A supplier without them is distributing music it has no right to supply, which is music piracy.
Apple Music licences publishing and recording rights for one purpose: streaming to individual listeners for personal use. It passes that same limited permission on to its users, and it cannot pass on rights it was never given. That is why its terms say personal and non-commercial.
A business needs those two supplier rights licensed for business use, plus three more for playing the music on its premises: public performance of the composition and lyrics, public performance of the sound recording, and reproduction of the sound recording. Here is where common set-ups stand:
| Your set-up | Supplier rights for business use (1–2) | Public performance (3–4) | Reproduction (5) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Music, free or paid | No | No | No |
| Apple Music plus public performance licences | No | Yes | No |
| A directly licensed business music supplier | Yes | Yes | Yes |
This is why public performance licences do not fix the problem. They cover licences 3 and 4, but the music is still coming from a supplier that is only licensed to supply it for personal use. The five licences are set out in full on our music licensing for business page.
What happens if a business uses Apple Music anyway?
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.
Enforcement is real. In January 2026, a Singapore court fined the operator of a karaoke lounge S$20,000 in a private prosecution over 20 counts of playing songs without a licence, after the business ignored repeated letters. A separate prosecution was brought against its director personally. For this offence, a company faces a fine of up to S$40,000 per charge. (CNA report)
Separately, Apple’s terms treat use outside personal, noncommercial purposes as a material breach of the agreement with Apple.
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.
What licences does a business need in Singapore and Malaysia?
The five licences are the same in both markets. What differs is which collecting bodies issue licences 3 and 4.
Our music licensing for business page sets out which body collects for which licence in each market. For the local detail, start with your market:
What can a business use instead of Apple Music?
A music service built and licensed for business premises. MUSICVYBE clears the rights at source, so all five licences are covered by one arrangement in Singapore and Malaysia.
Common questions
Can I play Apple Music in my office if only staff can hear it?+
No. Apple Music’s terms restrict use to personal, non-commercial listening, and playing music to a workplace is commercial use whether the audience is customers or staff. In Singapore and Malaysia, music audible to staff on business premises also falls within public performance licensing.
Does an Apple Music subscription include a business licence?+
No. Paying for an Apple Music subscription gets you a better personal service. The permission in the terms stays personal and non-commercial, and no commercial rights are added.
We already have public performance licences. Can we play Apple Music now?+
No. Public performance licences cover licences 3 and 4. They do not change where the music comes from: Apple Music is only licensed by the labels and publishers to supply it for personal use, and its terms still limit use to personal, non-commercial listening.
Can a business be fined for playing Apple Music in Singapore?+
Yes. Publicly performing music without the licences a business needs is copyright infringement under the Copyright Act 2021, and the operator of the premises is liable. In January 2026 a Singapore KTV operator was fined S$20,000 in a private prosecution over unlicensed songs. For that offence, a company faces a fine of up to S$40,000 per charge, and an individual up to S$20,000, two years in jail, or both.
What about songs I bought on iTunes?+
Buying a track does not give you business rights to it. Purchases from the iTunes Store are covered by the same Apple Media Services Terms, which limit use of content to personal, noncommercial purposes.
Can I play Apple Music through AirPlay to the shop speakers?+
The device and the connection make no difference. What matters is where the music is played and who can hear it. Playing a personal Apple Music account through speakers on business premises is outside Apple’s terms.
Are Apple’s terms the same in Singapore and Malaysia?+
Apple publishes its Media Services terms separately for each country, so check the version for your market. The personal, noncommercial usage rule is the core of the licence in each.
Music licensed for business, not for personal use
MUSICVYBE licenses directly from rights owners, so all five licences are covered together, in territory. Fully managed across Lite, Pro and Signature.
Related pages
| Page | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Music Licensing for Business | The five licences, and who collects for them in Singapore and Malaysia |
| Can I Use Spotify in My Business? | What Spotify’s terms say about business use |
| Can I Use YouTube in My Business? | What YouTube’s terms say about business use |
| Can I Use Amazon Music in My Business? | What Amazon Music’s terms say about business use |
| Can I Use TIDAL in My Business? | What TIDAL’s terms say about business use |
| Music Licensing in Singapore | The Singapore detail: licences, bodies and the Copyright Act 2021 |
| Music Licensing in Malaysia | The Malaysia detail: licences, bodies and the Copyright Act 1987 |