Can you play YouTube or YouTube Music in a shop, café, gym or office?
No. YouTube’s Terms of Service allow personal, non-commercial use only, and give streaming music from the service as an example of what is not allowed. YouTube Premium and YouTube Music add their own ban on public presentation, even where no fee is charged.
What do YouTube’s terms actually say?
Two documents apply: the Terms of Service for everyone, and the Paid Service Terms for Premium and YouTube Music subscribers.
YouTube‘s Terms of Service allow you to view or listen to content for your personal, non-commercial use. In the list of things you may not do, they rule out using the service other than for personal, non-commercial use, and give an example:
“you may not publicly screen videos or stream music from the Service”
That example describes exactly what a business does when it plays YouTube through its speakers or screens.
Do YouTube Premium or YouTube Music make it allowed?
No, and the paid terms are stricter, not looser. The YouTube Paid Service Terms that govern Premium and YouTube Music limit the service to personal, non-commercial use only. They also say subscribers must not use a paid service in connection with any public presentation, even if no fee is charged.
Removing adverts does not change the licence. A business that pays for Premium is paying for a better personal service, not a commercial one. The same applies to whose account it is: a manager’s account, a staff member’s phone or an account in the company’s name are all governed by the same terms.
Why is YouTube only for personal use?
Because of the rights YouTube holds. Playing music in a business takes five licences, and YouTube’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.
YouTube 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube, free or paid | No | No | No |
| YouTube 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 YouTube 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, using YouTube outside its terms breaches your agreement with YouTube.
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 YouTube?
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 YouTube in my office if only staff can hear it?+
No. YouTube’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 YouTube Premium include a business licence?+
No. Paying for YouTube Premium 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 YouTube now?+
No. Public performance licences cover licences 3 and 4. They do not change where the music comes from: YouTube 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 YouTube 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.
Can I play YouTube music videos on a screen in my shop?+
No. YouTube’s Terms of Service give publicly screening videos as an example of what is not allowed. A music video playing on a screen in a shop, bar or waiting area is a public screening, and the music in it is publicly performed.
What about a background music playlist or live stream on YouTube?+
The same terms apply to all content on YouTube. A playlist or live stream labelled as background music for cafes or offices is still licensed to you for personal, non-commercial use only, unless the rights holders have given your business permission directly.
Is YouTube Music different from YouTube?+
Not for business use. YouTube Music is a paid service under the same Paid Service Terms as Premium, which limit it to personal, non-commercial use and rule out public presentation.
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 Apple Music in My Business? | What Apple Music’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 |