Abu Dhabi · Music Licensing
Music Licensing for Businesses in Abu Dhabi
What applies from 1 December 2026, who administers it, and where a collective licence stops short of full clearance.
The framework being introduced in December was built in the capital, and it is federal in scope. Abu Dhabi businesses sit under the same rules as those in Dubai or Sharjah; what varies between them is the bracket, set by the type and size of the business and by how music is used.
Getting here took two decades. UAE copyright law has long required any collective management body to hold an annual ministerial licence, and for years none was granted — rights existed, but no mechanism to pay for them did. The Emirates Music Rights Association was licensed in April 2025 as the country’s first such organisation. Music Nation for Rights Management received a second permit in June 2025. The rate card was approved in July 2026 under Ministerial Resolution No. 136 of 2026, and the Ministry of Economy and Tourism published its Collective Management in Music Guide in August.
What the guide sets out
- Annual licences for commercial music use, valid one year and renewable.
- Fee brackets by nature of business, size, and how music is used.
- Higher rates for live music and DJ performance than recorded background music.
- Covered sectors including restaurants, cafés, hotels, retail outlets, shopping malls, gyms and fitness centres, airlines, radio and television.
- Exemptions for government entities, educational institutions and non-commercial charitable events.
- Ten per cent of collections directed to a Cultural Support Fund for Music.
- Ministry oversight including field inspection and review of financial and technical records.
The structural gap
Where a collective licence reaches, and where it does not
Commercial music use engages five separate rights: public performance of the composition, public performance of the sound recording, reproduction of the sound recording, master and recording rights, and publishing rights for commercial use.
collective rights management administers public performance on behalf of member rights holders — rights one and two. In the UAE the two licensed organisations split that work by repertoire rather than by rights type, so each covers the same two rights for a different catalogue. Neither administers reproduction of the sound recording, master rights or publishing rights: those are held directly by masters owners and publishers, and would otherwise be negotiated track by track with each one.
This is why a venue can hold a valid collective licence and still fall short of comprehensive clearance. It is the boundary of what collective administration is designed to do, not a failing of it.
MUSICVYBE licenses directly from the IP owners across all five rights. Clearance attaches to the recordings rather than the territory, so an Abu Dhabi venue and a sister site in another market sit under one arrangement with nothing further to obtain.
What to do before December
Inventory your zones. Fees scale with size and with how music is used, so an accurate count of the spaces where music plays is the foundation of every other decision.
Establish what you hold today. Many operators find the arrangement they assumed was a licence is a consumer subscription, a supplier’s playlist, or nothing formal at all.
Compare routes on coverage, not headline cost. A collective licence and a directly licensed managed service clear different things. Price them on what each actually covers.
We will complete the second and third with you at no charge. Send your venue list to [email protected] and you will receive a written mapping of your position against all five rights, yours to keep whatever you decide.
See also: UAE music licensing and background music for businesses in Abu Dhabi.
Frequently Asked Questions
When do music licence fees start in Abu Dhabi?+
1 December 2026. The framework is federal, set under Ministerial Resolution No. 136 of 2026 and detailed in the Ministry of Economy and Tourism’s Collective Management in Music Guide. Licences are valid for one year and renewable.
Who issues music licences in Abu Dhabi?+
Two organisations licensed by the Ministry of Economy and Tourism: the Emirates Music Rights Association, approved in April 2025, and Music Nation for Rights Management, permitted in June 2025. Both cover public performance only — two of the five commercial music rights — and they divide the work by repertoire rather than by rights type. Each licenses its own assigned catalogue.
Are government entities and cultural institutions exempt?+
The guide exempts government entities, educational institutions and non-commercial charitable events and celebrations. Commercial venues operating within cultural or government precincts should confirm their own position rather than assuming the exemption extends to them.
Do businesses in Abu Dhabi free zones need a licence?+
Copyright and the collective management framework operate under federal law. Businesses in free zones should confirm their position directly when applying rather than assuming their commercial licensing regime exempts them from music licensing obligations.
Does an Abu Dhabi licence cover our venues abroad?+
No. Collective licences are territorial and cover premises within the jurisdiction that issued them. Groups operating across markets typically manage a separate arrangement in each. Directly licensed music avoids this because clearance attaches to the recordings rather than the territory.
Know your position before the deadline
A written mapping of your current arrangements against all five commercial music rights. No charge, and yours to keep.