What a music licence really costs
Every figure below is sourced and dated. No estimates dressed up as facts, no invented numbers.
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Melodial's price
One flat subscription includes the music and the licence.
| Monthly | €6.99 |
| Annual | €69.99 |
What IMRO actually charges
Real published tariffs for Ireland, by business type and size. Figures do not include a music source -- you would still pay for that separately.
Café / restaurant
| Size | Society | Annual cost |
|---|---|---|
| 15 seats | IMRO (Dual Licence: IMRO+PPI): €254.74 | €254.74 ex VAT/IVA |
| 30 seats | IMRO (Dual Licence: IMRO+PPI): €354.84 | €354.84 ex VAT/IVA |
| 50 seats | IMRO (Dual Licence: IMRO+PPI): €578.59 | €578.59 ex VAT/IVA |
| 80 seats | IMRO (Dual Licence: IMRO+PPI): €864.22 | €864.22 ex VAT/IVA |
| 120 seats Modelled at 120 seats -- IMRO's "more than 100 seats" band has no single published figure; not an exact quote for every venue above 100 seats. | IMRO (Dual Licence: IMRO+PPI): €1,249.97 | €1,249.97 ex VAT/IVA |
Hairdresser / salon
| Size | Society | Annual cost |
|---|---|---|
| 50 sqm | IMRO (Dual Licence: IMRO+PPI): €244.77 | €244.77 ex VAT/IVA |
| 101 sqm | IMRO (Dual Licence: IMRO+PPI): €514.31 | €514.31 ex VAT/IVA |
| 150 sqm | IMRO (Dual Licence: IMRO+PPI): €581.15 | €581.15 ex VAT/IVA |
| 200 sqm | IMRO (Dual Licence: IMRO+PPI): €747.88 | €747.88 ex VAT/IVA |
| 300 sqm | IMRO (Dual Licence: IMRO+PPI): €1,145.92 | €1,145.92 ex VAT/IVA |
Health practice
| Size | Society | Annual cost |
|---|---|---|
| 50 sqm | IMRO (Dual Licence: IMRO+PPI): €231.35 | €231.35 ex VAT/IVA |
| 101 sqm | IMRO (Dual Licence: IMRO+PPI): €431.87 | €431.87 ex VAT/IVA |
| 150 sqm | IMRO (Dual Licence: IMRO+PPI): €498.71 | €498.71 ex VAT/IVA |
| 200 sqm | IMRO (Dual Licence: IMRO+PPI): €632.39 | €632.39 ex VAT/IVA |
| 300 sqm | IMRO (Dual Licence: IMRO+PPI): €899.75 | €899.75 ex VAT/IVA |
Retail store
| Size | Society | Annual cost |
|---|---|---|
| 150 sqm Reconciliation open: June-2026 live IMRO portal retail quotes (around EUR 648-859 depending on size) do not match this PDF-computed figure. Portal beats stale PDFs, but these are current-year tariff PDFs -- until re-quoted on the portal against the 2026 tariffs, this PDF-computed figure stands with this caveat. ⚠ pending reconciliation | IMRO (Dual Licence: IMRO+PPI): €504.37 | €504.37 ex VAT/IVA |
| 300 sqm Reconciliation open: June-2026 live IMRO portal retail quotes (around EUR 648-859 depending on size) do not match this PDF-computed figure. Portal beats stale PDFs, but these are current-year tariff PDFs -- until re-quoted on the portal against the 2026 tariffs, this PDF-computed figure stands with this caveat. ⚠ pending reconciliation | IMRO (Dual Licence: IMRO+PPI): €776.31 | €776.31 ex VAT/IVA |
| 700 sqm Reconciliation open: June-2026 live IMRO portal retail quotes (around EUR 648-859 depending on size) do not match this PDF-computed figure. Portal beats stale PDFs, but these are current-year tariff PDFs -- until re-quoted on the portal against the 2026 tariffs, this PDF-computed figure stands with this caveat. ⚠ pending reconciliation | IMRO (Dual Licence: IMRO+PPI): €1,329.81 | €1,329.81 ex VAT/IVA |
| 1000 sqm Reconciliation open: June-2026 live IMRO portal retail quotes (around EUR 648-859 depending on size) do not match this PDF-computed figure. Portal beats stale PDFs, but these are current-year tariff PDFs -- until re-quoted on the portal against the 2026 tariffs, this PDF-computed figure stands with this caveat. ⚠ pending reconciliation | IMRO (Dual Licence: IMRO+PPI): €1,448.81 | €1,448.81 ex VAT/IVA |
Workplace / office
| Size | Society | Annual cost |
|---|---|---|
| 5 employees | IMRO (Dual Licence: IMRO+PPI): €238.32 | €238.32 ex VAT/IVA |
| 50 employees | IMRO (Dual Licence: IMRO+PPI): €476.64 | €476.64 ex VAT/IVA |
| 500 employees | IMRO (Dual Licence: IMRO+PPI): €4,766.40 | €4,766.40 ex VAT/IVA |
| 1000 employees | IMRO (Dual Licence: IMRO+PPI): €9,532.80 | €9,532.80 ex VAT/IVA |
Other music services for business
These are commercial catalogue/subscription services, not collecting societies. Most still require a separate IMRO-style licence on top (see the column below) -- Melodial does not.
| Vendor | Price | Society licence still needed? |
|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack Your Brand — Starter | €26 per zone / month, billed annually | Check vendor |
| Soundtrack Your Brand — Essential | €31.50 per zone / month, billed annually | Check vendor |
| Soundtrack Your Brand — Unlimited | €49.50 per zone / month, billed annually | Check vendor |
| Moodby | €25 per zone / month | No |
| Moodby | €18.75 per zone / month, billed yearly (€225/yr) | No |
| Moodby | €17.50 per zone / month, billed 2-yearly (€420) | No |
| Mood Media | Pricing on request | Check vendor |
Total real cost, by business type
The traditional route means two bills: the IMRO licence, plus a separate music source (we use a conservative flat estimate of €300 + tax/year, in line with published vendor prices). Melodial is one flat bill.
| Business type | IMRO + music source | Melodial | You save |
|---|---|---|---|
| Café / restaurant15 seats | €613/yrtax incl. + music | €69.99/yr | €543/yr |
| Hairdresser / salon50 sqm | €601/yrtax incl. + music | €69.99/yr | €531/yr |
| Health practice50 sqm | €585/yrtax incl. + music | €69.99/yr | €515/yr |
| Retail store150 sqm | €920/yrtax incl. + music | €69.99/yr | €850/yr |
| Workplace / office5 employees | €593/yrtax incl. + music | €69.99/yr | €523/yr |
The lowest-cost fully licensed option we've found.Based on published 2026 collecting-society tariffs and competitor pricing, checked 2026-07-22. See the full comparison and sources.
Sources and methodology
All IMRO figures above come from IMRO (the Irish Music Rights Organisation)'s own published tariffs or live quote tools, checked between 2026-07-22 and 2026-07-22.
Tax basis: IMRO tariffs are shown ex-VAT/IVA, as published. The "total real cost" section above adds tax before comparing to Melodial's own (tax-inclusive) price, so the comparison is like-for-like.
Where a figure could not be verified, this page shows "varies -- get a quote" rather than an estimate. We do not publish invented numbers.
Competitor prices are the vendors' own published rates, checked 2026-07-22. Where a competitor's price is unconfirmed or available only on request, this page says so rather than showing a number.
Ireland retail note: some 2026 tariff-PDF-computed figures above have not yet been reconciled against a fresh IMRO live-portal quote (they carry a "pending reconciliation" note). We show the PDF-computed figure with that caveat rather than withholding it.