Can I Play Spotify in My Business in the US?

Short answer: no. Spotify, including Premium, is licensed for personal, non-commercial listening only. Playing it in a shop, café, salon, gym or any US business where customers or staff can hear it breaks Spotify’s terms of service, regardless of which plan you are on. The same applies to Apple Music, YouTube and Amazon Music. A personal subscription covers you at home, but never across a commercial floor.

Two separate problems

First, Spotify’s terms explicitly prohibit commercial use. Second, even if Spotify did allow it, you would still need a public performance license from the US performing rights organizations (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and GMR). Spotify covers streaming rights, not the commercial right to play music where the public can hear it. In the US, that public performance right is administered by these PROs and actively enforced under the US Copyright Act.

The PROs actively contact businesses playing unlicensed music. They send letters, make phone calls, send representatives to listen in person and use music recognition technology. A license from one PRO does not protect you from the others, because each represents a different catalog. “Too small to notice” is not a real category.

These services also log when an account streams the same playlist for eight hours a day, seven days a week, and licensing bodies treat that for exactly what it is: a business playing music without a license. See the real penalties businesses face in the US.

What playing music legally normally costs

Business type	PRO fees + music source (per year)	Melodial (per year)
Small retail store (under 2,000 sq ft)	US$1,200+	US$69.99
Restaurant or café (under 3,000 sq ft)	US$2,500+	US$69.99
Hair or beauty salon	US$800+	US$69.99
Gym or fitness studio (recorded music, classes)	US$2,000 to US$5,000+	US$69.99

PRO fees vary by business type, size and music use, and each of the four PROs charges separately. Totals shown include a typical separate music streaming subscription.

And that is just the license. You still need a music source on top.

What to use instead

Melodial is built for exactly this problem. Every track in the catalogue is owned or directly licensed by Melodial, and none of it is registered with the PROs or any other collecting society. Your subscription is your license: the music, the commercial rights and a downloadable Certificate of Compliance, all for US$6.99 per month.

1. Subscribe to Melodial, US$6.99 per month, no contracts.
2. Play Melodial exclusively and switch off Spotify, radio and CDs.
3. Download your Certificate of Compliance as instant proof you are fully licensed.

Frequently asked questions

Can I play Spotify in my business in the US?

No. Spotify’s terms of service prohibit commercial use, even with Premium. You would also need a separate public performance license from the PROs, which costs hundreds or thousands per year on top.

Can I play YouTube or Apple Music in my business?

No. Their terms do not cover commercial use either. Playing them in a business is copyright infringement under the US Copyright Act.

Will Spotify know I am using it in my business?

Streaming services log usage patterns, and a consumer account streaming the same playlists all day every day leaves a clear record of commercial use. Licensing inspectors also visit venues in person.

What is the legal alternative to Spotify for business?

A directly licensed service like Melodial. It includes the music and the commercial license in one subscription for US$6.99 per month, with a Certificate of Compliance you can download instantly.