Music Licensing for Public Performance

When to get permission

If you perform music in public, or play recorded music in public, such as at a club, restaurant, concert, on the radio, or streaming on the web, you might need to obtain a public performance license. Small indie artists and DJs performing at private events often do not need to secure a public performance rights because they are covered by the venue. However, this is something performers should confirm with the venue, and with the public performance rights agencies listed below. K-12 educators typically do not need to obtain rights for school performances, however this can depend on the type of performance and is something educators should confirm with the public performance rights agencies. Church leaders should contact the agencies below, and CCLI, an organization that caters especially to churches for various licensing needs including public performance. Licenses should be secured before the music is used.

How to get permission

To obtain public performance licenses in the United States, please contact the following performing rights agencies:

Outside of the United States, please contact your local performing rights society. To obtain licensing for any type of web radio that will be broadcast in the United States, even if the originating server is outside of the United States please contact the following agency:

How the royalties are paid

In the United States, business owners, streaming services, and others seeking public performance rights, should contact the agencies listed above to request public performance licenses. Expect to report your playlists these agencies, and share a small percentage of your revenues for royalties, which the agencies then distribute to the copyright holders. Outside of the United States, please contact your local rights agency for details.

Relevant music license you need