Can I Play Spotify in My Store? Holiday Music Rules for Small Shops, Cafés and Salons
Putting Christmas music on in your shop for the holiday season? Why a personal Spotify, Apple Music or Trending Music account doesn't cover a business, when the radio is legal for free, what a business music service includes, and what it costs if you get it wrong.
The short answer
No. A personal Spotify account, free or Premium, is not allowed in a shop. Spotify says so directly: "Spotify is only for personal, non-commercial use," and you can't play it publicly from a business (Spotify Support). Apple Music's terms say the same ("personal, noncommercial purposes", Apple), and so do ours.
In the US you have three legal ways to fill a shop with music this holiday season:
- Turn on the radio. A broadcast from a licensed AM, FM or TV station is exempt in a store under 2,000 square feet, or a restaurant or bar under 3,750, with a few conditions. Bigger spaces can still qualify with limited speakers.
- Use a business music service. These are made for shops and include the licensing, or most of it. Read what the plan covers.
- Get the licenses yourself from the performing rights organizations (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC and GMR) and play music you own.
Christmas music isn't an exception. "All I Want for Christmas Is You" and "Rudolph" are under copyright like any other song. This is general information, not legal advice.
Who this is for
This is for the owner or manager of a small business who is about to put the holiday playlist on: a boutique, a gift shop, a café, a hair or nail salon, a barbershop, a dentist's waiting room. Black Friday is November 27, 2026 and Small Business Saturday is the day after, so this is the week people plug a phone into the shop speaker and start wondering whether they're allowed to.
It is written mainly for the US, with a short note for the UK and elsewhere. If you run a bar with live bands or DJs, a gym with music-timed classes, or an event that charges admission, you need more than this page covers; talk to the licensing organizations directly.
Why your personal subscription doesn't cover the shop
Two separate things are going on.
The app's terms. Spotify, Apple Music and other consumer streaming apps license their catalogues for personal listening. Paying for Premium removes ads; it doesn't turn a personal plan into a business one. Spotify's own support page sends businesses to Soundtrack, a separate business service (Spotify Support).
Copyright law. Playing a song "publicly" is one of the rights the songwriter controls. US law defines it as playing music "at a place open to the public" or anywhere a substantial number of people outside your family and friends gather (17 U.S.C. § 101). A sales floor, a café and a salon chair all count. The licenses for that are sold by performing rights organizations, which collect for songwriters and publishers: ASCAP, BMI, SESAC and GMR. Each represents different songs, so a license from one doesn't cover the others' catalogue.
That's why "I pay for Premium" and "I bought the album" don't settle it. Neither one is a public performance license.
Option 1: the radio, for free
US copyright law has a specific exemption for businesses that play the radio or TV (17 U.S.C. § 110(5)(B)). It applies when the broadcast comes from a radio or TV station licensed by the FCC (or, for TV, a cable or satellite provider), and when:
- you don't charge anyone to hear it,
- you don't send it beyond your own premises, and
- your space and equipment fit these limits:
| Your business | Size | Equipment limit |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurant, café or bar | Under 3,750 gross sq ft | None |
| Any other business (shop, salon, office) | Under 2,000 gross sq ft | None |
| Bigger than that | Any size | Radio: no more than 6 speakers in total, no more than 4 in any one room (including an adjoining outdoor area). TV: no more than 4 sets, one per room, screens no bigger than 55 inches, plus the same speaker limit |
Square footage excludes space used only for customer parking.
So a 1,200-square-foot boutique can switch on the local station that has gone all-Christmas for the season and play it all day without a license. Most stations switch between mid-November and Black Friday; our guide to Christmas music radio stations explains how to find yours.
The catch: the law is written for broadcasts. It says nothing about a station's internet stream, a radio app or an internet-only station, so don't assume those count. If you want to rely on the exemption, use an actual radio receiving the over-the-air signal. And you don't choose the songs or the ads.
Option 2: a business music service
Business music services look like Spotify, with playlists, schedules and an app, but their catalogue is cleared for playing in a business.
Check exactly what the plan includes. It varies. Soundtrack, the service Spotify points businesses to, says its US plans include your ASCAP, BMI and GMR licenses, that SESAC music isn't available on the service, and that you may need additional licensing if you charge admission, have live music or time music to exercise classes (Soundtrack, US licensing). Other services handle it differently, and some leave every license to you.
Before you sign up, ask three questions:
- Which performing rights licenses are included in the price?
- Does it cover my type of business and size?
- Do I need anything else?
If the answer to the first question is "none", you're back at option 3, plus the subscription.
Option 3: get the licenses yourself
You can license your business directly with each performing rights organization and then play music you own, such as CDs. Each one sells its own business licenses, with prices that depend on the kind of business and how you use music.
This is the most work and the most flexible: you choose every song. Two things to keep in mind:
- You likely need more than one. Most shops play a mix of songs, and the four organizations each control different songs. One license leaves the rest of your playlist unlicensed.
- Your music source still has to allow it. A public performance license covers the songwriters' side. It doesn't change the terms of a consumer streaming app, so a personal Spotify or Apple Music account is still out.
These organizations do contact businesses they believe are playing music without a license. If you get a call or a letter, check that it's genuine on the organization's own website before you pay anything.
What happens if you just play your own playlist
Maybe nothing for a while. Then, often, a letter or a phone call from one of the performing rights organizations asking you to take out a license.
If it goes to court, the numbers are serious. A songwriter can ask for statutory damages of $750 to $30,000 per song infringed, and up to $150,000 per song if the court finds it was wilful (17 U.S.C. § 504(c)). That's per song, so a playlist of forty Christmas songs adds up quickly. A license taken out before anyone asks is far cheaper than any of that.
Outside the US
Almost every country has its own licensing body and its own rules, and the radio exemption above is a US law. In the UK, most businesses that play music on their premises need TheMusicLicence from PPL PRS, "even if only staff hear it" (PPL PRS). Elsewhere, search for your country's music licensing or collecting society, or ask your business association.
Where Trending Music fits (and where it doesn't)
Trending Music is our app, so here is the honest version: it's not for your shop either. Our terms don't allow commercial use of the app or its content, and like the others it's licensed for personal listening. The free version also plays ads, and a full-screen ad between songs is the last thing you want coming out of the shop speaker during the Saturday rush. Our Radio tab plays stations' internet streams, so it doesn't count as the over-the-air radio exemption either.
Where it does fit is your own listening: in your earbuds on the drive in, while you do the books after closing, or at home putting together the songs you'd like to hear in December. If you then sign up for a business service, you can build the same list there.
Can I play Spotify in my store if I pay for Premium?
No. Spotify Premium is still a personal plan. Spotify's support page says the service is for personal, non-commercial use only and that you can't play it publicly from a business; it points businesses to Soundtrack instead. Apple Music's terms have the same personal, noncommercial rule.
Can I play the radio in my store for free?
In the US, often yes. Under 17 U.S.C. § 110(5)(B), a store under 2,000 gross square feet, or a restaurant or bar under 3,750, can play an FCC-licensed radio or TV broadcast without a license, as long as there's no charge to hear it and it isn't sent beyond the premises. Larger businesses qualify if they use no more than 6 speakers, with no more than 4 in any one room.
Do I need a music license if only my employees hear the music?
In the UK, usually yes: PPL PRS says businesses need TheMusicLicence even if only staff hear it. In the US, the legal test is whether the place is open to the public or a substantial number of people outside a family and its friends gather there, so a busy staff room can count. Ask the licensing organizations about your setup.
Your next step
Decide today which of the three options you're using, before the music goes on for Black Friday. If you're small enough for the radio exemption, find the station that switches to Christmas music with our Christmas radio stations guide and use a real radio. If you want to pick the songs, ask a business music service the three questions above.
For your own December listening, the best Christmas songs is sorted by moment, and winter songs that aren't Christmas songs has a checked list for mixed crowds.