You might play the same gentle music for several appointments in a day. Once you’ve found something that suits your room and your clients, there’s little reason to keep changing it.
The question is whether your music license covers those appointments. A playlist you enjoy at home may not be licensed for use with paying clients.
If you mainly play music during live, one-to-one appointments, that is what your license needs to cover. Music in the waiting area or guided audio you send home with a client may need different permission.
The music license and the terms of your playback service are separate. Spotify’s consumer service is for personal, non-commercial use, even with Premium. Buying a CD or downloading an album doesn’t automatically grant professional playback rights either.
So when checking a music option, ask two questions: does the music license cover my sessions, and does my playback source allow business use?
A piece of recorded music has two layers of rights: the composition (the music someone wrote) and the recording (the particular performance or audio file). A license may need to account for both.
PRO stands for performing rights organization. PROs license public performances of compositions on behalf of songwriters and publishers, then collect royalties for them. Similar organizations operate in many countries, sometimes under the name collecting society. The U.S. Copyright Office explains the distinction between compositions and recordings.
If you want to play familiar commercial songs for clients, you may need permission from one or more of these organizations. Which ones depends on the music, your country and how you use it. A PRO license doesn’t make a personal Spotify account suitable for business playback, and it doesn’t give you permission to put songs into a video.
Direct licensing works differently. The rights holder gives you permission for specific music and uses, rather than a large catalog. Depending on local rules, a direct license that covers the necessary rights may mean you don’t need a separate PRO license for those tracks. It won’t cover other songs in your playlist.
Keep familiar commercial songs. If particular artists matter to you or your clients, check which organizations license their music and choose a playback source that permits business use.
Use a business music service. This suits a practice that wants ready-made playlists and regular variety. Check whether the subscription includes any local performance licensing you need and whether the music can play offline.
Buy royalty-free music with a direct license. If you prefer a few familiar pieces, you can download them and play them from your own device. Royalty-free doesn’t mean free or copyright-free. It means you don’t pay the music provider a royalty each time you use a track in a way the license allows. LuxAuralis offers downloads licensed for paid massage and therapy sessions.
The license specifically covers live massage, therapy and similar sessions, including paid appointments. The music can play while you work, including the quiet parts when you aren’t speaking. You can use the same purchased tracks for later appointments without paying again for each session.
Tracks cost $40 each before applicable tax and come as 320 kbps MP3 downloads. You can keep them on your device and play them without an internet connection or monthly fee.
The license covers only the purchased music, not other songs you play. You also can’t pass the original files to clients or colleagues, use them in music-only videos, or include them in meditation or relaxation apps.
For public performances of commercially released compositions, the main PROs include ASCAP, BMI, SESAC and GMR. They represent different repertoires; a license from one isn’t automatically permission to play everything. Songwriters can also license rights directly. The U.S. Copyright Office’s music licensing guide explains how these arrangements work. Before paying for a PRO license, check whether your music provider already covers the rights you need.
Businesses playing commercially released music will usually look to TheMusicLicence, administered by PPL PRS. It combines licensing for compositions through PRS for Music and recordings through PPL. GOV.UK notes an exception for royalty-free music, but check that the license for any tracks you buy covers your actual treatments.
Outside the US and UK, check your local collecting societies and business-playback rules.
Listen to more than the first minute. A melody that sounds lovely at first can become distracting after half an hour, especially in a quiet treatment room.
Listen to the previews on the speakers you use for appointments. The previews are watermarked; purchased files are not. Some clients prefer silence, so it’s worth asking rather than assuming everybody wants music.
Playing music in a live session is not the same as putting it into an audio recording for clients. Under the recorded-work terms, permitted spoken recordings and certain videos must have audible voice-over over at least one-third of the portion of the music track used. You may sell a compliant guided recording, but not give away or sell the original music file on its own. This voice-over rule doesn’t apply to permitted live massage sessions.
The guide to recording meditations explains how to make spoken audio. For live appointments, keep a copy of your music license with your business records and check any local performance-rights requirements.
For related settings, see music licensing for spas and music licensing for yoga classes.