The music you choose for a facial may be different from what plays at reception. Guests may hear the reception playlist for only a minute or two, but spend much longer with the music in a relaxation lounge.
Before choosing a music service or buying tracks, list where you play music and who hears it. The license you need for a treatment room may not be the one you need for reception.
Most spas use music in three ways:
Permission to play music during treatments may not cover reception or the relaxation lounge. A license for background music in the building may not cover a promotional video. You can use different music sources in different parts of the spa.
Spotify is licensed for personal, non-commercial listening, including Premium. It isn’t a business soundtrack service. Likewise, buying an album doesn’t automatically give the spa permission to play it for guests.
Check two things: does the playback service allow business use, and does the music license cover each area where you play it? Some business music subscriptions arrange the necessary rights; others leave you to obtain local licenses separately.
PROs are performing rights organizations. They license public performances of compositions on behalf of songwriters and publishers, then collect royalties. The recording you play is a separate copyrighted work, and its rights may be handled differently. The U.S. Copyright Office explains the distinction.
If you play commercial songs in reception or treatment rooms, you may need permission through a PRO or a similar collecting society in your country. Each organization represents particular music, not every song. A PRO license also doesn’t override the terms of a personal streaming account.
With a direct license, the rights holder permits you to use specific tracks in specified ways. If that covers the necessary rights, a separate PRO license for those tracks may not be needed, depending on local rules. It won’t clear other songs in a mixed playlist, and a public-performance license doesn’t usually cover music in promotional videos.
For reception and guest areas, a business music service can be convenient. Check which rooms, locations and playback devices it covers, and whether local PRO fees are included.
If you want familiar commercial songs in the spa, check which performance licenses you need and play them through a source approved for business use.
For treatments, royalty-free downloads with a direct license are another option. Royalty-free means you don’t pay the music provider a royalty for every permitted use, not that the music is free or copyright-free. LuxAuralis offers downloads licensed for live massage, therapy and similar paid sessions. You can keep the music on a device and play it without streaming.
You can combine the two approaches: a service for shared areas and downloaded tracks for treatment rooms. Just keep a record of which license covers the music used in each space.
The principal composition PROs include ASCAP, BMI, SESAC and GMR. Different organizations represent different songs, so a business using commercial repertoire may need coverage from more than one or direct permission from rights holders. The U.S. Copyright Office’s licensing guide explains these arrangements. Check what your existing music service includes before paying for additional licensing. Recordings and online use raise separate rights questions.
For commercially released music, businesses commonly use TheMusicLicence from PPL PRS, combining the rights administered by PRS for Music (compositions) and PPL (recordings). The applicable cost depends on the venue and music use. GOV.UK explains that business playback usually requires this licence and that royalty-free music is an exception. For directly licensed tracks, check that their terms cover your actual spa activities instead of relying on the words “royalty-free.”
Elsewhere, check the collecting societies and performance rules in your country, as well as the songs and recordings you intend to use.
The license allows purchased music to play during live massage, therapy and similar sessions, including paid appointments. You can leave it playing during the quiet parts of a treatment; there’s no requirement to speak over it.
Each track costs $40 before applicable tax and comes as a 320 kbps MP3 download. You can play it offline and use it for repeated permitted appointments without paying again for each treatment.
That permission covers live treatment sessions, not necessarily background music in reception or the relaxation lounge. It also doesn’t let you give the audio files to other practitioners. If you want one soundtrack throughout the building, check whether each area is covered.
Your treatment rooms may already have sounds from ventilation, water or people in the corridor. Test music through the room speakers rather than choosing everything on headphones.
Preview the music at the volume you’d use during a treatment. Online samples are watermarked; purchased downloads are not.
Music in a video or guided recording needs different permission from music played during a treatment. Under the recorded-work terms, permitted spoken recordings and videos must have audible voice-over over at least one-third of the portion of each music track used. A treatment montage with only music isn’t covered. You also cannot give guests the original audio files or use the music in meditation or relaxation apps.
Keep a record of which music plays in each area, where it comes from and which license covers it. Staff can then choose the right source without accidentally connecting a personal playlist to a shared speaker.
For individual appointments, see music licensing for massage therapists. If you also run classes, read the yoga music guide.