Music licensing in the Netherlands
Music in your business is legally different from music at home. Here is what you need, what we arrange and what you arrange yourself.
Legal music in your business in two steps
Music licensing rules change regularly. This page is general information, not legal advice; you remain responsible for your own business's licences.
More than just music streaming
BackSound Stream compared to consumer services*
*Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music
Frequently asked questions
Trying it comes with no obligations: nothing is charged and you do not need to give payment details. You try the player free for 3 days, with the complete catalogue and the features of your plan. Then you choose whether to continue; only then does your first invoice come. With the PC plan there is no trial, because a music computer once sent cannot be returned; if you want to try first, try STREAM PRO for 3 days on your own device. Your first invoice then comes straight away, and we send the music computer once it is paid.
Yes. With Spotify import you bring in your existing playlists in a few clicks. Our catalogue contains the same music, but fully licensed for business use.
Plans start from a fixed amount per month, billed yearly — see the pricing overview. No hidden costs. The Buma/Stemra and Sena licence for music in your business is separate and yours to arrange at mijnlicentie.nl; that is the case with every music service.
Yes. Every business that plays music to the public needs a public performance licence from Buma/Stemra (composers and lyricists) and Sena (artists and producers). You request it at mijnlicentie.nl and it is separate from your subscription — with BackSound Stream and with every other provider. Our subscription covers the rights to stream the music itself for business use.
Consumer services such as Spotify and Apple Music are licensed for private use only. Playing music in a business space is not covered and can lead to fines. BackSound Stream is fully licensed for commercial use.
A zone is a room. With us one player serves up to eight zones: you switch between the rooms inside the player, and with its own amplifier per room each zone gets its own music and its own schedule. We supply and install those amplifiers ourselves. With more than two extra rooms you need an external sound card. With services that have no multiroom, every zone is a separate player with a separate subscription.
Yes. Paying monthly, you can always cancel; the month already invoiced plays out and after that you pay nothing more. Paying yearly, you cancel at the latest one month before the renewal date; otherwise it runs for another year. You cancel in My account, or by calling or WhatsApping us on +31 88 425 9888.
STREAM is made for switching on a ready-made playlist and leaving it be: 67,000+ playlists, one room, and you can take out a track that does not suit your business. Searching the catalogue, building your own playlists, the Request App, the scheduler and Spotify import come with STREAM PRO.
No. The scheduler comes with STREAM PRO and up. On STREAM you can add it for € 5 a month.
Multiroom is part of STREAM PRO and PRO + PC: from one playback point, the device the player runs on, you serve up to eight rooms, each with its own music, volume and schedule. With more than two extra rooms you need an external sound card. An extra playback point is a second device that plays music too, with up to eight more rooms. It is an add-on at € 12.50 a month, and you only need it when eight rooms are not enough.
One subscription covers up to eight rooms from one playback point. If you have more, you add an extra playback point: a second device with up to eight more rooms, at € 12.50 a month on STREAM PRO and PRO + PC.
Yes. STREAM and STREAM PRO run on your own PC, laptop or tablet. The STREAM PRO + PC plan is for those who would rather receive a ready-to-use music computer, configured by us and sent to you.
The music computer belongs to the STREAM PRO + PC plan and stays ours for as long as it runs. Every three years we replace it with a faster one. Once the subscription has run for five years it becomes yours at no extra cost. Equipment you buy separately — a € 350 touchscreen, for instance — is yours straight away.
Shipping is a one-off € 49. We configure the music computer before it leaves, so you only plug it in.
All hardware and the call-out charge. If something breaks we replace it — including a music computer that has become slow over time. With the STREAM PRO + PC plan the first year of service is free; after that, service and maintenance costs € 120 per year.