Liberal profession: do I have to pay copyright royalties and the Fair Remuneration when I play music in the waiting room of my practice?

You don’t have to pay the Fair Remuneration for playing music in your waiting room if you meet the following conditions:

1. You practise a liberal profession*;
2. The music can be heard through your intervention;
3. There is a relatively fixed patient or client base;
4. There are only a limited number of clients/patients present at the same time in the practice or waiting room;
5. You do not intend to make a profit by playing music.

If you meet all of these conditions, you are exempt from paying the Fair Remuneration. You will however always have to pay copyright royalties for playing music in your waiting room.

If you sell goods, there is no exemption. This means pharmacists, opticians, etc. do have to pay the Fair Remuneration for playing music.

* Definition of a liberal profession: The practitioner of a liberal profession is any company that carries out a professional activity in an intellectually independent manner that mainly consists of intellectual services, has received the required training, and is subject to a disciplinary body established by law, including dentists and physiotherapists.