Daily use

If you have a subscription to a streaming service such as Tunify and DJ-Matic, you pay them for making their repertoire available. No more, no less. If you would only listen to this music in your private life, you would not have to pay any royalties to us.

However, because you play this music in a public place (e.g. in a shop, restaurant, café, cinema or business premises), you also have to pay performing royalties and the Fair Remuneration. These royalties must be arranged via Unisono.

Attention: you may not just use any streaming service in a public place. Streaming services such as Spotify, YouTube, Deezer, Simfy and Omnifone are only intended for personal and non-commercial use. This is clearly stated in their general terms and conditions of use.

Click here for a list of streaming services that have an agreement with Sabam and are therefore allowed to provide music to be played in public places.

Want to terminate your licence? You can easily do so via your personal MyUnisono account, our contact form or via company@unisono.be.
Please note that there is a difference between whether you effectively quit your business or just don't play music in your business anymore.

Are you still running your business but no longer using music?
Your licence for music in companies always runs until 31 December. Please let us know at least 1 month before the expiry date that you want to terminate it. If you do this too late, your licence will be extended by one year.

Are you quitting your business?
Please terminate your licence by mail and provide us with proof of the date of termination.

Examples of proof of termination:
• Proof of transfer of the business;
• Proof of termination of the rental agreement;
• Entry in the Belgian Official Gazette;
• Proof of VAT deregistration;
• Proof from the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises.

Without this proof, your licence will be terminated on December 31. In that case the fee for that same year is due in full.

If you permanently cease your activities in the first six months of the calendar year, you are entitled to a refund of 50% of the fee paid for that same year. Be sure to apply for this refund via our contacform.
Our general terms and conditions and rates can be found on unisono.be .


 

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.

The Unisono rates for music in companies are based on the following criteria:

• the surface area: for the rate ‘music in dining areas’.
• the number of FTEs (full-time equivalents) in the social balance sheet as at 31 December of the year before invoicing: for the rates music at the workplace, the combination rate, staff parties and background music on the website.
• the number of external telephone lines: for the rate telephone hold music.

You can find the general rate for music in companies on unisono.be