Cafe Music in Australia: What You Can Play in a Cafe (2026)

Yes, your cafe needs a licence to play music customers can hear. VibeBeats includes the music and the platform in one simple $49/month subscription — 14-day free trial, no card needed. VibeBeats is direct-licensed background music for cafés, restaurants, bars, gyms, retail stores, salons, spas, clinics and hotels. One subscription covers commercial use of the VibeBeats catalogue, so there is no separate PRO invoice from OneMusic, APRA AMCOS, PPCA, ASCAP, BMI, PRS or SOCAN for the music we supply, and the AI DJ reshapes each playlist through the trading day.

If customers can hear music in your cafe — on the floor, in the queue, or out in the courtyard — you need a licence to play it. That rule applies no matter where the music comes from: Spotify, YouTube, the radio, or a staff member's phone.

The good news: getting covered is simple. VibeBeats includes the music and the licence in one subscription — $49 a month, with a 14-day free trial and no credit card required. One bill, one app, nothing else to sort out.

This guide explains it in plain terms: why a licence is needed, why Spotify and YouTube don't count, and the two legal ways to play cafe music in Australia.

Quick answers

• Can I play music in my cafe? Yes — but it counts as a public performance, so it must be licensed. A personal Spotify or YouTube account does not cover a business. • How much is a music licence for a cafe? It depends on the route you take. A collecting-body licence (OneMusic) is priced on your seating and music source — see the cost bands here (https://vibebeats.ai/blog/music-for-cafes). VibeBeats is a flat $49 a month with the licence for its catalogue already included. • What happens if I just use my own Spotify? You risk copyright fines and you're breaking Spotify's terms, which only allow personal listening.

Why cafe music needs a licence

Under Australian copyright law, playing recorded music where customers can hear it is a "public performance". The songwriter and the recording artist each own a right in that performance, and someone has to be licensed to use them.

The Australian Government's own business site is blunt about it: cafes and restaurants need a licence to play copyrighted music, and it doesn't matter whether the music comes from a streaming app, a CD, the radio or a live act. Paying for a personal streaming subscription only covers listening at home — not playing it in your business.

The responsibility sits with you as the business owner, not the barista who pressed play.

Why Spotify and YouTube don't count

This is where most cafes get caught out, because Google results for "cafe music" are full of Spotify playlists and long YouTube "Cafe Music BGM" jazz streams. Those are made for people listening on headphones at home. None of them give your venue permission to play the music out loud.

Two separate problems:

• The licence problem. Those tracks belong to artists and songwriters whose rights are managed by licensing bodies (in Australia: OneMusic, APRA AMCOS and PPCA). Without the right licence, playing them to customers is unlicensed public performance. • The terms problem. Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube are personal products. Their terms prohibit business use — so even with a OneMusic licence, the app itself isn't allowed as your player.

Things that do not make it legal:

• A family plan on the Bluetooth speaker • A staff member's personal playlist • A downloaded file labelled "cafe" • "It's only instrumental" or "it's just quiet background jazz" • "The radio's on behind the machine so it doesn't count"

Your two legal options

— — OneMusic licence — VibeBeats — — --- — --- — --- — — What it covers — Mainstream commercial music (radio hits, well-known artists) — The full VibeBeats catalogue, cleared for public performance — — Cost — Priced on seats and music source — see cost bands (https://vibebeats.ai/blog/music-for-cafes) — Flat $49/month, licence included — — What you play it on — You still need a business-legal player — personal Spotify/YouTube apps aren't allowed — The VibeBeats app — phone, tablet, laptop or the optional Vibe Box — — Paperwork — Annual licence, renewals, coverage questions — One subscription plus a downloadable Certificate of Compliance per premises —

Both are legitimate. The difference is simplicity and cost: with VibeBeats, the music, the player and the licence come in one affordable package, and you can show a verifiable certificate (https://vibebeats.ai/verify) if anyone asks.

The one rule that stays with you either way: keep unlicensed sources out of earshot. If you use VibeBeats, the staff Spotify tab and the YouTube BGM stream stay off the house speakers.

What you get with VibeBeats

• Licensed cafe music for the floor, the takeaway queue and the courtyard — the whole catalogue is cleared for public performance • Curated playlists built for cafes — morning rush to afternoon wind-down, with automatic dayparting • No hardware needed — play through your existing speakers from any device • Certificate of Compliance for your premises, verifiable at vibebeats.ai/verify (https://vibebeats.ai/verify) • 14-day free trial — no credit card, no lock-in contract

Read more on the music for cafes (https://vibebeats.ai/music-for-cafes) page, or start your 14-day free trial (https://app.vibebeats.ai/sign-up). For OneMusic dining licence costs, see music for cafes (https://vibebeats.ai/blog/music-for-cafes). For what to play when the doors open, see morning cafe music (https://vibebeats.ai/blog/morning-cafe-music). The restaurant version of this question is covered in music licence for restaurant (https://vibebeats.ai/blog/music-licence-for-restaurant).

Sources

• Playing music in your business — business.gov.au (https://business.gov.au/legal/playing-music-in-your-business)

This article is general information for Australian cafe operators, not legal advice. Confirm your own facts with OneMusic, a qualified lawyer, or the Australian Copyright Council before you change licences.

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