Music Licence for a Yoga Studio in Australia: What You Actually Need (2026)

Do you need a music licence for your yoga studio in Australia? How OneMusic, APRA AMCOS and PPCA apply to classes, background music and streaming. VibeBeats is direct-licensed background music for cafés, restaurants, bars, gyms, retail stores, salons, spas, clinics and hotels. No music licensing/PRO fees (*No separate public-performance music licence needed for VibeBeats music.) Other music sources may still require licensing. The AI DJ reshapes each playlist through the trading day.

If you play recorded music out loud in a yoga studio that people pay to attend, you generally need permission to do it. In Australia, the simplest way to get that permission is a OneMusic licence, which is the single licence that APRA AMCOS and PPCA offer together for businesses. The other route is to play music from a service that licenses its catalogue directly for business use, so the music itself is already covered. A personal Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube account does not do the job either way.

Quick answer: a paid class, a drop-in session, a workshop, even the playlist running while people roll out their mats: all of it is music played in public for a commercial purpose. OneMusic has a licence scheme built for yoga, Pilates and barre studios. The fee depends on your business and how you use music, so confirm the current details with OneMusic instead of relying on a number in a blog post.

This guide is for studio owners, and for teachers who rent a room or run their own classes. It is about the licence, not the playlist. For tracks and tempo, see our pilates and yoga playlist guide and meditation music guide for wellness studios.

Why a yoga class counts as a "public performance"

Copyright law treats music at home differently from music in a business. Playing a song in your lounge room is private. Playing the same song in a studio where members or the public are present is a public performance, and the people who own the rights to that music are entitled to give or withhold permission.

Two points trip up studio owners:

• Yoga is quiet, but the rule does not care about volume. OneMusic's guidance for the fitness sector says the need for a licence does not depend on the volume, the speakers, the streaming service or the device you use. A soft ambient track in savasana is still a public performance. • Where the music comes from does not matter. Business.gov.au lists gyms, salons and workshops among the places that need a licence, and says streaming services, CDs, radio and live performances all count. Buying an album or paying for a personal streaming plan covers personal use only.

OneMusic notes that playing music without permission may amount to copyright infringement, and a court can order a business to pay the fees that would have applied plus damages and legal costs. This is general information, not a prediction for any one studio.

Who is who: APRA AMCOS, PPCA and OneMusic

Most commercially released songs carry two separate copyrights, and that is the reason licensing in Australia used to mean two licences.

— Body — What it looks after — Who it pays — — APRA AMCOS — The musical work: the composition and lyrics — Songwriters, composers and music publishers — — PPCA — The sound recording: the specific recorded performance — Record labels and registered recording artists — — OneMusic Australia — A joint initiative of APRA AMCOS and PPCA that issues one licence covering both — Collects fees and passes them on to the two bodies, who pay their members —

Business licences for public performance have come through OneMusic since 1 July 2019, according to PPCA. You apply through OneMusic's site, choose your industry and follow the prompts to a quote (OneMusic). You can read the background on each body at APRA AMCOS and PPCA. For a plain-English comparison, see APRA AMCOS vs PPCA vs OneMusic.

Which OneMusic licence applies to a yoga studio

OneMusic runs the "Fitness, Exercise & Wellbeing" scheme for gyms, Zumba, yoga, Pilates and barre studios, martial arts, boxing, aquatic fitness and sports training. Its page describes licensees under the scheme as ranging from a small single-location studio to a large multi-site gym franchise. The Australian Business Licence and Information Service (ABLIS) lists the same scheme for yoga, Pilates and barre studios, with a one-year licence term and the option to pay monthly or annually.

The scheme covers six categories of use. This is where yoga studios can get more precise than "I need a licence":

— Category — What it means in a yoga studio — — All Inclusive — A broader category. Ask OneMusic exactly which of the uses below it includes — — Background Music (including music videos) — The playlist at reception, before class, after class and in the changing area — — Music in Classes — Music played during a timetabled class — — Website Use — Music on your studio website, subject to limitations — — Digital Copy/Delivery — Copying music or streaming it from a personal digital music service for use in the business — — Telephone on Hold — Music played to callers waiting on your line —

Three details are worth knowing before you get a quote:

Pure background music may sit in a different scheme. If you have no timetabled classes with music, OneMusic says its Retail and Service Providers scheme, based on your floor area in square metres and music source, is the one for you. Remedial Pilates is treated separately. OneMusic points physiotherapy-based Pilates studios to a dedicated guide. If you mix yoga and clinical Pilates, ask which applies. Digital Copy/Delivery does not fix your streaming terms. Per OneMusic's guidance for AUSactive members, the licence only permits use of OneMusic's music in your business. It does not override a personal streaming service's terms. That permission can only come from the service.

You will not find a price here, because the fee depends on your business type, size and use of music, and it changes. Use OneMusic's quote tool for current figures, and see how much a business music licence costs in Australia for what drives the cost.

A music source audit for your studio

Here is the part most licensing articles skip. A yoga studio does not play music in one place. It plays music in several, and each one can have a different answer. Walk through your week and tick off each row:

— Where music plays — Likely licensing question — What to check — — Reception and entry before class — Background music — Is the source licensed for business use? — — During a timetabled class — Music in Classes — Who is playing it, and from which service? — — Savasana and meditation tracks — Same as class music — Ambient does not mean royalty-free — — Workshops, teacher training, retreat days — Possibly separate event or function use — Confirm with OneMusic, as event licences can differ — — Live kirtan, sound bath or a visiting musician — Live music — See the live music section below — — Class videos on your website — Website Use, with limitations — Check what the licence allows — — Phone queue — Telephone on Hold — Is music playing at all? — — Online or recorded classes — Different rights may be involved — Ask OneMusic before you publish —

A hypothetical example: a small studio plays a personal playlist from an iPad at the front desk and in class, has a website promo video using a popular track, and puts callers on hold with music. That is class music, background music, website use and telephone on hold, from different sources. A licence conversation that only asks "do I need one?" misses most of that.

What about the music you already use?

Personal streaming (Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music)

Consumer streaming terms are written for personal and domestic use. OneMusic points out that this is true of most of the services people use at home, and that a paid or free subscription does not give you the legal right to play that music in your business. If you want the detail on one common case, read Can you legally play Spotify in your business?.

Radio, CDs and downloads

Business.gov.au lists radio, TV, CDs and records among the sources that still need a licence in a business.

"Royalty-free" and meditation libraries

OneMusic notes that it is often difficult to determine what music really is royalty-free, and that it is not the safest option. APRA AMCOS says directly licensed (royalty-free) music does not require a PPCA licence and sometimes does not need an APRA AMCOS licence, but that in its experience what looks directly licensed often is not, and does require a licence. If you are unsure about a supplier, APRA AMCOS invites you to contact it with the supplier's details. Meditation and ambient libraries are not exempt from that advice.

Music that is out of copyright

Business.gov.au notes you generally do not need permission to use a recording made public more than 70 years ago. That rules out nearly all the music your members expect to hear, and a modern "classical" or "chant" recording can carry its own rights, so do not assume it is covered.

Live music: kirtan, sound baths and visiting musicians

OneMusic says it does not generally license individual or group live performers such as bands and DJs. It is the venue or the event organiser who needs to obtain a licence for the public performance. So if you host a kirtan evening or a sound bath with a visiting musician, that obligation can land on you as the host. Mention live sessions when you ask OneMusic for a quote.

Teachers who rent a room: who needs the licence?

This is a grey area in small studios, so put it in writing. The ABLIS listing names the agreement "Fitness Centre and Fitness and Wellbeing Instructors", which signals that instructors can be licensees as well as centres. If you run the studio and employ or contract the teachers, the studio is the business playing music in public and is usually the one that should hold the licence. If you hire the room to independent teachers, who holds the licence depends on how the booking is structured and who controls the music. Agree responsibility in your hire terms, and ask OneMusic how to set it up. The venue is not automatically off the hook.

Three ways to cover the music in your studio

A OneMusic licence plus a music source

You hold a OneMusic licence for the use you describe and play music from a source whose terms allow business use. A personal streaming account still carries its own terms.

A directly licensed service for the music itself

Some services license their catalogue directly from the rights holders for business use. If your music comes only from such a service, the music from that service is covered by the provider, so you do not also need a OneMusic licence for it. Any other music you play, such as the radio or a personal playlist, may still need separate licensing.

This is how VibeBeats works: it includes performance rights for its own direct-licensed catalogue, so a studio that plays only VibeBeats music is covered for that music. Two honest caveats apply. First, OneMusic's guidance for background music suppliers says that if the supplier's music is represented by OneMusic you may still need a OneMusic licence, although the fee may be reduced where recordings are legitimately licensed from another copyright owner. So ask any supplier, including us, to confirm in writing what their licence covers. Second, the arrangement stops covering you the moment you mix in other sources, live music or a television feed, so keep the sources clean. Plans are on the pricing page, and our music for yoga studios and music for Pilates studios pages show how the playlists work in a class.

Permission from every rights holder, one song at a time

OneMusic lists this as a lawful alternative: ask the creators of each piece of music and pay them directly. For a studio playing hundreds of tracks across a timetable, it is rarely practical.

For more on the first path, see our guide to the OneMusic licence for Australian businesses and the short checklist Do I need a music licence for my business?.

A one-evening checklist for studio owners

List every place music plays, using the audit table above. Include the phone line and the website. Name the source for each one: personal streaming, radio, a purchased download, a directly licensed service or live musicians. Decide the route: a OneMusic licence plus a business-use source, a directly licensed service, or a mix. Each source needs its own answer. Get a OneMusic quote for anything not covered directly. Describe your classes, background music, website and live sessions honestly. Record who is responsible if independent teachers use your room. Keep the paperwork and set a yearly reminder. ABLIS lists the licence as a one-year term.

Try it on your own floor

If you would rather start from a library that is already licensed for business use, start a free trial of VibeBeats and run it through a real class before you decide.

FAQ

Do I need a music licence for a yoga studio in Australia?

If you play copyright-protected music in a yoga studio for a commercial purpose, you generally need permission, and a OneMusic licence is the usual way to get it. OneMusic's Fitness, Exercise & Wellbeing scheme specifically names yoga, Pilates and barre studios. If all of your music comes from a service that licenses its own catalogue directly for business use, the music from that service is covered by the provider. Confirm the details for your studio at onemusic.com.au.

Can I play Spotify or Apple Music in my yoga classes?

Personal streaming accounts are written for personal use, and a subscription does not give you the right to play that music in a business. A OneMusic licence does not override the streaming service's terms either. Consider a service built and licensed for business use instead.

Does quiet ambient or meditation music still need a licence?

Volume does not change the rule. If the music is protected by copyright and played in public for a commercial purpose, it generally needs permission. Many ambient and meditation tracks are commercially released and represented by collecting societies, so do not assume they are free to use. Check the supplier's terms, or ask APRA AMCOS if you are unsure.

What if my teachers are independent and rent the room?

It depends on who runs the classes and who controls the music, so agree it in writing. Teachers can be licensees in their own right, but the venue is not automatically excused. Ask OneMusic how to set it up for your arrangement.

Do I need a licence for live kirtan or a sound bath?

OneMusic does not generally license individual or group live performers. It is the venue or event organiser who needs to obtain a licence for the public performance. If you host the event, plan for that obligation and mention the live sessions when you request a quote.

If I use VibeBeats, do I still need a OneMusic licence?

For music from the VibeBeats catalogue, no: it is directly licensed, and performance rights are included. Any other music you play in the studio, such as the radio, a personal playlist or live musicians, may still need a OneMusic licence. Ask any music supplier to confirm in writing what their licence covers, and check with OneMusic if you are unsure.

Sources

• OneMusic Australia, Music licences for fitness, exercise and wellbeing • OneMusic Australia, Why do I need a licence? • business.gov.au, Playing music in your business • APRA AMCOS, Music licensing explained • PPCA, Music licensing FAQs • ABLIS, Fitness Centre / Fitness and Wellbeing Instructor Music Licence • AUSactive, What you need to know about music licensing

This guide is general information, current as of November 2026, and it is not legal advice. Licence schemes, categories and fees change, so confirm current details for your studio with OneMusic before you decide.

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