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Music licensing for cafes & restaurants in United States

Café & Restaurant Music - Licence Included

Skip ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and GMR. Get fully licensed background music for your venue, just $6.99/month. Music and license in one subscription. No collecting society fees.

14-day free trial · No credit card required · Cancel anytime

What you're actually paying for music today

Most café and restaurant owners pay for a music license and a music source separately, and don't realise how much it adds up to. Melodial replaces both.

$1,608
$1,308
$300
Traditional / year
$69.99
Melodial Basic / year
ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and GMR license Music vendor
That's about
$1,538
back in your pocket every year, for a dining room of around 30 seats.

Melodial Basic is $6.99/month, music and license in one bill. No ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and GMR fee, no second streaming subscription.

Indicative only, based on a dining room of around 30 seats. Music vendor is an estimate: a typical business subscription starts around $25 a month. Full details on our licensing guide.

How can we skip ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and GMR?

ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and GMR collects fees for music registered with collecting societies. If you play mainstream music, Spotify, radio, CDs, you owe them a license fee.

Melodial is different. We own or directly licence every track in our catalogue. None of our music is registered with the US performing rights organizations (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and GMR) or any other collecting society. No royalties to collect means no license fees to pay.

Your Melodial subscription is your license. Music and commercial rights, one payment, nothing else.

Certificate of Compliance included. Download your official licence certificate from your account. If ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and GMR or any licensing body contacts your cafe or restaurant, show them the certificate. You're covered. And if you need help responding, forward us their email and we'll draft the reply.

The three rights you need to play music commercially

There are three separate rights involved in playing music in a business. The traditional system makes you deal with them across multiple bills. With Melodial, all three are in the one subscription.

Recording rights

The right to stream a specific sound recording of a song.

✓ Covered by Melodial

Publishing rights

The right to use the underlying composition and lyrics.

✓ Covered by Melodial

Public performance rights

The right to play music in a commercial environment where customers can hear it.

✓ Covered by Melodial

Melodial owns or directly licenses every track in its catalogue. None of it is registered with any collecting society, so there are no royalties to collect and no license fees to pay. Your subscription is your license.

14-day free trial · No credit card required · Cancel anytime

Two ways to legally play music in your cafe or restaurant

ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and GMR license Melodial
What it is A license covering mainstream music, songs you hear on the radio. Music not included. An all-in-one subscription. Music and commercial license in one payment.
You need this if You play chart hits, radio, TV, or host live cover bands. You want curated atmosphere music at a fixed price, and believe your venue deserves better than random radio.
How it works Annual fee that varies by business type, size, and music use. Music source not included. $6.99/month flat. No forms, no audits. Certificate of Compliance included instantly.

Already playing Spotify in your venue? Spotify's terms prohibit commercial use, even with Premium. You still need a license from ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and GMR, which costs hundreds or thousands per year on top of your Spotify subscription. Melodial replaces both.

What happens if you play unlicensed music?

ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and GMR actively contacts businesses. They send letters, make phone calls, and use music recognition technology to detect unlicensed music.

The penalties are real. Collecting societies can pursue businesses for backdated fees, damages, and legal costs once they identify unlicensed use. Playing copyright-protected music without a licence is an infringement under the US Copyright Act.

With Melodial, you're fully compliant from the moment you subscribe. No risk, no paperwork, no surprises.

What our customers say
We stumbled upon Melodial trying to find something cheaper than paying for a music licence. We were worried the music would be dull, but to our surprise there is a real variety of playlists, and customers have even been bobbing along.
Debbie, Haru Dining · harudining.com
Great service, great pricing, so easy to join, and a wide range of music. Couldn't ask for more for our restaurant.
Taline T.
Melodial has a fantastic selection of music for all business types; our customers can't stop raving about our new tunes. And the best part? Melodial is cost-effective, making it the ideal choice for small businesses.
The Heavenly Vegan

Restaurant-ready playlists

Hit play and your venue sounds exactly right. Every playlist runs continuously with no explicit lyrics, no skipping, no shuffling, no staff managing music.

Café Beats
Café Beats
Warm · Rich · Aromatic

Bright, easy listening for the morning rush and the counter.

Late Morning Coffee
Late Morning Coffee
Easy · Bright · Unhurried

Relaxed tempos for the between-services lull.

Pop Energy
Pop Energy
Upbeat · Current · Fun

Chart-friendly energy for the afternoon rush.

Soft Pop
Soft Pop
Mellow · Warm · Easygoing

Softer pop to ease into the evening.

Start your free trial to hear the full library, 50+ playlists across 30 genres.

Switch in 3 minutes

1

Sign up for a free trial. No credit card required.

2

Pick a playlist. Connect it to your speakers via the app, Bluetooth, or AUX.

3

Download your Certificate of Compliance. You're covered from that moment.

Common questions from cafes & restaurants

Does my venue really need a license?
Yes, unfortunately. If a customer or staff member can hear music, whether in the dining room, behind the bar, or at the counter, it counts as a public performance and needs a commercial license, even for a small café. The good news: with Melodial, that license is already inside your $6.99/month subscription.
Can I just use my Spotify or Apple Music subscription?
We wish. Personal streaming accounts are licensed for private, non-commercial use only, so playing them where customers can hear the music is still an unlicensed public performance, whatever the tier. Melodial works the same way in practice, an app connected to your speakers, except the commercial license is built in.
Is Melodial really a legal alternative to a ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and GMR license?
Yes. Melodial owns or directly licenses every track in its catalogue. None of it is registered with any collecting society, so there are no royalties to collect and no license fees to pay. Your subscription is your license.
What if ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and GMR contacts my venue?
If ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and GMR or any licensing body contacts your venue, show them your Melodial Certificate of Compliance. You're covered. And if you need help responding, forward us their email and we'll draft the reply.
Can I still play Spotify or the radio alongside Melodial?
If you play any commercially released music, even occasionally, you'll still need a collecting society license for that music. To fully replace the collecting society fee, play Melodial exclusively during business hours.
Do you have mainstream artists?
No, and that's exactly why you don't need a collecting society license. Our catalogue is professionally produced music designed for venues, and our artists have millions of streams of their own. Most customers just notice the atmosphere is right.
What does the music actually sound like?
Modern, high-quality music across 24 genres, including café acoustic, jazz, bossa nova, lo-fi, pop, and classical. This is not elevator music. Start a free trial and listen for yourself, no card required.
What if I've been playing unlicensed music until now?
You're far from alone, and the fix is simple. Collecting societies can back-charge for past unlicensed use, so the sooner you're covered the better. Subscribe, download your Certificate of Compliance, and you're compliant from that moment.
What does Melodial Basic actually include?
One flat $6.99/month (or $69.99/year) subscription covers the music and the license for a single stream, playing to as many speakers as you like at one location, with a downloadable Certificate of Compliance and playback on any device connected to your speakers.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. No contracts and no cancellation fees. Your access continues until the end of your current billing period.

Note: If your venue specifically requires Top 40 hits (Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift, etc.), you will still need a license from ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and GMR. Melodial is for venues that want great atmosphere without the premium cost of mainstream radio hits.

Great music for your venue. No license headaches.

Fully licensed music, $6.99/month, license included. Try it free for 14 days, no card required.

Read the full licensing guide →
Start your free trial No credit card required