How much will UAE businesses pay to play music from December? Fees explained

Abu Dhabi: Restaurants, cafés, hotels, gyms, shopping centres and other businesses in the UAE will face annual licensing fees for the public use of protected music from December, under a new framework issued by the Ministry of Economy and Tourism.

The fees are set out in the ministry’s new Collective Management in Music Guide, which establishes a nationwide tariff system for businesses and organisations that play or otherwise use copyrighted music as part of their commercial activities.

For restaurants and cafés, annual fees will start at Dh1,500 for venues with up to 50 seats, rising to Dh2,700 for those with 51 to 100 seats and Dh4,800 for venues with 101 to 200 seats. 

Above 200 seats, businesses will pay an additional Dh20 for each seat, subject to an annual maximum of Dh6,000.

Restaurants and cafés offering DJ services, as well as entertainment clubs and similar venues, will pay more. Fees start at Dh2,500 for up to 50 seats, rising to Dh3,500 for 51 to 100 seats and Dh6,500 for 101 to 200. 

An additional Dh20 will apply for each seat above 200, with the annual charge capped at Dh8,000.

Retail shops and commercial complexes measuring up to 300 square metres will pay Dh1,700 a year, while those between 301 and 700 square metres will pay Dh3,400. 

Larger premises will be charged Dh60 for every additional 25 square metres, up to a maximum of Dh20,000 annually.

For major shopping centres, the tariff begins at Dh625 for the first 100 square metres of common areas, followed by Dh50 for every additional 25 square metres, with an annual ceiling of Dh50,000.

Fitness centres will pay Dh1,700 for premises of up to 300 square metres and Dh5 for every additional square metre, subject to a maximum annual charge of Dh6,000.

Hotels and floating hotels will be charged according to their classification and number of rooms.

The tariff starts at Dh50 per room for one- and two-star hotels and rises to Dh150 per room for four- and five-star properties, with fixed bands and an annual maximum of Dh25,000 for the highest category.

General-programming radio stations will pay 1 per cent of annual income, while music-focused stations will pay 3 per cent.

Television channels carrying general programming will also pay 1 per cent of annual income, while news channels will be charged 0.25 per cent. A minimum annual fee of Dh1,700 applies to both radio and television stations.

Airlines providing integrated entertainment services will pay according to the number of seats covered, with fees beginning at Dh5,000 and rising to a maximum of Dh45,000 a year.

The ministry said the new charges will take effect from the beginning of December 2026.

Why businesses have to pay

The charges are for licences allowing protected musical works to be used publicly as part of a commercial activity.

A personal subscription to a music-streaming platform does not, by itself, give a restaurant, shop or hotel the legal right to play songs publicly for customers. Personal listening rights are legally distinct from the right to publicly perform or communicate music in a commercial setting.

The fees will be collected through the UAE’s two licensed collective music management organisations, the Emirates Music Rights Association and Music Nation.

Those organisations will collect and distribute royalties to the rights holders they represent, including composers, lyricists, performers, musicians, producers and publishers, depending on the works and rights involved.

The ministry said businesses covered by the guide will receive a one-year licence, renewable in accordance with the applicable rules and conditions.

Who is exempt?

Educational and academic institutions, government entities, national occasions and personal celebrations of a non-commercial nature are exempt from the charges.

The ministry may also exempt additional categories through a separate decision.

The guide also establishes a Cultural Support Fund for Music, which will receive 10 per cent of the total amounts collected before royalties are distributed to rights holders. The allocation forms part of the 25 per cent share referred to in the executive regulations.

The fund will support music composition, production, distribution and live performances, as well as emerging talent, training programmes and efforts to promote Emirati music regionally and internationally.

It will be overseen by the Ministry of Economy and Tourism and managed by a joint committee including representatives from the ministry and the Ministry of Culture.

Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy and Tourism, said the new guide was part of efforts to strengthen the competitiveness of the UAE’s music and creative industries while improving the governance of copyright and related rights.

The ministry said the framework was designed to standardise licensing fees, make financial and artistic rights easier to administer and reduce infringements, while creating a clearer system for the lawful commercial use of music across the UAE.