Music in Stores

A licence is required by anyone who plays music audio and / or video recordings in public. ‘In public’, for example, includes in retail stores and malls, clubs, salons, restaurants, cafes and bars. If your phone system includes a music on-hold facility, this also needs to be licensed.

There are two different copyrights in any recording, the copyright in the song itself (composition / lyrics etc) and the copyright in the recorded version of the musical work.

The public performance and broadcasting rights covered under the Copyright Act are assigned to Phonographic Performances NZ Ltd (PPNZ) and Australasian Performing Rights Association (APRA) by their member recording companies and composers respectively. These two organisations, PPNZ and APRA, protect and exercise these rights on behalf of their members.

Any business found to be playing copyrighted material in public without the appropriate licence is breaking the law. Usually two licences are required: a Public Performance Licence from PPNZ and an APRA licence.

Recent publicity of the prosecution of a Palmerston North business has raised the awareness of retailers to the need for licensing. The business was ordered to stop illegally playing music for which it did not have a Public Performance Licence and to pay costs and damages amounting to almost $3,500.00.

By comparison the annual licence fees are minimal. For example, from the fees information available at February 2007, we understand that a retail outlet of up to 1500 square metres playing only background music from CDs, tapes etc, through only one speaker, would pay $150 for a Public Performance Licence and $79.93 for an APRA Licence. The APRA Licence is cheaper for radio only.

These are examples only. You need to ensure you are correctly licensed and will need to discuss the correct fees with PPNZ and APRA respectively. Some businesses may require multiple licences, for example, the retail store, music on hold and a café area.

Both organisations have downloadable application forms on their websites. The PPNZ form is a general use form and you will need to look at their tariff guide for fees. The APRA form is specific to different situations with the relevant fees appearing on the appropriate form.

For information on PPNZ visit www.ppnz.co.nz or phone 0800 88 77 69.

For information on APRA visit www.apra.co.nz or phone 0800 692 772.