New music licensing scheme for restaurants, cafés, gets thumbs-up

The new music license scheme for restaurants and cafés, due to come into effect on November 1, has got the thumbs-up from peak industry association, Restaurant & Catering Australia (R&CA).

The APRA AMCOS scheme will see a flat fee applied to a range of music mediums including radio, television, CDs, smartphones and streaming devices.

Restaurants and cafés will also have access to other music licences from APRA AMCOS including live, featured recorded music, karaoke and website use at bundled rates and – in a first for APRA AMCOS – will receive a complimentary licence for one night of live music.

R&CA CEO John Hart said that the new scheme simplified the process for his members. “Music is an important part of the hospitality industry. There is an intrinsic value in playing live and recorded music – it creates ambience, mood, and activity in restaurants and cafes across Australia. A licensing scheme that reflects this change will make it easier to do business, and shows APRA AMCOS has its finger on the pulse of the hospitality industry.”

Jennifer Gome, APRA AMCOS’ Director of Public Performance Licensing expounded, “A technology and device neutral licence scheme that is also administratively simple is something our customers have been wanting for some time. With input from the R&CA we were able to develop a new scheme, which reduces paperwork and takes into account changes to music technology.”