Music licensing for internet radio, country by country
Every station owner is responsible for the music rights in their own country. This page names who to pay, how many licences you need and what we hand you to file — in plain language, in four languages.
Choose your language for this guide.
Do I need a music licence for my internet radio station, and who from?
Yes. An internet radio station normally needs two licences: one covering the songwriting and composition, and one covering the sound recording. They are arranged by the station owner with the collecting societies in the country the station broadcasts from — ASCAP, BMI or SESAC plus SoundExchange in the United States; PRS for Music plus PPL in the United Kingdom; SADAIC plus AADI CAPIF in Argentina; ECAD alone in Brazil. Wowzaradio does not sell or include the licence. We log every track played and produce the cue sheets, reports and listener figures the societies ask for.
Countries covered here
17
Licences usually needed
Two (songwriting + recording)
Who holds the licence
The station owner
What we provide
Play logs and cue sheets
Where Wowzaradio stands
1You hold the licence for your own station. The music rights for what you broadcast are yours to arrange in your own country.
2We supply the evidence you need to file: every track played is logged automatically, with cue sheets and reports you can download at any time.
3We cannot obtain a licence on your behalf, and hosting a station here does not grant you one.
Translations are provided for clarity only. Our licence agreement exists in English, and the English text governs.
Pick the country you broadcast from
This is the country where you or your organisation is based — not where your listeners are.
United States
Two separate licences are needed: one for the songwriting, one for the recording.
From roughly USD 500–1,000 a year in total for a small hobby webcaster, set by minimum fees rather than by audience size.
What to do in your country
1Register your station with ASCAP, BMI, SESAC and GMR for songwriter and composer royalties.
2Get a separate recorded-music licence from SoundExchange.
3Tell them you are an online-only station and ask for the small-webcaster or minimum tariff.
4Send your play reports every month. Download them from your station dashboard.
5Keep your logs for at least 3 years.
Who collects, in every country covered
Collecting societies for songwriting and sound recordings, by country
Country
Songwriting
Recordings
Licences
United StatesNorth America
ASCAP, BMI, SESAC and GMR
SoundExchange
Two
CanadaNorth America
SOCAN
Re:Sound
Two
MexicoLatin America
SACM
SOMEXFON
Two
BrazilLatin America
ECAD (collects for UBC, ABRAMUS and others)
ECAD
One
ArgentinaLatin America
SADAIC
AADI CAPIF
Two
ChileLatin America
SCD
SCD (also administers recording rights)
One
ColombiaLatin America
SAYCO
ACINPRO
One bill, two bodies
UruguayLatin America
AGADU
CUD (Cámara Uruguaya del Disco)
Two
United KingdomEurope
PRS for Music
PPL
One bill, two bodies
IrelandEurope
IMRO
PPI
Two
SpainEurope
SGAE
AGEDI and AIE
Two
GermanyEurope
GEMA
GVL
Two
FranceEurope
SACEM
SCPP and SPPF
One bill, two bodies
NetherlandsEurope
Buma/Stemra
Sena
Two
AustraliaAsia Pacific
APRA AMCOS
PPCA
Two
New ZealandAsia Pacific
APRA AMCOS NZ
Recorded Music NZ
One bill, two bodies
IndiaAsia Pacific
IPRS
PPL India and Novex Communications
Two
Your country is not listed?
Search for the collecting society in your country, then ask them these four questions. Nearly every country has one body for songwriting and one for recordings.
Do you license internet radio, and under which tariff?
Does that licence also cover the sound recordings, or do I need a second body?
Is there a reduced rate for a small online-only station?
How often do you want play reports, and in what format?
What we hand you
A complete play log for every track: title, artist, time played and duration.
Cue sheets formatted for filing, downloadable per month.
Listener figures for the period, where a society asks for them.
Your signed rights declaration, kept on file at the version you signed.
A large part of what your station can play is music Wowzaradio holds the rights to directly: DJ Pool records, agreements signed with artists and labels, and our own royalty-free library. Because those rights are ours, we can cover them for you outright with no listener limits and no society paperwork. Every plan, including the free one, also keeps your play logs and cue sheets.
Wowzaradio Catalogue Licence
Included with Pro, Network and In-Store
Unlimited listener hours on every track we control. On Hobbyist, Starter and Creator you can add it for $19 a month per station, or upgrade and get it as part of the plan.
In-Store, per site
Included with In-Store, $29/mo extra locations
For shops, cafes, gyms and salons. One flat fee per location, unlimited people on the premises, playing the catalogue we control.
Outside-catalogue concierge
Optional, $29/mo service fee
Only needed for chart music we do not control. We register your station with your local collecting societies, file your cue sheets and pay them for you; their fees are billed to you at cost with nothing added.
In short: if the music comes from our catalogue, your licence is settled here and your audience can grow as large as it likes. If you want music from outside it, that is the one case where outside societies get involved, and the concierge service exists so you do not have to deal with them yourself.
Frequently asked questions
Does Wowzaradio include music licensing in its plans?
No. Wowzaradio is the broadcasting platform: it plays your station, logs every track and produces the cue sheets and reports your collecting society asks for. The performance licence itself is held by the station owner and arranged in the country the station broadcasts from.
Which licences does an internet radio station normally need?
Two kinds: one covering the songwriting and composition, and one covering the sound recording. In most countries these are handled by two different collecting societies. In a few — Brazil and Chile, for example — a single body can license both.
Which country's rules apply to my station?
The country you or your organisation broadcasts from, not the countries your listeners are in. Start with the collecting societies there; they will tell you if additional clearance is needed for overseas audiences.
How much does licensing a small internet radio station cost?
Most societies have a minimum tariff for small, online-only stations, commonly a few hundred units of local currency per year per body. Always ask for the small-webcaster or minimum tariff by name, and quote your real listener hours rather than an estimate.
What proof do collecting societies want, and where do I get it?
A play log or cue sheet listing every track broadcast with title, artist, time and duration, plus listener figures for the period. Wowzaradio records this automatically for every station and you can download it per month from your station dashboard.
Is the translated licensing guidance legally binding?
No. The Spanish, Portuguese and Hindi versions are provided so hosts can understand their obligations clearly. The licence agreement itself exists in English and the English text governs.
This page is information, not legal advice. Tariffs, thresholds and society names change. Always confirm current terms with the body itself before you rely on a figure here.