A Spanish business playing recorded music gets two bills: SGAE for authors and publishers, and AGEDI with AIE, jointly, for producers and performers.
| Who | What for | |
|---|---|---|
| SGAE | Sociedad General de Autores y Editores | Authors and publishers; sector licences |
| AGEDI | Asociación de Gestión de Derechos Intelectuales | Phonogram producers; joint collection with AIE |
| AIE | Artistas Intérpretes o Ejecutantes | Music performers |
| VUD | Ventanilla Única Digital | Single online billing window required by Ley 21/2014 |
SGAE issues sector licences, for example for restaurants, bars and cafés (Licencia de Restauración), shops (Licencia de Comercios y Tiendas) and lodging (Licencia de Alojamiento). AGEDI and AIE collect jointly the single equitable remuneration owed to producers and performers for public communication of commercially published phonograms.
Ley 21/2014 requires the societies to set up a single online billing and payment window (Ventanilla Única Digital) showing the total owed under general tariffs.
SGAE uses a monthly averaged tariff by public floor area (bands up to 50, 51 to 100, 101 to 200 m2, then per extra 50 m2), with different tariffs for secondary background use in cafés and restaurants and for necessary use in music bars. There are separate lines for music only, audiovisual only, live ambient music and jukebox. VAT is added. AGEDI and AIE bill separately under their own general tariffs.
2026 example, SGAE tariff M0420300: music only, as secondary background ambience, in a bar, café or restaurant up to 50 m2, EUR 20.67 a month (averaged) in the first contract year, EUR 13.07 if the licence is requested voluntarily before use, and EUR 16.87 in the second year. VAT not included; authors' side only.
SGAE discounts reach 15% (direct debit, prepayment, membership of a sector association).
Consumer plans of Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube are licensed for personal, noncommercial use under their own terms, so a private account is not a license to play music to customers. SGAE's tariff book says that installing any device (TV, computer, screen) that communicates SGAE repertoire in a venue needs the corresponding licence.
Authors' side: SGAE licenses only its repertoire, plus foreign repertoire by reciprocal agreement, so a venue playing only works SGAE does not represent does not owe SGAE. But article 150 of the Intellectual Property Law gives authorised societies standing in court on the basis of their statutes alone, and in practice the venue must prove that the music is outside the repertoire. Court decisions on this burden are split.
Recordings side: articles 108.4 to 108.6 and 116.2 to 116.3 make the single equitable remuneration for commercially published phonograms payable through the collecting societies (mandatory collective management). So if royalty free tracks are commercially published phonograms whose producers or performers are represented through AGEDI or AIE, the remuneration is still due; a direct licence from the label does not by itself settle it.
Keep contracts, track lists and proof of the source of every track.
Dr.DIO Studio makes its own electronic and ambient music, no Dr.DIO track is registered with any collecting society, and the Business plan ($14.99 a month per venue, 14 days free) gives the venue a direct public playback license and a certificate for Dr.DIO music.
Dr.DIO works are not in SGAE's repertoire, and Dr.DIO's producers and performers are not represented by AGEDI or AIE, but Spanish law makes the recordings remuneration payable only through the societies, so a claim from AGEDI and AIE cannot be ruled out. Keep the certificate and track list, and ask AGEDI and AIE in writing.
Any other music in the venue, such as radio, TV, live music or other playlists, still needs the usual licences.
This page explains the general rules as published by the societies and laws listed above, checked in October 2026. It is not legal advice; fees and rules change, so confirm with the society before you decide.
In 2026 SGAE tariff M0420300, for background music only in a bar up to 50 m2, is EUR 20.67 a month in the first year (EUR 13.07 if requested before use), plus VAT.
It depends on public floor area and type of use. For a small bar with background music the 2026 tariff starts around EUR 13.07 to 20.67 a month, plus AGEDI and AIE separately.
Cafés pay the secondary use tariff by floor area band; up to 50 m2 it is EUR 20.67 a month in the first year in 2026.
They collect the equitable remuneration for producers and performers of recordings, which is separate from SGAE's authors' rights.
Yes, but you must be able to prove the music is outside SGAE's repertoire, and the AGEDI and AIE remuneration for commercial recordings may still apply.
No. Personal plans of Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube are for personal, noncommercial use.
