Why Soundsuit Requires Zones (or Users)

Overview

Soundsuit is legally required to report music usage to major record labels (Warner, Sony, Universal, etc.).
This includes which songs were played, where they were played, and by which account.
This process ensures that artists are paid fairly, based on how often their music is used in businesses.

To provide accurate reporting, Soundsuit uses a structure called Zones (or Users, depending on your preferred interface terminology).

 

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What Are Zones / Users?

A Zone (or User) represents one independent audio stream in your business setup.

• One room playing music = one zone

• Several rooms playing music at the same time = multiple zones

• Several staff members playing music independently = multiple users

Note: “Zones” and “Users” function the same way. You can choose the display you prefer.

 

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Why Zones Are Mandatory

This structure allows Soundsuit to report the following correctly:

✔ Number of active streams

Record labels must know exactly how many audio streams are active simultaneously.

✔ Which songs are played in each stream

Each zone/user can play different music.
For correct royalty attribution, every played song must be linked to the specific stream where it occurred.

This detailed reporting is a legal requirement for all licensed music services.

 

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What Your Business Needs to Do

To stay compliant and run Soundsuit smoothly:

1. Define how many zones/users you need
   (i.e., how many parallel streams you actually use)

2. Assign one zone/user per physical area or per independent staff member

3. Name your zones/users clearly
   e.g., “Restaurant,” “Lobby,” “Gym,” “Office 1,” “Event Staff – Anna”
   
    

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Example Scenarios

• Single café with one room → 1 zone

• Hotel with lobby + spa + restaurant → 3 zones

• Store with two floors playing different music → 2 zones

• Retail chain with 5 separate shops → 5 zones (one per shop)

• Company event team with 10 staff members travelling and playing music independently at seminars, conferences, or trade fairs → 10 users
  (each staff member streams separately, so each needs their own user license)
  
   

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Summary

Zones/Users enable Soundsuit to:

• report music usage accurately

• comply with music-licensing laws

• ensure artists receive fair compensation

• provide your business with the correct, legal setup

• organise your multi-area or multi-staff music usage clearly