Do I need to pay licensing fees (e.g. GEMA, SACEM, PRSPPL, etc.) when I use Soundsuit?

In the EU and the rest of the world, you do need to pay a license fee to your local PRO (Performing Rights Organization, e.g. GEMA, SACEM, KONA, STIM, etc.) to play legally background music in your business, and this even if you use a legal B2B music service like Soundsuit.

Unlike Spotify and other consumer music services, Soundsuit is legal for commercial use in businesses, stores, offices. This means that Soundsuit pays the rights holders fairly in proportion to the number of times their tracks are played. However the Soundsuit subscription does not include the royalty fees (e.g. PRSPPL, GEMA, APRA-AMCOS, SACEM, etc.), that are proportional to the square meters and/or the number of employees of your point of sale. These royalty fees remunerate the music rights holders in proportion to the average number of customers that you engage and motivate through the distribution of their music.

This diagram explains how musicians are compensated by your local PRO and how royalties break down when you use Soundsuit:

You then must pay these royalty fees to your local PRO (e.g. PRSPPL, GEMA, APRA-AMCOS, SACEM, etc.) in addition to your Soundsuit subscription. This way, you comply 100% with the law, and cover all the royalty fees due to the music rights owners.

You will find even more information about this topic in this article.