UAE Public Performance Music Fee: Licensing Music for Cafés, Gyms, Hotels and Events

Direct answer. Yes. A UAE business that plays recorded or live music to its customers needs permission from the people who own the rights in that music. The rule comes from Federal Decree-Law No. 38 of 2021 on Copyright and Neighbouring Rights. That law treats playing music to the public as a "public performance", and only the rights holder may authorise it. Rights holders usually manage that permission through collective management organisations, and the Ministry of Economy has authorised two: the Emirates Music Rights Association and Music Nation. In August 2026 the Ministry of Economy and Tourism launched its "Collective Management in Music Guide" under Ministerial Resolution No. 136 of 2026. Under the Guide, the Ministry grants listed businesses a one-year licence and the two organisations collect the fees. It names the businesses that must pay, including cafés, restaurants, hotels, malls, gyms and airlines. The fees take effect at the start of December 2026. This guide covers the legal basis, who collects, who pays and who is exempt, how licensing works, and what unlicensed use can cost.

At a glance

The essentials fit in one table, and the sections below explain each row.

The legal basis: why playing a song in public needs permission

Under the 2021 copyright law, playing music to the public is a use only rights holders may authorise.

Public performance under the 2021 law

Article 1 of the law defines "public performance" as communicating a work to the public by any means. Its examples include "playing musical Works". The definition applies "whether live or recorded". So a song on a café speaker is covered, and so is a band playing covers in a hotel lobby.

Article 7 sets the core rule. Only the author, the author's successors or the copyright holder may authorise the use of a work. The uses it lists include performance, broadcasting and communication to the public.

Buying a CD or a download gives you a copy of a recording. It does not, by itself, give you the author's permission to perform that recording to the public. That permission is what the music licence supplies.

The 2021 law replaced Federal Law No. 7 of 2002 and has applied since 2 January 2022. Its executive regulations are Cabinet Resolution No. 47 of 2022. For the basic terms, see our copyright dictionary entry.

Three sets of rights in one track

A single recorded song usually carries three layers of rights. A licence needs to cover each layer that your use of the music touches.

Article 20 sets these terms and the year each one starts from. Check the term before you assume a track is free to use. A recording made within the last 50 years is still inside the performer and producer terms.

Who collects: the two licensed music organisations

Rights holders pool their rights in licensed organisations, which license businesses and pass the money on.

What collective management means

No café can ask every composer, singer and record label for permission one by one. Article 32 of the law lets rights holders assign their economic rights to professional associations, or authorise other entities to manage them. Contracts signed by those bodies are civil contracts.

Article 34 adds that such a body may operate only with a permit from the Ministry. Article 15 of the executive regulations sets the rules it must then follow. Among them, the organisation:

• reports to the Ministry every year, including the money collected and the classification of the users who paid it;
• distributes money to rights holders at least once a year;
• may not refuse, without a justifiable reason, to manage a rights holder's financial rights;
• may deduct no more than 25% of the total collected for its administrative costs;
• runs a mechanism for internal disputes and complaints, handled by independent and experienced people.

Article 33 of the law bars these bodies from preferring one applicant over another. They may still charge less, with a reasoned decision, for live performance at public celebrations. The same applies to educational or cultural activities that earn no direct or indirect return.

Emirates Music Rights Association and Music Nation

The Ministry of Economy issued the first music collective management licence to the Emirates Music Rights Association in April 2025. On 2 June 2025 it announced a second licence, to Music Nation, issued under Federal Decree-Law No. 38 of 2021. The Ministry's announcement of the Music Nation licence says it authorises the organisation to manage the distribution of rights on behalf of music creators and performers.

The August 2026 announcement names both organisations as the collectors of the new fees. It does not say whether one licence covers every song you might play. Before you sign, ask each organisation two things:

• which rights holders it represents, local and foreign;
• which rights it covers: authors', performers', producers', or a combination.

UAE music fees from December 2026: what the Ministry announced

A ministerial guide now names the paying businesses and starts fee collection in December 2026.

On 11 August 2026 the Ministry of Economy and Tourism announced its "Collective Management in Music Guide". It issued the Guide under Ministerial Resolution No. 136 of 2026. The 2021 law refers to the same authority as the Ministry of Economy.

The Ministry's announcement of the Guide states that:

• the Guide sets the licence fees that the listed entities and establishments must pay;
• the fees take effect at the start of December 2026;
• the Emirates Music Rights Association and Music Nation will collect the fees and manage the rights;
• the Ministry grants the licence for one year, renewable under the applicable rules and conditions;
• fee bands depend on the nature of the use and the scale of the economic activity.

How much the fee is

The Ministry's announcement does not publish amounts. It says only that fees are banded by type of use and size of business. Press reports have quoted figures, but they are not an official source.

So treat any number you read online with care. Ask the collecting organisations for the tariff that applies to your business type and size, and get it in writing. Then check the Ministry of Economy and Tourism website for any update to the Guide.

Where the money goes

Under the Guide, 10% of the total collected goes to a new "Cultural Support Fund for Music". A joint committee of the Ministry of Economy and Tourism and the Ministry of Culture manages it, under Ministry supervision. The two collecting organisations must open a separate bank account for the fund. Separately, the executive regulations cap each organisation's administrative deduction at 25% of the total it collects. They also require it to make sure the return reaches rights holders under its internal distribution mechanism.

Who must pay, and who is exempt

The Guide lists paying business types and exempt uses, and everything else is a question for the organisations.

Businesses named in the Guide

The Ministry lists these categories:

• restaurants and cafés;
• shopping malls;
• fitness centres;
• hotels and floating hotels;
• airlines;
• radio stations and television channels;
• concerts and similar events held in the UAE.

The Ministry gives its reason in one line: using music in these places involves copyright and neighbouring rights. The law itself already binds national carriers, including aircraft, vessels and trains, under Article 46.

Live bands, DJs and events

Live music is covered too. The definition of public performance includes live communication, so a band playing covers still performs the songwriters' works. Performers also hold their own rights under Article 17.

Concerts and similar events are a listed category in the Guide. If you organise events, settle in the contract who holds the music licence: the venue, the organiser or the performer. Do it before tickets go on sale.

Uses that are exempt

The Ministry says these uses and categories do not pay the fees:

• educational and academic institutions;
• government entities;
• uses during national occasions;
• non-commercial personal celebrations and events;
• any other use or category the Ministry exempts by resolution.

Separately, Article 22(6) of the law lets anyone perform a published work at family gatherings, or through students in an educational institution, where there is no direct or indirect charge. Neither list covers music played to customers as part of running a business.

Grey areas to raise with the organisations

The Ministry's announcement does not answer every situation. Put these questions to the collecting organisations, in writing:

• Your business type is not on the list. A standalone shop, salon or clinic is not named in the announcement. Article 7 still applies to any public performance, so ask whether and how you need to be licensed.
• A shop inside a mall. Malls are a listed category. Ask whether a mall's licence reaches music played inside your unit, or only the common areas.
• A venue hosting someone else's event. Ask whether the venue, the organiser or both must hold the licence.
• Streaming and background-music services. Do not assume a personal streaming subscription covers playing music to customers. Read the service's terms, and ask whether a separate licence is still needed.
• Free zones. The announcement refers to establishments in the UAE and does not single out free zones. If you operate in one, confirm your position before December.
• Music made for you, or music you own. If you hold the rights, or the rights holders licensed you in writing for public performance, keep that paperwork ready to show.

How licensing works in practice

Licensing is a short sequence: map your music use, get the tariff, sign, pay and keep records.

Each organisation sets its own procedure, so the steps below are general:

1. Map how you use music. List each location and each type of use: background, live, DJ or events. Note the size measures a tariff may ask for.
2. Contact the organisations and the Ministry. Ask how to apply for the licence, which rights and repertoire each organisation covers, and the tariff for your category.
3. Read the licence. Check the locations, uses, term and renewal date it covers, and compare them with your real music use.
4. Sign the licence and pay as it requires. The Ministry says the fees take effect at the start of December 2026, so aim to have the licence in place by then.
5. Keep the licence on file. Store it with your trade licence documents, so you can produce it quickly if asked.
6. Renew every year. Licences run for one year, so put the renewal date in the calendar.

If you are opening a new outlet, add the music licence to your launch checklist. Our guide on how to start a business in the UAE covers the licences that come first. When your trade licence comes up for renewal, our trade licence renewal guide is a good prompt to check the music licence too.

What happens if you play music without a licence

Unlicensed use can bring criminal penalties, court orders stopping the music, and compensation claims.

Criminal penalties

Article 39 sets penalties for anyone who infringes an author's or a neighbouring-right holder's moral or economic rights without written permission. Whether a particular use is an offence depends on the facts. Read the table as the legal range, not a prediction of what a court would do.

In its clause on selling, renting or trading protected works, Article 39 adds that penalties multiply with the number of works, performances, programmes or recordings involved. Article 42 covers counterfeiting crimes. There the court orders confiscation of counterfeit copies, and it may close the establishment for up to six months and publish the judgment at the convicted person's expense.

Court orders and compensation

Rights holders do not have to start with a criminal complaint. Under Article 35, a summary-proceedings judge of the competent civil court can act on the author's request. The judge can record a public performance, stop a current show or ban it in future, and attach the revenue it earns.

The applicant must then file the main case within 20 days of the order, or the order lapses entirely. The person the order is made against can file a grievance with the court president within 15 days (Article 36). Article 43 also lets rights holders claim compensation under the general rules.

The executive regulations require a collecting organisation to take administrative and legal action to protect the rights holders it represents. In other words, the organisations are expected to enforce.

Oversight and complaints

The Ministry supervises the law and detects violations under Article 47. Under Article 48, nominated Ministry or local-authority staff can act as judicial officers. The Ministry also oversees the collecting organisations themselves, including on-site inspections and reviews of their records and financial systems.

If you believe an organisation has breached its legal or regulatory obligations, the Ministry says it receives complaints from rights holders, users and other concerned parties. It may examine a complaint, seek an amicable settlement or take regulatory measures. A decision of the Ministry itself goes first to its Grievance Committee. After that, Article 37 allows a challenge before the competent court within 30 days of notification.

Related permits that are not the music licence

A music licence sits beside your other permits and does not replace any of them.

• Your brand name and logo. Trademarks protect brands, not songs. Our UAE trademark registration guide and the trademark entry explain that system.
• Music in adverts and social content. Putting a track in an advert raises separate rights questions. Some advertisers also need a UAE Media Council permit, which our Media Council advertiser permit guide explains.
• Disputes and enforcement. For when a specialist is worth hiring, see our guide to intellectual property lawyers in Dubai.

Checklist before December 2026

Use this list to confirm you are ready before the fees take effect.

• You know which of the Ministry's categories your business falls into, or you have asked the organisations in writing if it is not listed.
• You have contacted both the Emirates Music Rights Association and Music Nation, and you know which rights each one covers.
• You hold the tariff for your business type and size in writing.
• Your licence covers every location and every type of use: background, live, DJ and events.
• Your event contracts state who holds the music licence.
• The licence is filed, and the renewal date is in your calendar.

When to get legal help

Most businesses can arrange the licence and pay the fees themselves. Get advice if you receive a demand, a complaint or a court order. The same applies if your licence is refused or an organisation will not deal with you, or if you run events, broadcast, or put music into products. It also applies if you believe you already own the rights in the music you use. You can find a corporate and commercial lawyer on LEXAI and contact them directly.

This is general legal information, not legal advice, and your own facts may change the answer. Confirm the current Guide, tariffs and procedures with the Ministry of Economy and Tourism and the licensed collecting organisations.