UAE Turns Up the Volume on Copyright: Businesses to Pay for Playing Music

Restaurants, cafés, hotels, shopping malls and other businesses across the United Arab Emirates will have to obtain annual licences and pay fees to play copyrighted music commercially from December 2026, under a new framework introduced by the UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism.

The new system is designed to bring greater structure to the commercial use of music while ensuring that composers, songwriters, singers, musicians, producers and music publishers receive compensation when their work is used in businesses and public spaces. The licences will be valid for one year and renewable, with charges determined by the type and size of the establishment.

For cafés and restaurants, the annual fee starts at Dh1,500 for venues with up to 50 seats. Establishments with 51 to 100 seats will pay Dh2,700, while those accommodating between 101 and 200 people will pay Dh4,800. Larger venues will face an additional Dh20 per seat above 200, subject to a maximum annual charge of Dh6,000.

Businesses that offer DJs or operate as entertainment clubs will face higher charges. Their fees begin at Dh2,500 for venues with up to 50 seats and rise to Dh3,500 for 51 to 100 seats and Dh6,500 for 101 to 200 seats, with larger establishments subject to additional charges and an annual ceiling of Dh8,000.

The rules extend well beyond restaurants.

Retail outlets and commercial complexes of up to 300 square metres will pay Dh1,700 annually, while larger premises move into higher fee bands. Major shopping centres will also have separate tariffs based on the size of their common areas, with annual charges potentially reaching Dh50,000. Fitness centres will pay from Dh1,700, while hotels will be charged according to their classification and number of rooms.

The framework also reaches into the media and transport industries. General-programming radio stations will pay one per cent of annual income, compared with three per cent for music-focused stations, while general television channels will pay one per cent and news channels 0.25 per cent, subject to minimum annual fees. Airlines providing integrated entertainment services will also be included, with annual charges ranging from Dh5,000 to Dh45,000.

The UAE says the move is about more than generating another business fee.

The Collective Management in Music Guide, issued alongside the new framework, is intended to standardise how music rights are licensed and how payments are collected. The government says the system should make financial and artistic rights easier to administer, improve awareness of copyright obligations and reduce infringement.

Collection will be handled by two Ministry-licensed organisations, the Emirates Music Rights Association and Music Nation, which represent the rights of various participants in the music industry, including songwriters, performers, producers and publishers.

The change could have a noticeable effect on the UAE's hospitality and retail sectors, where music is often part of the customer experience rather than a standalone entertainment product. A café playing background music, a hotel using music in its public areas or a shopping centre providing music throughout its premises will now have to consider music licensing as part of its operating costs.

For smaller businesses, particularly independent cafés and restaurants, the new expense may prompt questions about whether the commercial value of playing copyrighted music justifies the annual charge. Larger hospitality and entertainment businesses, on the other hand, are more likely to absorb the fees as another regulatory cost of doing business.

There is also a wider cultural dimension to the policy. The UAE has been expanding its creative economy and entertainment industries, and stronger copyright enforcement can provide artists and rights holders with a more predictable way of earning from the commercial use of their work.

The new licensing regime therefore puts a price on something businesses have often treated as part of the background: the music that helps create an atmosphere, attract customers and shape a brand's identity.

From December, that soundtrack will come with a licence and for businesses across the UAE, the question will be whether the new cost is simply another compliance requirement or the beginning of a more structured market in which creators are paid more consistently for the music that powers commercial spaces.