Businesses across the Emirates that commercially play copyrighted music will soon face a new licensing requirement as UAE music licensing fees take effect from December 1, 2026.
The new framework will cover a wide range of businesses and organisations, including restaurants, cafés, hotels, shopping malls, fitness centres and airlines. Radio and television broadcasters, concerts and similar commercial events will also fall under the system.
The change does not mean every person or organisation playing music in the UAE will have to pay. The rules are primarily aimed at the commercial use of copyrighted music, while several non-commercial activities and institutions will be exempt.
For the UAE’s hospitality, retail and entertainment industries, however, the new system introduces an additional consideration when using music as part of the customer experience.
UAE Music Licensing Fees Start in December 2026
The UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism introduced the new system through its Collective Management in Music Guide under Ministerial Resolution No. 136 of 2026.
Collection of the new licensing charges is scheduled to begin on December 1, 2026. Licences issued to participating establishments will remain valid for one year and can subsequently be renewed.
The framework is intended to establish a more standardised system for managing copyright and related rights when businesses use music commercially.
Instead of individual musicians, composers, performers and other rights holders having to pursue every business using their work, authorised collective management organisations can administer those rights on their behalf.
The system is designed to ensure creators and other rights holders receive compensation when copyrighted music contributes to commercial activity.
Which Businesses Will Pay UAE Music Licensing Fees?
The new rules will affect numerous sectors where music forms part of the commercial environment.
Restaurants and cafés are among the most obvious examples. Background music is commonly used to create atmosphere for customers, while some establishments also employ DJs or live performers.
Hotels will also fall within the framework, including businesses that use copyrighted music in restaurants, lounges and other commercial areas. Floating hotels are included as well.
Shopping malls and fitness centres are another significant category.
Music is an important part of the experience in many gyms and exercise studios, while malls routinely use recorded music across communal and retail spaces.
Airlines will also be covered when copyrighted music is used commercially, while radio stations and television channels are included because music forms part of their broadcasting activities.
Concerts and similar events will also be required to operate within the new licensing system.
How Much Will UAE Music Licensing Fees Cost?
One important detail remains unclear: the government has not publicly announced a single fixed price that every business will pay.
Instead, fees will operate on a sliding structure based on factors including the nature of the music use and the size of the business.
That means a small café playing background recordings should not necessarily expect to pay the same amount as a major hotel, shopping mall or large entertainment venue.
The type of musical use will also matter.
The National reports that live performances and DJ sets will generally attract higher charges than recorded background music.
This approach reflects the different commercial value that music can provide to different businesses.
For some establishments, music is largely background ambience.
For others, such as night-time venues, concerts or entertainment businesses, music may be a central part of the product being sold to customers.
Specific fee amounts for individual categories had not been publicly disclosed when the framework was announced on August 11, 2026.
Two Organisations Will Collect Music Royalties
Businesses will not make the payments directly to individual artists every time a song is played.
Two Ministry-authorised collective management organisations will administer the system: the Emirates Music Rights Association and Music Nation.
These organisations will manage rights covering different participants in the music industry, including composers, songwriters, singers, instrumentalists, record producers and music publishers.
Collective management is widely used internationally because licensing every individual song separately would be difficult for both businesses and musicians.
Instead, a business can obtain a licence covering the relevant repertoire administered by a collective rights organisation.
The arrangement can make legal use of music more predictable while providing a system through which royalties can eventually be distributed to rights holders.
Why the UAE Is Introducing New Music Fees
The UAE’s decision is closely connected to its broader effort to strengthen intellectual property protection and expand its creative economy.
Minister of Economy and Tourism Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri said the new guide is intended to strengthen rights management, transparency and fairness while bringing the country’s system closer to international practices.
The government also wants to reduce copyright violations and create a consistent framework for businesses using music commercially.
The development did not emerge overnight.
The Ministry of Economy signed a memorandum of understanding with the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry in 2022 aimed at developing collective management policies and strengthening protection for music rights in the UAE.
That agreement formed part of a wider effort to provide stronger protection for creators while encouraging international record companies and creative businesses to invest in the UAE.
The latest licensing framework moves that ambition closer to a functioning commercial system.
Who Is Exempt From UAE Music Licensing Fees?
Not everyone playing music will have to purchase a commercial licence.
Educational and academic institutions are among those exempt from the new fees.
Government entities will also be exempt.
National events and personal celebrations that are not being organised commercially are another excluded category.
Non-commercial charitable events are also expected to fall outside the paid licensing requirement.
The Ministry has retained the ability to introduce additional exemptions in the future.
The distinction between commercial and non-commercial use is important.
The framework is aimed primarily at businesses and activities where copyrighted music contributes to a commercial service or experience, rather than ordinary private listening.
Restaurants and Cafés Could Feel the Change Most
Restaurants and cafés are likely to be among the businesses most visibly affected.
Music has become an important element of modern hospitality.
A restaurant may carefully select background music to fit its brand, while cafés often use playlists to create an atmosphere that encourages customers to stay longer.
For many establishments, therefore, music is not simply incidental.
It forms part of the environment being offered to customers.
From December, eligible businesses will need to consider music licensing alongside their existing operating expenses.
The financial effect will ultimately depend on the final fee applicable to each establishment.
Because the charges are expected to vary according to business size and type of music use, smaller operators may face different costs from major hotel groups or entertainment venues.
Hotels, Malls and Gyms Are Also Covered
Hotels frequently use music across numerous areas of their properties.
A single hotel may have background music in its lobby, restaurants, bars, pool areas and other guest spaces while also hosting live entertainment.
The new system is intended to create a formal mechanism for licensing such commercial use.
Gyms and fitness centres are another particularly relevant sector.
Music often accompanies group exercise sessions and general workouts and can be an important part of the experience being sold to members.
Shopping malls likewise use background music extensively.
These businesses will now need to determine which licensing category applies to their operations before the December implementation date.
Live Music and DJs Could Carry Higher Fees
Not all music use will be treated equally.
Businesses whose entertainment offering depends on DJs or live musicians may face higher charges than establishments that simply play recorded background music, according to The National.
That could be especially relevant to hotels, clubs, lounges and entertainment venues where live performances form an important part of their commercial activity.
The distinction also demonstrates that the new framework is intended to reflect how significantly music contributes to a business.
A quiet café using a background playlist and a large venue selling tickets to a live performance represent very different types of commercial music use.
The licensing structure is designed to recognise those differences.
10% of Music Fees Will Support UAE Talent
The initiative does more than collect royalties.
The Collective Management in Music Guide also establishes a Cultural Support Fund in the Field of Music.
Ten per cent of the total fees collected through the new system will be allocated to the fund.
The money will be used to provide financial, technical and artistic support across activities including music composition, production, distribution and live performance.
Emerging musicians are expected to be an important focus.
The programme will support children, young people and people of determination while also seeking to strengthen the international reach of Emirati music through cultural exchanges, festivals and other initiatives.
A joint committee involving the Ministry of Economy and Tourism and Ministry of Culture will oversee the fund.
UAE Wants Creators to Benefit When Their Music Is Used
Copyright is at the centre of the new framework.
Music involves several layers of creative ownership.
The person who writes a song, the composer who creates its music, the performer who records it and the company responsible for the recording can all hold different rights.
Commercial use of that music can therefore involve more than simply paying for access to a consumer streaming service.
A normal personal streaming subscription, for example, is not automatically the same thing as permission to use music commercially in a business environment.
Collective management organisations provide a mechanism for businesses to obtain the necessary rights while directing revenue back towards the music industry.
The UAE’s new framework aims to make that process more structured and transparent.
Ministry Will Monitor Compliance
The Ministry of Economy and Tourism will maintain regulatory oversight of the two licensed collective management organisations.
Authorities will be able to conduct field inspections and examine financial and technical records to ensure compliance with UAE copyright legislation.
The Ministry will also receive complaints from creators, rights holders and other interested parties.
Where disputes arise, authorities can attempt an amicable resolution or take regulatory measures where necessary.
The government can also amend licensing conditions where regulatory requirements or the public interest make changes necessary.
This oversight is intended to protect both sides of the system — businesses paying for music and creators receiving compensation for its commercial use.
What Businesses Should Know Before December
The most important date for businesses is December 1, 2026.
From then, eligible establishments commercially using copyrighted music will come under the new licensing framework.
Businesses should therefore establish whether their use of music falls within the scheme, which licensing category applies and which collective management organisation covers the music rights involved.
The precise financial impact cannot yet be calculated for every business because detailed amounts for individual fee categories were not publicly specified in the initial announcement.
What is clear is that the system will not operate as one universal flat charge.
Business size and the way music is used will influence the amount payable.
UAE Music Licensing Fees Mark a Major Copyright Shift
The introduction of UAE music licensing fees represents an important change for the country’s hospitality, retail, broadcasting and entertainment sectors.
From December, restaurants, cafés, hotels, malls, gyms, airlines and other commercial users will have a more formal obligation to license copyrighted music through authorised collective management organisations.
For businesses, that creates another operating requirement.
For musicians and rights holders, it creates a clearer mechanism through which commercial use of their work can generate compensation.
And for the UAE, the system forms part of a larger ambition to position the country as a global centre for creative industries and stronger intellectual property protection.
The biggest question for individual businesses now is exactly how much they will pay.
Those amounts will depend on the size and nature of each operation and how music is used, meaning a café playing background tracks, a hotel hosting live musicians and a major concert venue could face very different licensing costs.
With implementation beginning on December 1, 2026, businesses that depend on music as part of their customer experience now have several months to prepare for the new system.
