The Impact of Not Having a Music License in a Retail Shop
Shopping is one of the many enjoyable activities one could do during their days off. Even though we’ve adapted a few shopping habits brought about by the pandemic a few years ago, it’s nice to see that shop owners still do their best to ensure that their customers are having a great time. Speaking of making it enjoyable, music is a great way to do so, but you have to be mindful of music licensing. Since the music you play is associated with your brand’s image, today’s article discusses the impact of not having music licensing in your shop, which could pose threats such as financial and reputational risks if you’re non-compliant.
Avoid copyright infringement: educate yourself about music licensing.
Music is art, and like any other media art form, it’s an intellectual property protected by copyright law. If you’re a store owner, you should be aware of the fact that playing music in a public space requires a public performance license. By acquiring this, you’re granted by the artist permission to play their music in public spaces. Thankfully, there are a lot of services that can handle this for you, such as Qsic music license for retail shops, so you won’t go through the trouble and hassle anymore.
What are the risks of non-compliance?
Since it’s protected by law, proceeding to play music without a license could get you into trouble, which includes the following:
Fines and legal fees. Depending on which country, copyright infringement penalties fetch a pretty steep price; in Australia, you could get fined $60,500 up to $302,500 per infringement, and in some cases, you could even end up behind bars for up to 5 years.
Tarnish your brand and reputation. Your choice of music is directly affected by your brand, so if you don’t acquire a public performance license, a copyright infringement lawsuit will most likely paint your business in a negative light. This is one of the worst-case scenarios since it could deter customers from associating with your shop and impact future sales.
Disrupt your business. Since we’re talking about worst-case scenarios, a court may even order you to cease playing music at your establishment altogether. This can also affect your regular customers and deprive other customers of a joyful shopping experience, potentially lowering your sales.
Although there are a lot of financial repercussions for non-compliance, there are also other disadvantages to doing so since it shows that your brand has no respect for intellectual property rights, thus harming your reputation even more.
At the end of the day, it’s best to acquire a music licensing agreement so you can sleep at night knowing that you operate legally and have access to vast music libraries that allow you to create the perfect playlist that your customers will enjoy. By doing so, you’re also creating a fun and engaging environment for them so they can shop freely, adding to a positive customer experience. Just keep in mind that with the right music obtained with the proper licensing agreement, it can become the soundtrack to your retail success.
