Starting December 1, 2026, any business in the UAE that plays music commercially will be required to hold a paid license under a new regulatory framework issued by the Ministry of Economy and Tourism. If you run a restaurant, cafe, hotel, gym, or any venue where music forms part of the customer experience, this is a compliance requirement that will land on your desk before the year is out.
This article breaks down what the new guide actually requires, who it applies to, who is exempt, and what businesses should be doing now while fee brackets are still being finalised.
What Is the Collective Management in Music Guide
The Collective Management in Music Guide was issued under Ministerial Resolution No. 136 of 2026 and announced by the Ministry of Economy and Tourism this week. It sets out a standardised licensing system for the commercial use of music across the UAE, covering both the fees businesses must pay and the procedures for collecting and distributing that money to the people who created the music in the first place.
The guide is being framed by the Ministry as part of a broader push toward an integrated system for governing copyright and related rights in the country. Minister Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri linked the initiative to UAE Vision 2031, positioning it as a step toward international best practice on intellectual property protection while also strengthening the domestic creative economy.
In practical terms, this means the informal use of background music, streaming playlists, and live performances in commercial settings is moving into a licensed and monitored structure, similar to systems already in place in markets such as the UK, the US and much of Europe.
Who Needs a License
The scope of the guide is wide. The following categories of business fall under the new rules once the framework takes effect:
- Restaurants and cafes
- Hotels, including floating hotels
- Shopping malls
- Fitness centres and gyms
- Airlines
- Radio stations
- Television channels
- Concerts and similar live events
The common thread across all of these categories is straightforward. If music is being played in a setting where the business is deriving commercial value from that use, whether through ambience, entertainment, or broadcast, a license will be required.
This is a meaningful expansion of what many businesses have historically treated as a background operational detail. A hotel lobby playing a curated playlist, a gym running a workout mix on its sound system, or a mall pumping music through common areas will all now sit within a formal licensing regime rather than an informal arrangement with a streaming service or a personal music library.
Who Collects the Fees
Two bodies have been authorised by the Ministry to manage collection and rights administration under the new guide: the Emirates Music Rights Association and Music Nation. Both organisations have secured Ministry permits allowing them to carry out collective management work on behalf of the creative community.
Together, these two bodies will represent composers, songwriters, singers, instrumentalists, record producers and music publishers. Their role covers two functions. First, they issue licenses and collect fees from businesses. Second, they distribute the collected payments back to the rights holders whose music is actually being used.
This dual authorised body structure gives the Ministry a degree of built in oversight, since both organisations report into the same regulatory framework and are subject to the same compliance obligations.
How Much Will It Cost
This is the question every affected business wants answered, and unfortunately the Ministry has not yet published individual fee amounts. What has been confirmed is the structure that will determine pricing.
Fees will be organised into brackets based on two variables:
- 1The nature of the music use. Live music and DJ performances are generally understood to sit in a different pricing tier than recorded or background music, reflecting the higher commercial value typically associated with live entertainment.
- 2The size of the business. A large hotel or shopping mall is expected to pay more than a small independent cafe, in line with the scale of commercial benefit derived from music use.
Until the Ministry or the two collecting bodies release detailed fee schedules, businesses should treat this as a known future cost rather than an unknown one, and build it into 2027 budget planning even without a firm number to work from.
License Terms
Once a business applies for and receives a license, it will be valid for one year and renewable on expiry. This mirrors standard practice in other jurisdictions with established music licensing regimes, where annual renewal allows for periodic fee adjustments and keeps the licensing body’s records current.
Businesses should expect the renewal process to become a recurring item on their annual compliance calendar, alongside trade license renewals, VAT filings and other routine regulatory obligations.
Who Is Exempt
Not every organisation using music will need a license. The Ministry has confirmed the following exemptions:
- Schools and academic institutions
- Government entities
- National events
- Personal, non commercial celebrations
If your organisation falls into one of these categories, the new fee structure will not apply. Everyone else operating in a commercial capacity where music is played should assume the framework applies to them unless told otherwise.
The Cultural Support Fund for Music
Alongside the licensing structure, the guide establishes a new Cultural Support Fund for Music. Ten percent of every fee collected under the framework will be directed into this fund, which is intended to provide financial, technical and artistic support to musicians across the production pipeline, with particular attention to nurturing emerging UAE talent.
Oversight of the fund sits with a joint committee made up of representatives from both the Ministry of Economy and Tourism and the Ministry of Culture. The two collecting bodies, Emirates Music Rights Association and Music Nation, are required to hold the fund’s allocations in a dedicated bank account, kept separate from other revenue streams.
This element of the guide signals that the framework is not purely a revenue collection exercise. It is being positioned as an investment mechanism for the UAE’s domestic music industry, feeding a portion of every fee back into the pipeline of new composition and production.
Compliance and Enforcement
The Ministry has stated it will actively monitor the two licensed collecting bodies to ensure compliance with the UAE’s Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Law. This oversight will include field inspections and periodic reviews of financial and technical records maintained by Emirates Music Rights Association and Music Nation.
A complaints channel will also be available for rights holders and other stakeholders to raise concerns about alleged violations, giving the framework a mechanism for ongoing accountability beyond the initial licensing rollout.
For businesses, this points toward a regulatory environment that is likely to include active enforcement rather than a passive, self reporting system. Venues playing unlicensed music after December 2026 should expect this to eventually surface as a compliance gap, in the same way unlicensed software or unpaid VAT would.
What Businesses Should Do Now
With the December 1, 2026 effective date approaching and fee brackets still pending, there are a few practical steps businesses in the affected sectors can take in the meantime.
- Audit current music use. Review how your business currently plays music, whether through a streaming subscription, a curated playlist service, live performers, or DJ bookings. Understanding your current setup will make it easier to anticipate which fee bracket you are likely to fall into once amounts are published.
- Assign internal ownership. Compliance items tend to slip through the cracks when no one is specifically responsible for them. Whether it sits with operations, finance or a compliance function, someone in your organisation should own the license application process once it opens.
- Budget conservatively. Even without confirmed fee amounts, businesses with significant live music or DJ programming should plan for this to be a real and recurring operating cost, not a nominal administrative fee.
- Watch for the application window. As the effective date approaches, expect the Ministry and the two collecting bodies to publish application procedures and fee schedules. Businesses that apply early are less likely to face last minute compliance issues once enforcement begins.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sources
- Gulf News, “UAE introduces new music licensing fees: What restaurants, hotels and malls need to know”
- Khaleej Times, “UAE announces fee for cafes, hotels, malls for playing music from December”
- The National, “UAE to charge businesses new fee for playing copyrighted music”
- What’s On, “UAE introduces new fees for hotels, restaurants and malls playing music”
Prepare Your Business for the New Music Licensing Rules
With the December 2026 deadline approaching, our advisors can help you understand how the new music licensing framework applies to your business and plan ahead before the requirement takes effect.
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