Two stories circulate about music licensing penalties in hospitality.
The first says penalties are symbolic. That inspections barely exist. That the whole thing can be ignored without consequences.
The second says PROs shut down spaces, destroy businesses, and that the system is designed to punish.
Both stories are wrong. But their popularity reveals how unclear this topic is for most hospitality operators.
The legal framework
Laws typically provide penalties for unauthorized public performance of music ranging from hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars.
For minor violations
For serious and repeated violations
On retroactive fees
That range is wide because it covers different situations. From a small cafe that didn’t register its patio to a large hotel operating for years without any license.
In practice, most penalties fall somewhere in that range, depending on:
- Type and size of the space
- Duration of the violation
- Nature of the breach—intentional or unintentional
- Cooperation during and after inspection
- Repeat offenses
But focusing only on the fine means missing the bigger picture.
What an inspection actually checks
A PRO inspector enters the space—often unannounced, posing as an ordinary guest—and observes. Is music playing? What’s the source? Radio? Streaming? USB?
Then they identify themselves and request documentation.
If the inspector finds a violation, they create a report. That report initiates proceedings.
Why a fine rarely stays just a fine
Here’s the part most don’t understand until they’re in the situation.
The fine is one element. But the system also provides for retroactive fees.
If you’ve been using music without an agreement for two years, the PRO has the right to collect fees for that entire period. Not just from today—but backwards, for as long as they can document the music was used.
That retroactive fee typically comes with a penalty factor. Instead of paying what you would have paid with a proper agreement, you pay double—because you used music without permission.
Example calculation for a small cafe
For a small cafe
Violation period
- Retroactive fee: 150 x 3 = $450
- Penalty factor 100%: 450 x 2 = $900
- Plus potential fine: $500-2,000
- Total: potentially $1,500-3,000 for a situation that $450 over three years would have resolved.
For larger spaces—restaurants with patios, hotels with multiple zones—amounts scale proportionally.
What an inspection actually means for the business
There’s an aspect rarely mentioned. How an inspection affects daily operations.
The inspector arrives unannounced. Maybe during a packed Saturday dinner. Maybe during the morning rush at a cafe. Identification, documentation requests, the report—all happening in front of staff and, potentially, guests.
For an operator with proper documentation, it’s a five-minute inconvenience. Pull out the agreement, inspector reviews it, thanks you, and leaves.
For an operator without documentation—or who knows something isn’t right—those five minutes become a completely different experience.
The stress isn’t in the fine. The stress is in the uncertainty—not knowing what will happen, not knowing what it will cost, not knowing if it will happen again.
Operators who’ve been through it often describe not the fine, but the feeling of losing control. The feeling that part of their business is in someone else’s hands.
The process after a violation is found
What follows after inspection
Inspector's report
Inspector documents the findings—what they saw and recorded during the inspection.
Official notice from PRO
You receive an official letter with documented findings and a request for response.
Fee calculation
The notice includes the proposed amount for retroactive fees and any penalties.
Space for communication
You can clarify facts—correct a wrongly estimated square footage or cite mitigating circumstances.
Resolution
Respond to the notice, acknowledge what needs acknowledging, dispute what’s wrong, arrange payment terms.
Most common scenarios that end in problems
Even with a paid subscription, personal streaming services aren’t licensed for public use. This is by far the most common reason for problems.
Added patio, expanded space, new zone that wasn’t reported. Inspector sees one thing, agreement says another.
Cafe evolves into a night bar. Restaurant adds live music. Change in character without change in agreement.
New owner takes over thinking everything’s sorted. Didn’t verify. The PRO doesn’t care about the previous owner.
Why the problem gets ignored until it becomes expensive
The pattern is predictable.
A hospitality operator has a hundred priorities. Music is background. Licensing sounds like bureaucracy. “Everyone does it” seems like proof there’s no risk.
Until one day an inspector walks in.
Then the problem must be solved immediately, under pressure, with bad information and no time to think. That’s the most expensive possible resolution—not just financially, but energetically.
What the situation looks like after everything’s in order
An operator who has:
- A license agreement with accurate details
- A music source intended for commercial use
- Documentation available on premises
…that operator faces an inspection without a racing pulse.
Inspector reviews the papers. Everything matches. Report says “no violations.” Inspector leaves.
Music keeps playing. Guests don’t know anything happened. Staff keeps working.
That’s the only “penalty” worth thinking about—the one that doesn’t exist because there’s no reason for it to exist.
Questions operators ask
Not automatically. The fine covers the past. For the future, you need an agreement. Without one, the next inspection brings a new fine.
You can. You have the right to respond. If you believe the calculation is wrong, you can document that. PROs aren’t monolithic fine factories—there’s a human factor in assessment.
Possible. Statistically, some operators go their entire career without an inspection. But that’s not a strategy. That’s a gamble. What does a gamble that goes wrong cost?
That’s not a rhetorical question. Operators who’ve been through an inspection with problems and operators who’ve been through one without—they describe completely different experiences. The difference isn’t just money. The difference is the feeling of control over your own business.