UAE sets December start for commercial music fees

Businesses across the UAE that use music commercially will face a new licensing regime from December 2026, bringing restaurants, hotels, shopping centres, gyms, airlines and broadcasters within a standardised system for paying music copyright and related-rights fees.

The Collective Management in Music Guide establishes a framework for licensing the public and commercial use of protected music. It will apply to restaurants, cafés, hotels, floating hotels, shopping malls, fitness centres and airlines, as well as radio and television stations, concerts and comparable commercial events.

Implementation will begin at the start of December under Ministerial Resolution No. 136 of 2026. Businesses covered by the rules will require licences that are valid for one year and renewable. Fee levels will vary according to the nature of the music use and the size of the economic activity. Individual tariff amounts have not yet been publicly specified.

The system marks a significant change for hospitality, retail and entertainment operators that routinely use recorded or live music as part of their customer offering. Background music in a restaurant, playlists in a gym, entertainment at a hotel or music provided during a commercial event may fall within the licensing framework where copyright-protected works are used.

Two organisations licensed by the Ministry of Economy and Tourism — the Emirates Music Rights Association and Music Nation — will collect payments and administer rights on behalf of composers, songwriters, singers, instrumentalists, record producers and music publishers.

Collective management allows rights holders to authorise specialised organisations to license their works on their behalf. Businesses can obtain permission covering eligible musical repertoires rather than negotiating separately with individual artists, producers and publishers. The organisations then collect royalties and distribute eligible proceeds among rights holders under their approved rules.

The UAE began building this infrastructure in 2025. The Emirates Music Rights Association was granted a collective music management licence in April that year, followed by Music Nation in June. The December launch will take the system into a broader operational phase by establishing common principles for commercial users and royalty collection.

The framework is designed to reduce unauthorised use of protected music while making licensing more predictable for businesses. The country’s copyright legislation already requires permission for the commercial exploitation of protected works. The collective-management model is intended to simplify compliance and create a clearer route for remuneration.

Educational and academic institutions will be exempt from the new fees. Government entities are also excluded, along with music used during national occasions and personal celebrations or events conducted on a non-commercial basis. The ministry retains the authority to exempt additional categories or forms of use.

The guide also creates a Cultural Support Fund for Music, financed by 10 per cent of the amounts collected under the licensing system. The fund is intended to provide financial, technical and artistic assistance for music composition, production, distribution and live performance.

Support will extend to emerging musicians, including children, young people and people of determination. The programme will also seek to expand the international reach of Emirati music through cultural exchanges, festival participation and support for exporting creative works.

A joint committee involving the Ministry of Economy and Tourism and the Ministry of Culture will oversee the fund. The Emirates Music Rights Association and Music Nation will maintain a separate bank account for the allocations.

Minister of Economy and Tourism Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri said the initiative formed part of efforts to strengthen the competitiveness of the music and wider creative industries and support economic diversification. The framework is also intended to improve transparency and fairness in the management and distribution of copyright revenues.

Regulatory oversight will remain with the ministry. Officials will be able to conduct field inspections and examine financial and technical records of licensed collective-management organisations to verify compliance with copyright and neighbouring-rights requirements.