If you were to ask someone what platform they think of when they hear the words “music streaming,” there’s a high likelihood that they’ll say Spotify. It is, after all, one of the largest music streaming providers, with over 500 million monthly users. In fact, Spotify is so popular that many people use it to play music in their businesses. While this may not seem like a big deal to some, streaming Spotify music in your business is actually against the law.
Why You Can’t Play Spotify in Your Business
Spotify’s terms of use clarify that it is intended for personal use only. This means that you can listen to it privately—in places like your home, your car, with a small gathering of friends, and essentially any small, private, and non-monetized setting. It is not authorized for business use. Music performed in businesses requires special licensing, and a standard Spotify subscription does not include that licensing. Despite this, many people unknowingly break this law and use Spotify to play music in their businesses, and this misunderstanding costs the music industry and its musical artists over $2 billion a year in missed royalties. It’s also risky for business owners, as they can be fined hundreds—or even thousands—of dollars for playing improperly licensed music.
So, if you can’t play Spotify in your business, you may be wondering, what can you play? Thankfully, there are services whose specific purpose is to provide fully licensed music to businesses. One such provider is known by many as Spotify for Business.
What is Spotify for Business?
This is where things get a little complicated. While people sometimes talk about Spotify for Business, it doesn’t actually exist. Spotify originally had interest in the business market but ended up dropping that to focus solely on their product for personal use. This means that you can’t just rely on Spotify to handle your business needs—you’ll need to choose a different provider to play licensed music for you. There are many providers that supply licensed music for businesses, but finding one that can handle all of your business needs at an affordable price can be difficult. This is especially true if you don’t want your time creating your Spotify playlists to go to waste.
With this in mind, two common alternatives to Spotify for Business’ include the music supplier SoundMachine, which starts at only $26.95/month, and Soundtrack Your Brand, which starts at $39/month. You may have heard that Spotify has ownership in Soundtrack Your Brand. For this reason, many consider it to be Spotify for Business, but in reality, the two music companies are completely separate from each other, and their partnership doesn’t include much more than this financial interest.
While there are dozens of other music-for-business providers, these two companies are the only ones that allow direct playlist importing from Spotify. However, in addition to Spotify integration, SoundMachine also offers playlist importing with Apple Music, Amazon Music, and more, so no matter where you create your playlists, you’re sure to be able to use them with SoundMachine.
SoundMachine: Music for Business Made Easy
The incredible playlist feature isn’t all that SoundMachine offers. SoundMachine also boasts a number of standout features that many other music suppliers do not, such as:
- 61 million licensed tracks and 500+ playlists and stations. This is a massive catalog that is larger than other providers.
- Licenses with a higher number of performance rights organizations, including SESAC and GMR. Many other music providers, including Soundtrack Your Brand, do not have agreements with these organizations, which means that you would not be able to play music from artists such as Bruno Mars (GMR), Drake (GMR), Adele (SESAC), and Green Day (SESAC). With SoundMachine, that isn’t a problem.
- Music scheduling and messaging included in all subscriptions.
- Compatibility with multiple audio systems, including, but not limited to, Sonos, Control4, BluOS, RTI Control, Autonomic, and more. However, a sound system is not required, and you can also play directly from the app.
- Plans starting from $26.95/month.
- A 30-day free trial.
Spotify for Business
While Spotify for Business may not actually exist, you can still use your Spotify playlists while benefiting from all the business-oriented features SoundMachine provides. With playlist importing, a massive catalog, and an affordable price, you’re sure to be satisfied with SoundMachine’s services.
Start your free trial today!
