What is a public performance license?
A public performance license is the authorization required to play, perform, or otherwise communicate copyrighted music in a public setting. In practice, that includes music used outside a strictly private context, such as at an event, in a venue, in a public space, through certain online broadcasts, on the radio, or in commercial environments where other people can hear it.
At Levantine Music, when we explain this topic, we usually start with a very simple distinction: listening to music privately is one thing; using music in a way that reaches the public is something else entirely. That is where confusion often begins. Many people assume that having access to music means they also have permission to use it publicly, but those are two very different things.
A public performance is not limited to a live band playing on stage. It can also include recorded music played through speakers at an event, music used in a public-facing space, karaoke, DJ sets, or broadcasts that make a song available to the public. The exact legal analysis depends on the use case, but the core principle stays the same: once music moves beyond personal use and becomes part of a public or public-facing experience, licensing may come into play.
This type of license exists for a clear reason. The individuals and companies that write, publish, or control musical works hold rights in those compositions, and public performance is one of the ways those rights are monetized. A public performance license is what makes it possible to use music legally in public while helping ensure that rights holders are properly compensated.
When is a public performance license needed?
A public performance license is generally needed when music is played, performed, or communicated in a public context rather than a private one. That can include live events, venues, screenings, public spaces, commercial environments, and other situations where music is audible to third parties.
Some common examples include:
live music at a venue or event,
a DJ performance,
background music played through a sound system,
karaoke,
music broadcast on television or radio in a public-facing setting,
music used in spaces where attendees, guests, customers, or the general public can hear it.
Whenever there is uncertainty, we recommend asking one simple question: is the music being used in a way that reaches the public? If the answer is yes, public performance rights may be relevant.
It is also worth keeping one practical nuance in mind: not every public use follows exactly the same licensing route. An event organizer, a venue, a broadcaster, or a commercial operator may all deal with public performance rights differently depending on the repertoire involved, the format of the use, and which entities control the works being used. For example, music licenses for businesses with physical locations often require more specific terms, including details such as how many locations will play the music, for what periods of time, and under what conditions.
Who may need a public performance license?
The short answer is: any party using music publicly may need to consider public performance rights. Depending on the situation, that can include event organizers, venues, broadcasters, promoters, exhibitors, institutions, hospitality operators, and other parties using music in public or public-facing environments.
In many cases, responsibility falls on the organization or entity presenting the music to the public. This is important because people often assume that the artist, the DJ, or the platform has already “handled the license.” In some cases, certain rights may be cleared in advance, but that does not automatically mean that all public performance rights are covered for every use.
In practice, responsibility usually comes down to a few key questions: who is presenting the music, where it is being used, and for what purpose.
How does public performance licensing work in the United States?
In the United States, public performance licensing is typically handled through performing rights organizations, or PROs. Some of the best-known PROs include ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, GMR, and ALLTRACK, which license repertoires of musical works and collect royalties for distribution to rights holders. One of the most important things to understand is that there is no single universal license that covers every song and every repertoire. Each organization licenses its own catalog, so coverage depends on which works are being used and who controls those rights.
Many of these licenses are structured as blanket licenses, which make it possible to license a broad repertoire without negotiating song by song. This model is what usually makes rights management workable for venues, events, broadcasters, and other recurring public uses in the U.S. market.
That said, there are also cases where the process can be more streamlined when the relevant rights are controlled directly by the same party. When a record label or licensing partner manages certain rights in-house, it may offer a more direct clearance path and reduce the number of intermediaries involved in certain licensing scenarios. At Levantine Music, for example, we work with a streamlined clearance and in-house licensing approach for part of our catalog, which allows us to make rights management more efficient in specific cases.
Even so, this point needs to be framed carefully. In the U.S., the exact path to licensing music for public use depends on which rights are involved, which repertoire is being used, and which entity controls those rights. Rather than thinking of public performance licensing as a single process, it is often more accurate to think of it as a rights-based framework that depends on the details of each use.
What happens if music is used publicly without the proper license?
Using music publicly without the necessary authorization can create copyright and compliance risks. That can lead to infringement claims, licensing disputes, exposure to unpaid royalties, or broader legal and commercial issues that could have been avoided.
From a practical standpoint, the most common mistake is usually not bad faith, but oversimplification. Many people assume that because music is easy to access, it must also be easy to use legally in any setting. But access does not equal rights. That distinction is exactly why public performance licensing exists in the first place.
Conclusion
A public performance license is about securing permission to use copyrighted music in ways that reach the public. That can apply in more scenarios than many people initially expect, from events and venues to other public or public-facing uses. In the United States, that usually means understanding how PROs work, which repertoires they control, and whether the intended use is actually covered.
If we had to reduce the topic to one practical takeaway, it would be this: using music in public is not just about playing a song, but about making sure the right permission is in place. Once that is clear, the rest of the licensing conversation becomes much easier to navigate.
And when the relevant rights are managed directly by the record label itself, working directly with that team can also make the process more efficient, communication clearer, and the overall approach more tailored to each licensing need. At Levantine Music, this approach allows us to support each project in a more direct and personal way whenever we manage the relevant rights in-house.
