Music-use map
Where music plays in your venue, when, and what kind.
UAE Music Licensing
From December, music in your venue has a price. Make it worth paying.
From December 2026, every UAE venue that plays music pays an annual licence fee. Viva gets your venue ready: compliant, on-brand, and programmed so the spend earns its place.
Book a licence-readiness callWhat changes in December 2026
A new annual cost for venues that play music.
The Ministry of Economy and Tourism has published the Collective Management in Music Guide. From December 2026, venues pay an annual fee for the music they play, collected through the official system.
Published fee ranges:
- Restaurants and cafes, up to 50 seats: AED 1,500 a year
- Restaurants and cafes, 101 to 200 seats: up to AED 4,800 a year
- Above 200 seats: AED 20 per additional seat, capped at AED 6,000
- DJ and entertainment venues: AED 2,500 to AED 6,500, capped at AED 8,000
- The largest reported categories reach AED 50,000
Source: Ministry of Economy and Tourism Collective Management in Music Guide, as reported by Gulf News, August 2026.
The fee is annual. It does not replace your DJ, your playlists or your music subscriptions. It sits on top of all of them.
Who it affects
RestaurantsCafesHotelsBarsClubsLoungesBeach venuesEvent spacesWedding venues
If music plays in your space, this applies to you.
What Viva handles
Viva works on the music side of readiness. We do not give legal advice.
Licence-readiness checklist
Which published fee category your venue sits in, and what the annual spend looks like across your spaces and events.
Programming plan
A music direction for the room you want, so the fee buys atmosphere, not background noise.
Application guidance
Which documents the official system asks for, and a review of your application before you submit.
Renewal calendar
Dates, owners and reminders, so the fee never catches you mid-season.
Team handover
Your managers know what changed and what to watch.
The product
Music Licence Readiness Audit
Two weeks, fixed scope, clear deliverables.
Week 1: Music-use audit. Every space, every service period, every event where music plays.
Week 2: Readiness report. Your fee category, your programming plan, your renewal calendar, plus a handover session with your team.
From AED 2,500 for venues up to 50 seats. Larger and multi-space venues quoted after the intro call.
Process
Intro call, 30 minutes
Your venue, your music, your questions.
The audit, two weeks
Deliverables as above.
Handover
Your team runs it. Viva stays close for the first cycle.
FAQ
Does Viva obtain the licence for us?
We guide you through it. Which fee category applies, what the official system asks for, and a review of your application before you submit. The licence itself is issued by the official system, in your name.
Is this legal advice?
No. We work on music, programming and process. For legal interpretation, use the published government guidance or your own counsel.
When should we start?
Fees apply from December 2026. An audit takes two weeks. Starting in October or November leaves comfortable room.
We already pay a DJ and a streaming subscription. Is that covered?
No. Those pay for the music itself. The December fee is a separate annual public performance licence.
We only play music at private events.
Events sit inside the same system. The audit maps your event calendar as well as your daily spaces.
Ready to start?
Book a licence-readiness call.
Thirty minutes. We tell you which fee category you are likely in and what readiness looks like for your venue.
Book a licence-readiness call