01
Reading the cap as the price
AED 50,000 is the ceiling for mall common areas. A 60-seat café playing background music pays AED 2,700. Budget from the table, not the headline.
The numbers · for operators6 min read
UAE music licence fees by venue type
the full published tariff, with worked examples.
The headline figure in the press — 'up to AED 50,000 a year' — is the cap for the largest shopping malls, and it has frightened a lot of café owners for no reason. The tariff is graduated by venue type, size and how music is used, and for most hospitality venues the annual fee lands between AED 1,500 and AED 8,000. Here is the whole table, category by category, with the worked examples operators actually ask for.
How the tariff is builtDiagnosis
The Collective Management Guide for Music (v1.1), adopted under Ministerial Resolution No. 136 of 2026, prices a venue on three axes: what kind of establishment it is, how big it is — seats for restaurants and cafés, rooms for hotels, floor area for gyms, shops and malls, income for broadcasters — and whether music is background or entertainment. Fees are annual and licences are renewed each year.
Restaurants and cafés, background music: AED 1,500 a year up to 50 seats; AED 2,700 for 51–100; AED 4,800 for 101–200; AED 20 per additional seat above 200, capped at AED 6,000. Restaurants and cafés with DJs, entertainment or night-club operation: AED 2,500 up to 50 seats; AED 3,500 for 51–100; AED 6,500 for 101–200; AED 20 per additional seat, capped at AED 8,000.
Hotels: AED 50 to 150 per room depending on star rating, capped at AED 25,000. Fitness centres: AED 1,700 up to 300 m², then AED 5 per additional square metre, capped at AED 6,000. Shops and commercial complexes: AED 1,700 up to 300 m², AED 3,400 for 301–700 m², then AED 60 per additional 25 m², capped at AED 20,000. Shopping malls, common areas only: AED 625 for the first 100 m², then AED 50 per 25 m², capped at AED 50,000. Radio stations: 1–3% of annual income (minimum AED 1,700); television channels 0.25–1% (minimum AED 1,700). Premium airlines: a sliding scale by seat count, capped at AED 45,000.
What doesn't workCommon failed fixes
02
Guessing the category to save a few hundred dirhams
Background versus entertainment is the biggest swing in the table, and it is the first thing an inspection checks against what the room actually does on a Saturday night.
03
Forgetting the fee is only half the cost
The paperwork — category evidence, application, annual renewal, records for inspection — is where venues spend time. The fee is the smaller half.
Worked examplesThe fix
A 40-seat neighbourhood café with background music: AED 1,500 a year. A 120-seat restaurant with background music: AED 4,800. The same 120-seat restaurant with a resident DJ on weekends: AED 6,500. A 250-seat beach club with DJs: AED 6,500 plus 50 × AED 20 = AED 7,500. A four-star hotel with 200 rooms at AED 100 a room: AED 20,000. A 450 m² boutique gym: AED 1,700 + 150 × AED 5 = AED 2,450. A 900 m² concept store: AED 3,400 + 8 × AED 60 = AED 3,880.
The fee is set by the tariff and is the same whoever files it. What Soniqo adds is the part around it: the right category the first time, the filing, the renewal, the documentation — bundled with the music programme, so the venue's sound and its licence come from one partner. Use the calculator on our UAE music licensing page for your own number.
- ●Restaurants & cafés: AED 1,500–6,000 background · AED 2,500–8,000 with DJs
- ●Hotels: AED 50–150 per room · cap AED 25,000
- ●Gyms: from AED 1,700 · cap AED 6,000
- ●Shops: from AED 1,700 · cap AED 20,000 · Malls: cap AED 50,000
- ●Figures per the Guide v1.1 as published; final fee confirmed on application
From the field · JBR
A beach club GM had read 'AED 50,000' in the news and assumed that was his bill. His actual position under the tariff — 220 seats, DJs on weekends — was AED 6,900. The relief was audible. The follow-up question was the right one: 'and who files it?'
Common questionsFor operators
What is the cheapest music licence fee in the UAE?
AED 1,500 a year — a restaurant or café with up to 50 seats playing background music. Hotels can be lower in absolute terms only for very small properties, since the fee is per room.
Do beach clubs count as restaurants or entertainment venues?
It follows the format. A beach club with DJs falls in the entertainment tier for restaurants and cafés — AED 2,500 to 8,000 by seat count. We confirm the classification with the licensing body before filing.
How is a hotel with restaurants and a gym charged?
The hotel tariff is per room by star rating. How on-property outlets are treated within that is a classification question for the licensing body — one we resolve on behalf of hotel clients rather than leaving to assumption.
Are the fees the same in every emirate?
Yes — the tariff is federal and applies across the UAE.
Your number, then the paperworkKnow your fee in thirty seconds.
Know your fee in thirty seconds.
Then let us do the rest.
The calculator gives you the estimate; a 15-minute compliance check confirms the category. From there, filing, renewal and documentation are ours — with a music programme built for the room.
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