A new Copyright Law is in force: inspection powers for SAIP, fines up to SAR 1,000,000, closure of premises — and, for the first time, collective music licensing on the way. Live music already needs a GEA permit. Most venues in Riyadh and Jeddah will find out what this means the hard way. Ours won’t: Soniqo runs a licensed, documented programme now and handles the licence the day the tariff is published.
Approved by the Council of Ministers on 27 January 2026, published in the Official Gazette on 13 February, in force 180 days later. It replaces the 2003 law with a framework built for the streaming era — and, for the first time, introduces collective rights management.
Quadrupled from SAR 250,000. Imprisonment up to one year (doubled), penalties doubled again for a repeat offence within three years. SAIP officers can inspect and search establishments, and the authority's CEO can order premises closed for up to seven working days.
The law lets rights holders delegate the management of their rights to collective organisations — the mechanism that, in the UAE, became an annual venue licence with published fees. In Saudi Arabia the implementing regulations are being prepared by SAIP with the Ministry of Culture. No venue tariff exists yet; when it does, the question will be the same as in Dubai: which category, how much, and who files.
The General Entertainment Authority licenses live performances, including in restaurants and cafés — 191 such permits were issued in May 2026 alone. Recorded background music sits under the copyright framework rather than the entertainment permit; a venue with both live nights and background music needs both layers right.
A new room opens in Riyadh every week. The rooms are new, the music is loud, and the law that governs it changed this month.
Operators get this wrong by assuming one licence covers music. It doesn’t — recorded music, live performance and the venue itself answer to different bodies.
The copyright regulator: registration, licensing, enforcement. Designated officers can inspect, receive complaints and search establishments; the CEO can order closure for up to seven working days. Preparing the implementing regulations, including collective management.
Cultural policy and the music sector. Co-drafts the collective management regulation with SAIP; the Music Commission develops and regulates the music sector under the Ministry.
Permits for entertainment activities and live shows, including live music and DJs in restaurants, cafés and venues. Content review, performer approvals, venue suitability.
The venue's own commercial and municipal licences (Balady, MoMRA, tourism licences for hotels). Music sits on top of these — it does not replace them.
The UAE adopted its collective licensing guide first; the Kingdom has the law and is writing the regulation. For an operator in both markets, this is the map.
| Dimension | Saudi Arabia | UAE |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Copyright Law in force (Aug 2026); collective licensing regulation pending | Collective Management Guide adopted; annual venue licences from 1 Dec 2026 |
| Venue tariff | Not yet published | Published: restaurants from AED 1,500/yr, hotels per room, malls up to AED 50,000 |
| Who licenses recorded music | To be designated under SAIP / Ministry of Culture regulation | EMRA and Music Nation (Ministry-authorised) |
| Live music / DJs | GEA entertainment permit | DET / DTCM (Dubai), DCT (Abu Dhabi) permits + entertainment tariff |
| Penalties | Up to SAR 1,000,000; prison up to 1 year; closure up to 7 working days | AED 10,000–500,000; confiscation; possible closure |
| What Soniqo does today | Licensed source + documentation + GEA-permit guidance; tariff alert when published | Files and renews the venue licence, certificate in the panel, music programme |
If the room runs on a personal Spotify, YouTube or Apple Music account, that was never a commercial licence — under a law with SAR 1,000,000 fines and inspection powers, it is the first thing to fix. Replace it with a commercial, documented source.
Live musicians, DJs, oud players at dinner — these are entertainment activities and need GEA permits. Allow two to four weeks for a small venue application, longer for recurring programmes.
Track-level records of what plays and where it comes from are the answer to an inspector's second question. Build the habit now; it is what the collective licence will be assessed against later.
The venue tariff will arrive as an implementing regulation and a licensed collective organisation. We track SAIP and the Ministry of Culture, and tell our venues the day a tariff is published — with their category and fee worked out.
Compliance is the floor. Riyadh and Jeddah rooms have their own rhythm — later evenings, family sections, prayer-time awareness, Ramadan and the two national occasions. The music should be built for that, not shuffled.
Soniqo venues get a licensed, documented programme now, guidance on GEA permits for their live nights, and — the day a collective tariff is published — their category, their fee and a filed application. The music is the product; the compliance comes with it.
The law is the floor. The room is the point.
Riyadh’s late, loud new openings; Jeddah’s coastal ease; the tourism regulation of AlUla and the Red Sea. The law is national — the programming is not.
Yes. Recorded background music in restaurants and cafés has been permitted since the reforms that followed the royal decree on entertainment, and live performances are licensed by the General Entertainment Authority. The questions in 2026 are no longer whether, but how: a licensed source for recorded music, a GEA permit for live acts, and — once the collective management regulation lands — a venue licence for the copyright layer.
Saudi Arabia replaced its 2003 copyright law. The new law took effect around 12 August 2026 (180 days after publication on 13 February). It introduces collective rights management, defines neighbouring rights explicitly, gives SAIP inspection and search powers, allows closure of premises for up to seven working days, and raises the maximum fine to SAR 1,000,000 with imprisonment of up to one year.
Not yet in the form the UAE has just introduced. The law creates the mechanism — rights holders delegating to collective organisations — but the implementing regulations and any venue tariff are still being prepared by SAIP with the Ministry of Culture. Venues should expect a regime along UAE lines and prepare for it; we notify our venues the day a tariff is published.
Consumer streaming accounts are licensed for personal listening, not for playing music to the public in a commercial venue — that was true under the old law and is more consequential under the new one, with inspection powers and SAR 1,000,000 fines. Use a commercial, documented source.
Live performances in restaurants and cafés are licensed by the General Entertainment Authority. Applications go through GEA's permit platform with venue, performer and content details; allow two to four weeks for a small venue. Background music between sets falls under the copyright framework, not the entertainment permit.
Under the 2026 Copyright Law: fines up to SAR 1,000,000, imprisonment up to one year, doubled penalties for a repeat offence within three years, and closure of the premises for up to seven working days on the order of SAIP's chief executive.
All three, for different layers. SAIP regulates copyright and will oversee collective licensing; GEA permits entertainment activities and live shows; the Music Commission under the Ministry of Culture develops and regulates the music sector. The venue's own commercial and municipal licences sit underneath.
The Copyright Law and GEA permits are national. Local practice differs — venue formats, family and singles sections, event calendars such as Riyadh Season, and the tourism regulation around AlUla and the Red Sea — which is why we program each city on its own terms.
The month of Ramadan reshapes service hours and tone, and the two national occasions — Founding Day on 22 February and National Day on 23 September — call for their own programming. Both are part of how we program Saudi venues, deployed automatically on the calendar.
A licensed, documented music source replacing consumer apps; a programme built for the room and the Saudi day; guidance on GEA permits for live nights; track-level documentation for inspections; and a commitment to work out your category and fee the day a collective tariff is published — then file it.
The building blocks are the same — a collective management framework, Ministry supervision, licensed organisations, a venue-level annual licence — so a graduated tariff by venue type and size is the reasonable expectation. The UAE figures (restaurants from AED 1,500 a year) are a useful benchmark for budgeting, not a forecast.
This page summarises the published framework for operators; it is not legal advice. The collective management regulation and any venue tariff are pending — we update this page as they are published.
Tell us about the venue — city, format, seats, live nights. We’ll set up a licensed programme now, and send you your category and fee the day the Saudi tariff appears.
