How does Soniqo actually run in the venue?

We stream a curated, dayparted programme to your venue's existing audio setup — Sonos, AirPlay, PA, or any standard mixer. No hardware to install, no new accounts for your staff. Staff can adjust volume; everything else is automated and scheduled.

How fast can you go live?

Forty-eight hours from the first call. Day one we do a 30-minute onboarding call. Day one–two we build your sound profile. Day three you're live. Most multi-zone venues are running within the same window.

Standard from Pro tier onwards. Different floors, lobbies, terraces, spas, private rooms all get their own programme, each on its own schedule. All controlled from one dashboard.

What if our internet is unreliable — or goes down completely?

Two answers. Our cloud player already buffers through short drops. For properties where music simply cannot stop — malls, casinos, hotels, live venues — we offer offline playback: a dedicated on-site player with the entire programme stored locally, so the audio path never touches the internet. The connection is only used to sync new tracks and schedules when you're online. Hardware can be supplied and managed by us, or we send the spec and configure yours. Quoted per property.

Our DJ team. Not an algorithm, not a generic playlist library. Every track is handpicked, brand-aligned, and tested against your concept. No explicit tracks, no off-brand surprises.

How often does the music change?

Quarterly refresh on Core, monthly on Pro, custom on Signature. Seasonal modes, event modes, and brand-specific signature evolutions are part of the Pro and Signature tiers. Nothing ever loops the same week twice.

What about the same music across all our locations?

Yes — central group profile with optional local adjustments. The brand sounds consistent across every venue while still respecting venue-specific factors like crowd, hour, season.

What about music licensing?

Handled on our side. PRO and PPL royalties are paid through our system. You stay legally clear without managing any separate accounts or licenses for the music we provide.

Thirty days written notice, any month. No exit fees. We hand back the calendar so you can continue with your previous setup if you want to. First month is treated as a trial — cancel within 30 days, no kill fee, no questions.

Why not just use Spotify Business?

Spotify Business gives you a music library; it does not give you direction. It plays algorithm-based recommendations, includes podcast and sponsor breaks, has no daypart or brand intelligence, and is not insurable as a business audio source. Soniqo is the programme around the music — designed, curated, scheduled, supported.

UAE music licensing · Resolution 136 of 2026

From 1 December,
music in your venue needs a licence.

The UAE has introduced annual music licensing for restaurants, cafés, hotels, gyms and malls — with real fees, real inspections, and fines of up to AED 500,000 behind it. Most venues will spend the autumn figuring out what it means. Ours won’t: Soniqo handles the licence, the paperwork, the renewals — and the music itself.

Calculate your venue’s feeFees from 1 Dec 2026 · licence + music, one subscription

What changed

The law, in four facts — before anyone tries to sell you panic.

1 December 2026

the fees apply

Ministerial Resolution No. 136 of 2026 puts the Collective Management Guide for Music into effect. From that date, commercial venues playing recorded or live music need an annual licence from a Ministry-authorised collective management organisation.

Every venue with music

restaurants, cafés, hotels, gyms, malls

The Guide explicitly covers background music in restaurants and cafés, music in retail spaces, hotels, fitness centres, shopping malls and live events. Government bodies, education and personal non-commercial occasions are exempt — a commercial dining room is not.

AED 10,000–500,000

the cost of ignoring it

UAE copyright law backs the regime with fines from AED 10,000 up to AED 500,000, confiscation of equipment, and possible closure of the establishment. Enforcement is expected to move from awareness to inspections after the start date.

Spotify is not a licence

consumer apps don't cover business use

Personal streaming accounts — Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music — are licensed for private listening only. Playing them in a commercial venue was never covered, and under the new regime that gap becomes an inspection finding, not a technicality.

The numbers

What your venue will pay. Thirty seconds, honest figures.

The published tariff guide prices venues by type and size. The fee itself is the smaller half of the story — the application, the correct category, the renewals and the audit trail are where venues lose time. That half is what we take on.

Seating capacity

80seats

Estimated annual licence fee

AED 2,700

per year, from 1 December 2026 — plus the paperwork: application, category evidence, annual renewal, and keeping the certificate audit-ready.

Have Soniqo handle all of it

Figures per the Collective Management Guide for Music v1.1 (Ministerial Resolution No. 136 of 2026), as published August 2026. Final fees are confirmed by the licensed collective management organisations on application.

Licence + music, one partnerHow it works

We classify your venue

Venue type, seating, zones, live nights or background-only — we map you to the correct tariff category under the Guide so you don't overpay or under-license.

We prepare and file the application

Paperwork with the Ministry-authorised collective management organisations, prepared and managed on your behalf, ahead of the December deadline.

We keep you continuously compliant

Annual renewals tracked, the licence certificate at hand in your venue panel, and every track we play documented with its provenance — inspection-ready at any moment.

And the music itself is the point

Compliance is the floor, not the product. What you actually get is a sound identity: curated programming tuned to your room, daypart arcs, prayer-time awareness, Ramadan programming — run for you, every day.

The law, answeredCommon questions

What exactly does the new UAE music law require?

Under Ministerial Resolution No. 136 of 2026, commercial venues that play copyrighted music — recorded or live — must hold an annual licence from a Ministry-authorised collective management organisation, with fees applying from 1 December 2026. Fees depend on venue type and size: for restaurants and cafés playing background music they start at AED 1,500 per year, rising with seating capacity and with DJ or entertainment use.

How much will my restaurant pay?

Under the published tariff guide, a restaurant or café playing background music pays from AED 1,500 (up to 50 seats) to AED 6,000 per year, and from AED 2,500 to AED 8,000 with DJs or entertainment. Hotels pay per room by star rating (capped at AED 25,000), gyms and shops by floor area. Use the calculator on this page for your estimate.

We already pay for Spotify / Apple Music. Isn't that enough?

No. Consumer streaming subscriptions cover personal listening only — they have never included the right to play music publicly in a commercial venue. A business needs a public-performance licence, which is exactly what the new UAE regime formalises and prices.

What happens if a venue doesn't get licensed?

UAE copyright law provides for fines from AED 10,000 up to AED 500,000, confiscation of equipment used for infringement, and possible closure of the establishment. The practical expectation is a period of awareness, then inspections and formal notices after the regime takes effect.

What does Soniqo actually take off my plate?

Everything around the licence: determining your correct tariff category, preparing and filing the application with the authorised organisations, tracking the annual renewal, and keeping your certificate and music documentation audit-ready — bundled with the music service itself, so your venue's sound and its legality are one subscription, one partner, one point of contact.

We host occasional live musicians or DJ nights. Does that change things?

Live entertainment sits in a higher tariff band than background music. If you run occasional live nights, the classification needs care — it's one of the specifics we resolve with the licensing organisations on your behalf so the venue is covered for how it actually operates.

Before the deadline · for operators

Be compliant before December.

Tell us about the venue — format, seats, zones, live nights. We’ll confirm your tariff category, handle the licence, and put a sound in the room that earns its keep.

Keep readingExplore more

CompareSoniqo vs Spotify in a businessOpen →By venueBackground music for restaurantsOpen →By cityVenue music in DubaiOpen →SeasonalRamadan music programmingOpen →

From 1 December,music in your venue needs a licence.