1Do you need a music licence?
If customers can hear commercially released music, that is a public performance under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, and you need permission. In practice that means the single joint licence PPL and PRS for Music sell together through PPL PRS, because a normal playlist crosses both of their repertoires.
There is no small premises exemption in the UK. The two provisions that came closest, sections 67 and 72(1B)(a) of the Act, were both repealed, the latter by regulation 4(1) of SI 2010/2694. So floor area, seat count and the number of loudspeakers make no difference, and it makes no difference whether the sound comes from a radio, a CD or a streaming account. If it can be heard by customers, it is licensable. Our UK music licensing guide works through the whole question in detail.
There are also no statutory damages here, as there are in the United States. A rights holder claims damages or an account of profits, with costs and an injunction on top, and PPL PRS can back-date a licence over any period you were playing music without one.
RadioB2B removes the question. Every right that exists in the catalogue is represented exclusively, in the United Kingdom and worldwide, by RadioPRO Ltd, a UK collective management organisation, and none of it is in the PRS for Music or PPL repertoire, so no public performance royalty arises on what you play through the service, as long as it is the only music you play.
2Programming a calm floor
Pharmacy is not a trade where music should push anyone. The schedule exists to keep the room from feeling clinical, and to keep the counter private.
| Period | What works |
|---|---|
| Opening | Quiet instrumental near 65 BPM. Prescription collection starts early and is rarely social. |
| Mid morning | Light acoustic around 75 BPM as the retail floor gets busier. |
| Lunchtime | Hold near 85 BPM through the busiest counter period, when the queue is longest. |
| Afternoon | Back to 75 BPM for the quiet stretch and the consultation appointments. |
| Close | Warm and slow under 70 BPM for the last hour. |
You can try the scheduler free for 14 days, no card required, on the sign up page or the feature list on our home page.
3Zones: shop floor, counter, consultation room
Each independently controlled output is a zone, and each runs its own station and volume.
- The retail floor on the schedule above, quiet enough to read a label over.
- The dispensing counter, where a steady low bed of sound stops a queue overhearing a conversation.
- A consultation room on ambient programming, for vaccinations and private advice.
- The dispensary itself, out of customer earshot, on whatever the team prefers.
4Hardware you already own
There is nothing to buy, nothing to install and no app required: the player is a web page, so staff can run it from any laptop, tablet or phone, and it casts directly to Sonos, Chromecast and AirPlay. If the venue is already wired to a Sonos amp, that is the whole installation. The stations are plain audio streams, so they also open in tools such as VLC, and when the internet drops the player keeps going from a cached queue rather than leaving you in silence.
5Health campaigns and service messages
Record your own audio and schedule it into the rotation. A flu vaccination prompt during the season, a repeat prescription reminder at the counter zone only, or opening hours over a holiday period that stops on its own.
6What it costs
£99 a year, per year, flat, music included. That covers the full catalogue, background music video channels for any screens, the scheduler, your own announcements, staff accounts and the Music Licence Certificate. It does not scale with your floor area or your opening hours, which is the mechanism that makes a PPL PRS bill climb.
For comparison, a PPL PRS licence costs £235.50 a year plus VAT for a shop up to 50 square metres playing one radio, and PPL PRS can back-date a licence over any period you were playing music without one. Licence free playlist libraries in the UK sit at about £15 a month plus VAT, and licensed services that still leave you owing PPL PRS run from about £22 to £40 a zone a month. See how the routes compare.
Try it free or subscribe today
Start fourteen days free with no card, build a day's schedule and cast it through the Sonos or speakers you already have. Or subscribe now at £99 a year by card, bank transfer or PayPal, and print your certificate today.
7Questions
Do pharmacies need a music licence?
Yes, if commercially released music is audible to customers. That is a public performance under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, and it applies to a pharmacy exactly as it does to any other shop.
Can music help keep consultations private?
It helps, and it is a recognised use. A low, lyric-free bed of sound near the counter raises the background level enough to blur a quiet conversation from a few feet away. It supports privacy practice, it does not replace it, and it is no substitute for a consultation room.
Should pharmacy music have lyrics?
Near the counter, usually not. Words compete with a customer trying to follow dosage advice and with staff confirming a name or a prescription. Instrumental programming is the safer default there, even if the retail floor carries something warmer.
What does it cost?
A flat £99 a year, including the music. A licence from PPL PRS costs £235.50 a year plus VAT for a shop up to 50 square metres playing one radio, and it supplies no music at all.
Cost figures are PPL PRS published examples and typical UK market pricing, not quotations. General information, not legal advice. See our Terms of Use and Service Agreement.