Retail outlets have rushed to sign up for a OneMusic Australia music licence to enable them to continue playing ‘good’ music – ‘good’ for the music economy, that is.
Some 39% of businesses who have signed up to OneMusic since 1 July (the early adopters) were retailers – and only 3% were bars[1]; showing the tiled floors of retail-land may be THE space for ambient and chilled music entertainment thanks to the the social and cultural conscience of the retail entrepreneur.
Those retail businesses who have joined the unofficial ‘good music citizen’ club should proudly display their ‘ONEMUSIC. LICENSED TO PLAY’ stickers all over their store. 89% of people in a European study were said to notice when a music licence was visibly promoted in a business they visited[2].
If you think upholding, in a very small way, the system of music copyright will never be a factor in who chooses to shops where, think again. Just as the rise of Fair Trade, organic food, low-air-miles food/local production, re-cycling, re-using and up-cycling are more than a passing trend, so is the new-found respect for musical creation and its impact on trade, happiness and productivity.
One of the key people who set up the OneMusic initiative between APRA AMCOS and PPCA, Head of Music Licensing, Richard Mallett, believes the introduction of OneMusic actually coincides with a deeper understanding by Australian businesses that the right, commercially-popular music played for the benefit of customers and staff can not only support a brand, its reputation, the ecosystem of music creators behind it, but at the same time boost bottom line.
“You will have to pay a small fee to access the world’s library of music legally – so you may as well make sure what happens when you press play really counts. Music has a value and retailers have been the first to reflect that in online sign-up trends,” Richard said. Tailored solutions for music are offered by a range of background music suppliers, so if you want to be ahead of your competitors, check out the OneMusic FAQ for a list of those suppliers.
More than 150,000 business locations across the country will hear from OneMusic over the next twelve months to arrange the switch from the previous two-licence system. Not licensed at all? Do the right thing for your business and musicians, jump online at onemusic.com.au and sign up online. Every day you are not licensed for your music use is a day you’re effectively shoplifting from artists. Not cool!
[1] 526 licences were processed through the OneMusic portal to 5pm 7 August 2019. 204 were licensed under the Retail and Service Providers licence scheme. 14 bars were licensed under the Hotels, Pubs, Taverns, Bars & Casinos scheme over this period. Anonymised data available on request.
[2] Swedish research showed only 11% of people felt it of ‘no importance’ that musicians get paid for music that is played in a business they visit, leaving 89% who do care. The importance of music for business. STIM, SAMI and Heartbeats International.