Oktava vs music subscriptions for a UAE venue
Three ways to fill a UAE venue with music — at a moment when the rules are being written: since 2025 collecting societies are state-licensed, inspections have been announced, and background-music tariffs are not yet published. A personal streaming account is forbidden for business use by the apps' own terms. A classic B2B service is licensed, but repertoire music will fall under the society tariffs once they arrive. Oktava's catalog is registered with no society — the subscription is the whole cost, whatever the tariffs turn out to be.
The three options, side by side
| Option | Legal for a business? | What you pay |
|---|---|---|
| Spotify or another personal streaming app | No. Consumer terms forbid business use — and the music is society repertoire, so it will fall under the tariffs when they are published. | Personal subscription price — plus society tariffs at rates nobody yet knows. |
| Classic B2B service (Soundtrack Your Brand and similar) | Yes — licensed for business playback of repertoire music. | Service subscription — and the society tariffs on top, once published. |
| Oktava | Yes — the catalog is registered with no collecting society, in the UAE or elsewhere. | $240 a year (≈ AED 880). That's the whole music bill, at any future tariff. |
Background-music tariffs in the UAE have not been published — this table deliberately names no society figures. What's known is tracked on our UAE licensing page, linked below.
Why Spotify doesn't cover a UAE venue
A consumer account covers private listening, and the apps' own terms forbid commercial use of personal accounts. Since 2025 the UAE licenses collecting societies to manage music rights; when background-music tariffs are published, repertoire playback — radio, streaming apps, commercial playlists — will need a society license at rates nobody yet knows.
What classic B2B services actually sell
Licensed services solve the terms-of-use problem: their subscriptions permit business playback. What they can't remove is the repertoire question — their catalogs are society-repertoire music, so once tariffs arrive, that music falls under them in the UAE like everywhere else.
What Oktava changes
The Oktava catalog is created for the service and not transferred to any collecting society — in the UAE or elsewhere. Whatever the tariffs turn out to be, they will be about repertoire music, and the Oktava subscription stays the whole cost. The certificate (in English and Arabic), staff memo and playback log come with every account — documents an inspector can check on the spot via QR.
Questions, answered
Is playing Spotify at my café really not allowed?
Not on a personal account — the apps' terms forbid commercial use. And once UAE tariffs are published, repertoire playback in venues will need a society license on top.
Are services like Soundtrack Your Brand a bad deal?
They're legitimate: licensed business playback of repertoire music. But repertoire music is exactly what the coming tariffs will price — with Oktava the catalog is outside the repertoires, so the maths of your venue stays independent of theirs.
What's the catch with Oktava?
The promise covers the catalog, not the venue as such. If radio or Spotify also plays, future tariffs will apply to that. The playback log shows which case is yours.
This information is provided for general reference and is not legal advice.