Got a letter from OneMusic? Here's what it actually means.
A letter from OneMusic is not a fine and not a court document. It's a licensing inquiry: OneMusic believes your venue plays music from the APRA AMCOS or PPCA repertoire and asks you to take out a license. What happens next depends on one question — what is actually playing in your venue?
What OneMusic can and cannot charge for
OneMusic licenses the combined repertoire of APRA AMCOS (songwriters and publishers) and PPCA (recordings and artists). That repertoire is enormous — practically all commercial music, including everything on radio and Spotify. But it is a repertoire, not a tax on having speakers. If the music at your venue isn't in it, there's nothing to license. OneMusic's own agreements acknowledge this: venues that avoid PPCA repertoire qualify for a discount of around 48%. Oktava simply takes that logic to 100% — our catalog belongs to the service and sits outside both repertoires.
What the letter costs to ignore
Ignoring it is the one bad option. In January 2026 the Federal Court ordered the S1 fitness chain to pay A$235,000 over music played without a license. If repertoire music is playing at your venue — radio, Spotify, playlists — the letter is correct, and the fastest resolution is a license. The rates are public: a café seating 7–15 pays A$963 a year, at 31–50 seats it's A$1,861 (see our rates breakdown).
If your venue plays Oktava
Reply that your venue plays the Oktava catalog, which is not in the APRA AMCOS or PPCA repertoire, and attach two documents from your dashboard: the named certificate (its QR code leads to a live verification page) and a playback log export showing exactly what was played. A ready reply template is in the dashboard.
Or forward the letter to us
Send the letter to letters@oktava.app. We reply on the record, with the documents attached, and copy you. That's part of the subscription, not an extra.
Questions, answered
Is a OneMusic letter a legal threat?
It's a licensing inquiry. It becomes a legal matter only if repertoire music keeps playing without a license — that's the S1 scenario.
I play Spotify at my café. Does the letter apply to me?
Yes. Consumer streaming doesn't cover playback in a business, and Spotify's own terms forbid commercial use. You'd need a OneMusic license — or a catalog that sits outside the repertoire.
Can I just switch to Oktava after receiving a letter?
Yes. From the day you switch, your playback log documents what's playing. For the period before the switch, if repertoire music was played, OneMusic can still license that retrospectively — we won't pretend otherwise.
This information is provided for general reference and is not legal advice.