Can you use Spotify in a restaurant or shop?
It is the question business owners ask most, and the answer is clear: no. Whether your plan is free or Premium, Spotify is licensed for personal use. Here is why, what you risk, and what to use instead.
The short answer
No, you cannot use Spotify to play music in your restaurant, bar, shop or any space open to the public. Whether your plan is free or Premium, it is licensed for personal use, not business use.
What the terms of use say
Spotify’s terms are explicit: the service is reserved for personal, non-commercial use. Playing music for your customers is, by definition, commercial use. The moment you plug a Spotify account into your venue’s speakers, you step outside what the licence allows.
Premium changes nothing
A common misconception is that upgrading to Premium fixes the problem. It does not. Premium removes ads and unlocks offline listening, but the licence stays personal. Ad-free is not the same as cleared for business.
Does Spotify Business exist?
No, not as an offer you can subscribe to. What once carried the Spotify Business name became Soundtrack Your Brand, a separate company that specialises in music for venues. Spotify, as such, offers no plan to soundtrack a business. If a service presents itself as “Spotify for pros”, it is not Spotify.
The two risks you take
Using Spotify in a business stacks two distinct problems.
- Breaching Spotify’s terms, which can lead to your account being suspended.
- Copyright infringement. Playing music publicly without the right licence is an infringement of copyright, exposing you to claims and damages.
Where public performance royalties fit in
Here is the point many owners miss: even with a perfectly legal source of music, you still owe public performance royalties to the collecting society in your country whenever you play music in public. Using Spotify in a business leaves you doubly exposed: an unauthorised source, and royalties left unpaid.
The right solution
To play music legally, you need a source licensed for commercial use, and the appropriate public performance licence. That is exactly what Horra provides: a catalogue streamed from our own servers, built for venues open to the public, with curated playlists, human support, and clear, public pricing.
To compare point by point, see our Horra versus Spotify comparison.
Frequently asked questions
Can you use Spotify in a restaurant?
No. Spotify's terms of use reserve the service for personal, non-commercial use. Playing a Spotify account in a restaurant open to the public breaches those terms and amounts to an unlicensed public performance.
Is Spotify Premium allowed for a business?
No. Premium removes ads and enables offline listening, but the licence stays strictly personal. Paying for Premium gives you no right to play music publicly in a commercial space.
Does Spotify Business exist?
Not as a consumer offer you can subscribe to. What used to be Spotify Business became Soundtrack Your Brand, a separate company focused on music for venues. Spotify itself does not offer a plan for playing music in a business.
What do you risk by playing Spotify in your business?
Two things. First, your account can be suspended for breaching Spotify's terms. Second, playing music publicly without the right licence is copyright infringement, which can lead to claims and damages. On top of that, you still owe public performance royalties to the relevant collecting society.
What should you use instead of Spotify in a business?
A solution licensed for commercial use, like Horra, which streams from a catalogue meant for venues open to the public. It does not replace the public performance royalties you owe, but it makes your source of music legal.
Play music the right way, effortlessly
A source licensed for commercial use, curated playlists and real human support.
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