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Public spaces

Is your music played on the radio or TV in a café, shop, restaurant or other public space? That generates royalties too. Sabam collects these royalties and makes sure you receive the appropriate payment.
Where do we collect royalties?

We charge royalties to businesses that play music for their customers or staff, such as cafés, shops, hair salons and clubs.

The music can come from different sources:

  • radio

  • TV

  • mechanical devices (own sound system)

  • a combination of these sources


Sabam collects these royalties from businesses and distributes them among the creators and publishers of the music played.

 

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How do we distribute the royalties?

How we distribute the royalties we collect depends on how the music is played. For radio, TV and a business’s own sound system, we use different data to determine the distribution.
Radio

For radio, we use the playlists we receive from radio broadcasters. We work with public and commercial broadcasters and also automatically monitor more than 35 local radio stations.

Each station is allocated a share of the available budget. The size of that share depends on how much the station itself pays in royalties. The more a station contributes, the greater its weight in the distribution.

Each work played is also assigned a certain weight, expressed in points. The number of points depends on:

  • how long your work is played;

  • the genre of your work;

  • when and how your work is used, for example during the day or at night, as a repeat or jingle, or as foreground or background music.

Find out more on our Radio & TV page.

TV

For TV, we base the distribution on the music broadcast by Belgian TV channels. We apply the same principles as for the distribution of royalties from TV broadcasters.

Find out more on our Radio & TV page.

 

Mechanical devices (own sound system)

Does a business play music through its own sound system, using CDs, vinyl or a background music service, for example? We then try to determine as accurately as possible which music is actually being played.

How we do this depends on the type of business:

  • Discos and clubs: we monitor a selection of clubs using fingerprinting, a technology that automatically identifies music. We use this data to determine the distribution for the entire sector.
  • Background music providers: some providers send us a list of the music played for each customer. We use this data directly.
  • Trade fairs and commercial events: we use lists of the music featured in the corporate films shown at these events.
  • All other businesses: if we do not have lists of the music played, we make an estimate based on Belgian and international CD and vinyl sales figures and playlists from parties and events.
When do you get paid?

We pay your royalties in two stages:

  1. June: advance payment, if the amount exceeds €25
  2. October: final payment

Example:
Was your music played on 1 June 2026?
You will receive your payment by October 2027 at the latest.

 

Music 7

Give your music the best start: register it correctly

By registering your music completely and correctly, you ensure that every stream, broadcast, or use can be linked to your work.

Register your songs via MyWorx in your MySabam account and be sure to upload your audio file as well. This helps us recognise your music more quickly and ensures that the revenue it generates goes to you.
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