Do I need a license for live music, DJs or karaoke?

The venue is responsible, not the performer

Each of the four US performing rights organizations (PROs) says the license for performances on your premises is the business’s responsibility:

• ASCAP: “the business owner is legally responsible to obtain the license”, and its FAQ adds that live music of any kind, “including DJ nights and karaoke”, needs public performance licenses (ASCAP Music Licensing FAQs).
• BMI: whether music is “performed by a live band, DJ or karaoke, the business owner must obtain permission from the copyright owner” (BMI Music Licensing FAQs).
• SESAC: “a business cannot shift its responsibility to musicians or entertainers” (SESAC, who is responsible for paying music licensing fees), and “Paying the band does not cover you” (SESAC FAQ).
• GMR: the owner or operator is responsible for the performances on its premises, and paying the performers “will not relieve you of your licensing obligation” (Global Music Rights FAQ).

US courts took the same view long ago. In 1929 a federal appeals court held a dance hall owner liable for songs played by a hired orchestra, “even though the orchestra be employed under a contract that would ordinarily make it an independent contractor” (Dreamland Ball Room v. Shapiro, Bernstein & Co., 36 F.2d 354 (7th Cir. 1929)).

A band that plays only its own songs is rarer than it sounds. ASCAP notes that “very few artists exclusively perform songs they wrote by themselves”, and covers and co-written songs need licensing (ASCAP Music Licensing FAQs).

Your background music service usually stops at background music

Business music services license the recorded music they supply for background use. Several say in writing that live entertainment is outside that:

Pandora CloudCover

“A background music license also does not cover live performances, cover artists, DJs”, and the music cannot be integral to the activity, such as karaoke (CloudCover licensing FAQ, updated July 2026).

Soundtrack

If a business “Plays music from another source other than the Service such as a DJ, karaoke, or live music” or “Charges an admission fee”, the public performance rights “are not licensed by Soundtrack” (Soundtrack General Terms, March 2026).

Custom Channels

“Music from DJs, live bands, karaoke, or trivia events is not covered and may require separate PRO licenses” (Custom Channels help center).

The PROs describe the same limit from their side. SESAC says a service’s license “only extends to the music they supply to establishments with no admission, membership or similar charge” (SESAC FAQ). ASCAP says karaoke and DJ nights require “additional licensing by the establishment” (ASCAP Music Licensing FAQs).

The DJ’s own subscription is not your license

DJs often stream from a DJ service. Some of those services say plainly that the subscription does not cover playing in public:

• Beatport: streamed content “is intended for your personal use only”, and public performance “will require additional licensing, which is not included as part of your subscription” (Beatport Streaming terms of use).
• VirtualDJ: its Online Music membership “does not give you the right to perform music in public”, and the DJ or the venue needs the public performance licenses (VirtualDJ, Public Performance License).

A clause in your booking agreement can say who handles what, but the PRO statements above put the license with the venue.

Which licenses a live night touches

A band or DJ can play songs from any catalog, and each PRO licenses only the works it represents. That is why a venue paying one or two PROs can still have gaps on live nights. Do I need ASCAP, BMI, SESAC and GMR? explains how the four fit together, and what a license costs shows how live nights change the fee.