Music licence for a hair salon in Malaysia: MACP, PPM and RPM costs

Music earns its place in a hair salon: it covers the dryers, relaxes clients at the basin and sets the tone before anyone says a word. Legally, though, the playlist in your salon is not the playlist in your car. Playing recorded music where clients and staff can hear it is a use of copyright-protected works in the course of trade, and in Malaysia that has a complication the UK or Singapore do not have: three separate licensing bodies, each with its own tariff and its own invoice.

This guide is published on the blog of ViteUneCoupe, a booking tool hair salons use for free online bookings with no commission, and it treats music licensing the way we treat software pricing: figures from the official tariff documents, dated, with the alternatives assessed honestly rather than sold as loopholes. Every figure below was checked in October 2026.

Why playing music in your salon needs a licence

Under the Copyright Act 1987, the copyright owner has the exclusive right to control how a protected work is communicated to the public and performed, shown or played to the public. A recorded song stacks several copyrights on top of each other: the composition and lyrics belong to songwriters and publishers, the recording to the label, and the performance captured in it gives the recording artists their own protected interest. Play that song over a speaker in a commercial premises and you are using all of those layers at once.

It does not matter that you charge nothing for the music, that the source is a phone rather than a sound system, or that only four clients can hear it. The music accompanies a commercial activity, which is exactly the situation the public performance licences exist for. Playing protected music in your salon without permission from the rights holders is copyright infringement, and the practical way to get permission for the whole commercial repertoire is a blanket licence from each collecting body.

Who are MACP, PPM and RPM, and what happened to MRM?

Three licensing bodies cover commercial background music in Malaysia:

• MACP, Music Authors' Copyright Protection Berhad, licenses the musical works and lyrics on behalf of composers, songwriters and publishers.
• PPM, Public Performance Malaysia Berhad, licenses the sound recordings on behalf of the record labels and producers.
• RPM, Recording Performers Malaysia Berhad, licenses the recording performers' rights in those same recordings.

If you remember a one-stop body, that memory is out of date. Music Rights Malaysia Berhad (MRM) was set up as a joint licensing venture of the three bodies from 1 January 2017, then dissolved: the three bodies announced that MRM "was unable to function effectively as a collective music licensing body" and resumed licensing separately from 2020, terminating existing MRM contracts (joint announcement by MACP, PPM and RPM, checked in October 2026). In June 2021 the three bodies jointly and publicly opposed calls to re-establish a single joint licensing body, putting it plainly: "MACP for songwriters, composers and publishers, PPM for recording labels and RPM for recording performers. We are not one end product" (joint press release on macp.com.my, checked in October 2026).

So as of October 2026 a salon playing playlists deals with three organisations: three applications, three tariffs, three renewals. Older articles telling you to "get your MRM licence" are describing a body whose licensing role ended years ago.

What the three licences cost a hair salon

All three bodies publish tariffs with a category that covers hairdressing premises, and all three price small premises at a minimum fee that covers the first 2,000 sq ft, which is more floor than almost any Malaysian hair salon occupies. Rates checked in October 2026 on each body's own tariff:

Three notes from the tariff documents themselves:

• The fees move. MACP states its tariffs are adjusted yearly in line with the consumer price index, PPM's tariff notes yearly CPI adjustments and that all tariffs are subject to change, and RPM reserves changes by board decision. Treat the table as the October 2026 picture and confirm the current figure on your quote.
• Screens cost extra. A TV monitor in the salon attracts surcharges: PPM adds RM200 per monitor and RPM RM100 per monitor on top of the base fee, with much bigger numbers for video walls or karaoke equipment. If the screen is only there for atmosphere, audio is far cheaper than music video channels.
• Licences run for 12 months. PPM's tariff states the licence is valid for 12 months from commencement and renews automatically, so diarise the renewal the way you diarise your other fixed costs.

The worked total for a typical salon

For a hair salon under 2,000 sq ft playing playlists through a speaker, with no TV:

• MACP: RM420.20
• PPM: RM720
• RPM: RM300
• Total: about RM1,440 a year, roughly RM120 a month or RM28 a week.

That is a real fixed cost, and it belongs in the same drawer as your salon insurance and rent when you budget the year. The consolation is that all three fees are expenses of producing your income, so they sit in the deductions column of your accounts; how that column works is covered in our guide to income tax for hair salons in Malaysia.

Can you play Spotify or Apple Music in the salon?

Not on a personal account, and this is the platform's own position rather than a licensing technicality. Spotify's support page states that "Spotify is only for personal, non-commercial use" and names salons explicitly among the businesses where it cannot be played (checked in October 2026). A Premium subscription changes nothing: it removes the ads, not the restriction. A salon playing a personal streaming account is exposed twice, to the rights holders if it holds no MACP, PPM and RPM licences, and to the platform for breaching its terms even if it does.

If you want recognisable songs delivered legally, the options are a business streaming service sold for commercial premises (Spotify itself points businesses to Soundtrack, for example), or any ordinary legitimate source plus the three Malaysian licences. One caution before paying for a business service: ask the provider in writing whether its catalogue still requires MACP, PPM and RPM licences in Malaysia, or whether it is cleared entirely outside the collecting bodies' repertoires. "Royalty-free" on a sales page is a marketing word, not a legal conclusion; the written answer, kept with your receipts, is what protects you.

Is the radio a loophole? What about TV?

In Malaysia, no. Unlike Singapore, where the law carves out playing sound recordings received from a broadcast, the Malaysian tariffs are written to include broadcasts: PPM's tariff glossary defines the non-featured entertainment it licenses as background piped-in music "including Radio/TV broadcasts" (PPM standard tariffs, checked in October 2026), and MACP's licence for business premises covers background music whether it comes from a CD, a stream or the radio (macp.com.my music users, checked in October 2026). Neither body publishes a radio-only exemption or discount for salons.

So the working assumption for a Malaysian salon is that a radio on the reception desk needs the same licences as a playlist. If you believe your exact setup is different, put the question to each body in writing and keep the answer; do not rely on a forum thread or on how Singapore or the UK treat radio. A TV is worse, not better: it adds the per-monitor surcharges above, and music video channels push you into more expensive tariff lines.

The licence the copyright bodies never mention: your local council

One more trap, because it has caught real businesses. The copyright licences above are federal, private-law permissions from rights holders. Completely separate from them, state entertainment laws and local councils regulate "entertainment" in premises, and some councils have applied that to piped-in background music. In 2021 a Petaling Jaya restaurant was fined RM25,000 by the city council for playing background music without an entertainment licence, even though it held a MACP licence (Free Malaysia Today, 14 March 2021, checked in October 2026).

Whether your council treats a salon's background music as licensable entertainment varies by state and council, and we found no uniform published rule for hairdressing premises, so treat it as a question, not a conclusion: ask your local council when you sort out your premises licence. If you are at the setup stage, the whole council paperwork sequence is in our guide to opening a hair salon in Malaysia.

What happens if you just do not pay?

Honestly: there is no published enforcement statistic for salons, and we will not invent one. What can be said with sources is that unlicensed public performance of protected music is infringement under the Copyright Act 1987, that the three bodies state they license and collect actively and send licensing officers and agents to the ground (their own joint announcement, cited above), and that the one well-documented RM25,000 fine against a small business for background music, above, came from a council rather than a court. The realistic risk profile is a licensing officer walking into a shoplot with a clipboard, a letter demanding back-fees, and in the worst case a lawsuit or a council fine. Against roughly RM1,440 a year, tax deductible, most owners conclude the gamble is not worth the chair time it would take to argue.

The honest decision path

1. Silence: RM0. The only genuinely free option, and a few salons make calm part of their positioning. Most decide the dryers need covering.
2. Licensed music, any normal source: about RM1,440 a year for a salon under 2,000 sq ft, MACP plus PPM plus RPM, playing playlists from a legitimate source. Never a personal Spotify or Apple Music account, whatever licences you hold, because the platform's own terms forbid it; use a service sold for business premises.
3. A catalogue outside all three repertoires: music cleared for commercial use that sits entirely outside the MACP, PPM and RPM repertoires needs no licence from them, because there is nothing of theirs to license. If a provider claims this for Malaysia, get it in writing, keep it, and remember the claim collapses the moment one stylist switches to a chart playlist or the radio.
4. The radio is not a fourth option: in Malaysia it is option 2 with worse sound.

Whichever you pick, get the quotes in writing from each body before you press play, and file the licences with your other premises paperwork. This article is general information, not legal advice; for a dispute, talk to your lawyer.

Then make the music earn its fee: volume low enough that a colour consultation does not need raised voices, a playlist long enough that your team is not hearing the same twenty songs every day. The sound of the salon is part of the same client experience as the greeting at the door and how easy it is to book a chair at 10 pm.

Frequently asked questions

Does a hair salon in Malaysia need a music licence to play music?

Yes, in almost every case three: a MACP licence for the musical works and lyrics, a PPM licence for the sound recordings, and an RPM licence for the recording performers' rights. All three publish tariff categories that cover hairdressing and beauty premises (checked in October 2026). The former one-stop body, Music Rights Malaysia (MRM), stopped licensing years ago; the three bodies license separately.

How much does a music licence cost a small hair salon in Malaysia?

For a salon under 2,000 sq ft playing background playlists with no TV, about RM1,440 a year in total as of October 2026: RM420.20 to MACP, RM720 to PPM and RM300 to RPM, all minimum-band fees from the bodies' own published tariffs. All three adjust rates over time, so confirm the current figures on your quotes. The fees are deductible business expenses.

Can I play my personal Spotify account in the salon if I hold all three licences?

No. Spotify's own terms restrict the service to personal, non-commercial use and name salons among the businesses where it cannot be played (checked in October 2026). Use a streaming service sold for commercial premises, and ask the provider in writing whether its catalogue still requires MACP, PPM and RPM licences in Malaysia.

Does playing the radio in my hair salon still need a licence in Malaysia?

Treat it as yes. PPM's tariff defines the background music it licenses as including radio and TV broadcasts, MACP's business licence covers background music from radio among other sources, and neither publishes a radio exemption for salons (checked in October 2026). Malaysia does not copy Singapore's broadcast carve-out, so a radio on the counter needs the same licences as a playlist unless a body confirms otherwise in writing for your case.

Is there one combined music licence I can buy in Malaysia?

Not as of October 2026. MRM, the joint body created in 2017, was dissolved as a licensing vehicle, and in 2021 MACP, PPM and RPM publicly opposed re-establishing a single joint licensing body. You apply to each body separately and hold three licences. If that changes, the announcement will come from the bodies themselves or MyIPO, so check their sites rather than old blog posts.

Does a home-based hairdresser need these licences too?

The tariffs are written around commercial premises and floor area, so they do not map neatly onto a spare-room salon. If music matters to your setup, ask MACP, PPM and RPM directly how they treat a home-based business before paying for anything. And keep the question in proportion: for most home salons the bigger wins are a tidy booking book and client records, which is work a free tool like ViteUneCoupe already handles, while the music decision is a letter to three licensing bodies.