Music licence for a hair salon in Singapore: COMPASS and MRSS costs

Music does half the atmosphere work in a hair salon: it relaxes clients at the basin, covers the dryers and tells people what kind of salon they have walked into. Legally, though, the playlist in your salon is not the playlist in your living room. Playing recorded music where clients and staff can hear it is a public performance of copyright-protected content, and in Singapore that has meant two separate licences since the Copyright Act 2021 came into force: one from COMPASS for the songs, and in most cases one from MRSS for the recordings.

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 pages, dated, with the alternatives assessed honestly rather than sold as loopholes. Every figure below was checked on 23 October 2026.

Why is music in your salon a "public performance"?

Under Singapore's Copyright Act 2021, in force since 21 November 2021, playing protected music in a business generally requires permission from the rights owners. The official factsheet for businesses from IPOS, the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore, spells out that a recorded song contains several copyrights at once: the lyrics, the melody, and the sound recording itself, and that "a business that uses such content must obtain a licence from the rights owner of each type of content" (IPOS factsheet for businesses on the Copyright Act 2021, checked in October 2026). Shops are listed among the places where a sound recording is "performed in public" whenever it can be heard there.

It does not matter that you charge nothing for the music, or that the speaker is a tablet rather than a sound system: the music accompanies a commercial activity, and that is enough. The big change of the 2021 Act, highlighted in the same factsheet, is that rights owners of sound recordings gained a new right to equitable remuneration when their recordings are performed in public. Before 2021, a salon dealt mainly with COMPASS; now there are two layers.

Who are COMPASS and MRSS?

Two collective management organisations (CMOs) cover commercial background music in Singapore:

• COMPASS, the Composers and Authors Society of Singapore, licenses the public performance of the musical works and lyrics: the written songs.
• MRSS, Music Rights (Singapore) Public Limited, licenses the public performance of the sound recordings: the recorded versions, on behalf of record labels and producers. MRSS was formed in 2018 from the merger of RIPS (Recording Industry Performance Singapore) and RIMS, so older articles that mention RIPS are talking about what is now MRSS (MRSS, about page, checked in October 2026).

Unlike New Zealand or Australia, where the two sides sell a bundled licence through OneMusic, Singapore has no joint scheme: a salon playing playlists deals with each organisation separately, two applications and two invoices. COMPASS's own FAQ states that if the music involves sound recordings of labels administered by MRSS, "you may also need a MRSS Public Performance Licence" on top of the COMPASS one (COMPASS music users FAQ, checked in October 2026), and the MRSS FAQ says a Public Performance for Sound Recording licence is required when you play recorded music in your business premises (MRSS FAQ, checked in October 2026).

What COMPASS charges a hair salon

COMPASS publishes a dedicated tariff for this exact business type: Beauty & Hair Salon (rates checked in October 2026). The figures are annual, in Singapore dollars, before GST:

Three notes on the same page matter as much as the rates:

• Minimum charge. Annual licence fees are subject to a minimum charge of S$270, so a small salon playing background music should budget the minimum, not the S$169.22 headline rate.
• First-year surcharge. The first-year fee is 50 % higher where the business started performing music in public before obtaining a COMPASS licence. Licensing before you press play is literally cheaper.
• Admin details. Applications and payments must reach COMPASS at least 5 working days before the licence year starts, late payments accrue 10 % annual interest, and rates are subject to GST. The current GST rate and how it works for salons are covered in our guide to GST for hair salons in Singapore.

What MRSS charges on top

MRSS publishes its Public Performance of Sound Recordings tariff as an official rate card with effect from 21 November 2021 (checked in October 2026). Hair salons fall under category R01, Retail: Fashion / Beauty / Medical / Fitness:

The card does not state whether GST is added on top, and MRSS is GST-registered, so budget for it and confirm the final amount on your quote (tariff questions: [email protected] or 6475 1181).

The worked total for a typical salon

Most Singapore hair salons, whether a heartland HDB shop unit or a CBD mall unit, sit comfortably under 100 sq m, which keeps both organisations in their first band. For a salon playing playlists from a music service, a phone or CDs:

• COMPASS: S$270 minimum charge, plus 9 % GST, about S$294 a year.
• MRSS: S$218 for premises up to 100 sq m, before any GST, call it S$218 to S$238.
• Total: roughly S$510 to S$530 a year, or about S$10 a week, both fees deductible business expenses.

If you like seeing the whole fixed-cost column in one place, our breakdown of the real cost of salon software in Singapore applies the same method to the booking side, where one line can honestly read S$0.

Can you play Spotify or Apple Music in your salon?

No, 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.

COMPASS says the same thing from the licensing side: its FAQ notes that "nearly all publicly available digital music streaming and download services are limited to personal, domestic and non-commercial use", and that subscription fees you have paid cover only personal and private use, the same as CDs you may have bought. So a salon playing a personal Spotify account is exposed twice: to the rights owners if it holds no COMPASS and MRSS 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 simply any ordinary source plus the two Singapore licences. One caution before paying for a business service: ask the provider in writing whether its catalogue still requires COMPASS and MRSS licences in Singapore, or whether it is licensed entirely outside the collecting societies. We found no provider publishing verifiable SGD pricing with a clear Singapore answer on its public pages as of October 2026, which is exactly why the question belongs in writing.

What about the radio or a TV in the salon?

Radio is the one source the law treats differently, on one of the two layers. The IPOS factsheet lists, among the permitted uses that need no licence, the "public performance of sound recordings through receiving a broadcast (e.g. playing music through a radio)". In plain terms: a terrestrial radio playing in your salon does not trigger the MRSS sound-recording fee.

The exception covers only the recording layer, though. The musical works and lyrics in the broadcast are COMPASS's side, and the COMPASS salon tariff has no published radio-only discount. So treat radio as "COMPASS yes, MRSS no", and confirm your exact case with COMPASS ([email protected]) before assuming anything is free.

A TV showing music channels or music videos is the expensive way to fill a salon with sound: COMPASS prices video monitors at S$345.46 per video source per year, and MRSS has separate music-video tariffs on top of the sound-recording card. If the screen is only there for atmosphere, audio is far cheaper.

The legal options, with labelled costs

1. Silence: S$0. The only genuinely free option. A few salons make calm part of their positioning; most owners decide the dryers need covering.
2. Radio only: budget around S$294 a year (COMPASS minimum charge plus GST), with no MRSS fee thanks to the broadcast permitted use. Cheapest licensed way to have commercial music, not a free one.
3. Playlists (streaming, phone, CDs): roughly S$510 to S$530 a year for a salon under 100 sq m, COMPASS plus MRSS. Never from a personal Spotify or Apple Music account, whatever licences you hold, because the platform's own terms forbid it.
4. A catalogue outside both repertoires: music cleared for business use that sits entirely outside the COMPASS and MRSS repertoires needs no CMO licence, because there is nothing for them to license. If a provider claims this, get the confirmation in writing and keep it with your receipts, and remember the claim collapses the moment one staff member switches to a chart playlist or the radio.

Whichever you pick, apply before the music starts: the 50 % first-year surcharge only applies to businesses that played first and licensed later. If you are opening a hair salon in Singapore, put the music licences on the same formalities list as your ACRA registration and insurance. This article is general information, not legal advice; for a dispute, talk to your lawyer.

Having paid for the right to play music, make it earn its fee: volume low enough that a colour consultation does not need raised voices, and 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

Do I need a music licence to play music in my hair salon in Singapore?

Yes, in almost every case two: a COMPASS Public Performance licence for the musical works and lyrics, and an MRSS Public Performance of Sound Recordings licence for the recordings, a requirement introduced by the Copyright Act 2021. COMPASS publishes a dedicated Beauty & Hair Salon tariff, and MRSS puts salons in its R01 Retail category (both checked in October 2026).

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

For a salon of 100 sq m or less playing playlists, budget roughly S$510 to S$530 a year in total: COMPASS's S$270 minimum annual charge plus 9 % GST, and MRSS's S$218 R01 Retail rate. Radio only drops the MRSS fee entirely, leaving about S$294 a year. Figures from the official COMPASS and MRSS tariff pages, checked in October 2026; confirm against the current cards when you apply.

Can I play my personal Spotify account in the salon if I hold COMPASS and MRSS 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, and COMPASS's FAQ confirms that nearly all consumer streaming subscriptions cover personal use only. Use a service sold for commercial premises, and ask the provider in writing whether its catalogue still requires COMPASS and MRSS licences in Singapore.

Does playing the radio in my salon need a licence in Singapore?

Partly. The Copyright Act 2021 permits the public performance of sound recordings through receiving a broadcast, so a terrestrial radio triggers no MRSS fee. The musical works in the broadcast remain COMPASS's side, and COMPASS publishes no radio-only discount for salons, so a COMPASS licence still applies; confirm your exact setup with COMPASS before assuming radio is free.

What happens if my salon plays music without a licence?

Performing copyrighted music in public without permission is infringement under the Copyright Act 2021, and the COMPASS tariff builds in concrete consequences for latecomers: the first-year fee is 50 % higher where a business performed music before obtaining its licence, and late payments carry 10 % annual interest. Licensing before you press play is the cheaper path in every scenario.

Does a home-based or mobile hairdresser need these licences?

The COMPASS salon tariff and the MRSS R01 category are written around commercial premises and their floor area, so they do not map neatly onto a HDB home salon or working in clients' homes. If music matters to your setup, ask COMPASS and MRSS directly how they treat your situation before paying for anything, and see our guides to running a home-based salon or going mobile for the rest of the setup.