For anyone launching an online radio station, the technical barriers are nearly nonexistent—no broadcast license, no transmitter, just a laptop and a schedule. But when music enters the mix, the legal landscape shifts dramatically. RadioCult, the software platform serving independent and community broadcasters, has released a detailed breakdown of what music licensing actually entails for internet radio stations, from the organizations that issue licenses to how fees are calculated and what records stations must keep.
Every recorded song contains two separate copyrights. The first protects the composition and lyrics, belonging to songwriters and publishers. The second covers the specific recording itself, held by the record label and performers. In the United States, the composition side is handled by performing rights organizations like ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, or Global Music Rights, while the recording side falls under SoundExchange, which administers the statutory license for online and satellite radio. Across the Atlantic, the United Kingdom’s equivalent bodies are PRS for Music for songs and PPL for recordings. Critically, a license from one organization does not cover the other.
Two rights in every track, different licensing bodies in each country, and fees based on listening: what an online station should know before it plays music.
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The scale of these systems is immense. PRS for Music paid out a record £1.02 billion to songwriters, composers, and publishers in 2024, while PPL’s revenue hit £301.0 million the same year—the highest in its 90-year history. For an independent station, annual fees represent a tiny fraction of those totals, but they are the mechanism through which music use reaches the people who created it.
Fees are not based on how many songs are in a station’s library. Instead, they are calculated on listening activity. Most licensing bodies charge the greater of a percentage of station revenue or a usage-based fee, and nearly all set a minimum annual fee, even for small and noncommercial operations. Under U.S. statutory licensing, one performance equals one listener hearing one track. A station averaging 50 concurrent listeners and playing 15 songs per hour generates 750 performances in that hour. As audience grows, so do fees, making a station’s own listener data a critical budgeting tool. RadioCult’s internet radio royalty calculator estimates recording and composition fees for stations in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, France, and Germany, based on average listeners, hours broadcast, and station type.
Station status also changes the rate. Commercial, noncommercial, and educational broadcasters are treated differently, and those rates are periodically revised. In the United States, recording rates for webcasters are set by the Copyright Royalty Judges in five-year cycles, with the current proceeding covering 2026 through 2030. Stations are advised to check the published rates for their specific category before setting a budget.
Not all programming requires a music license. Stations that play only their own original music, royalty-free tracks, or talk content generally fall outside licensing requirements. Importantly, buying a download, CD, or record does not grant public performance rights—a purchase covers personal listening, not broadcasting. Standard live or scheduled streaming is considered a performance rather than a reproduction, so most stations do not need a mechanical license. However, offering downloads or producing podcasts that use commercial music typically requires separate clearances.
Online audiences can tune in from anywhere, and most national licenses account for that. A license obtained in the station’s home country usually covers international listeners, but terms vary, and the license itself should specify which territories it covers.
“Licensing is the part of starting a station that people most often put off,” said a RadioCult spokesperson. “Knowing which rights exist, and keeping a clean record of what aired, makes it manageable for a station of any size.”
Records are the other half of compliance. Licensing bodies rely on playout logs to calculate and distribute royalties. In the United States, statutory licensees must submit reports of use to SoundExchange alongside their payments. Manual track lists are especially difficult to maintain for pre-recorded shows and continuous mixes, where track details are frequently missing. RadioCult’s scheduling and reporting tools help stations maintain playout logs, and its optional 24/7 Music Recognition add-on identifies and timestamps each track on the stream for royalty reporting, across both live and pre-recorded programming.
RadioCult does not provide licensing services, and its guide is informational rather than legal advice. Requirements vary by country and change over time, and stations should confirm their position with the relevant licensing bodies or a copyright adviser before broadcasting.
RadioCult plans start at $33 per month, and every plan includes a seven-day free trial.
About RadioCult
RadioCult is an online radio hosting platform built for independent and community stations that broadcast 24/7 with multiple presenters. It combines live and automated broadcasting, radio-native scheduling, station and artist management, and unlimited concurrent listeners in one platform, with human support and pricing that starts at $33 per month. Learn more at https://www.radiocult.fm.
Corey Haines
Conversion Factory
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Why it matters: For the thousands of independent and community online radio stations launching each year, music licensing is the single most overlooked legal hurdle. Understanding the dual-copyright structure, performance-based fee calculations, and record-keeping requirements can mean the difference between a sustainable operation and costly noncompliance. RadioCult’s guide provides a practical roadmap for navigating this complex system without legal training.
