Music licensing in your hypnosis practice — what actually applies?

First: who collects royalties in your country?

Each country has one (or several) Performance Rights Organisations — collectively called „PROs". They license music on behalf of composers and publishers. If you play copyrighted music in a public context, you typically owe a fee to your local PRO.

The biggest PROs by region:

• USA: ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, GMR (you typically need licences from at least the first three)
• UK: PRS for Music + PPL (PRS = composers/publishers, PPL = recordings/performers)
• Canada: SOCAN
• Australia / NZ: APRA AMCOS
• Germany: GEMA
• France: SACEM
• Italy: SIAE
• Netherlands: Buma/Stemra
• Spain: SGAE
• Other Europe: typically each country has its own — they cooperate via CISAC

PROs share data internationally — if you license German music in the UK, the UK PRO collects and remits to GEMA in Germany via reciprocal agreements.

The three rules — how to stay clear

1. One-on-one client sessions are usually NOT „public performance". Most jurisdictions define public performance as music played to a group beyond your immediate household. A single client in your therapy room generally doesn't qualify — though wording varies. Some PROs (especially in the US, ASCAP/BMI) take a stricter view of „commercial premises" — see country-specific notes below.
2. Use royalty-free / Creative Commons music whenever possible. If the music has a CC0, CC BY, or explicitly royalty-free licence, you owe nothing to any PRO — by definition. This is the safest default.
3. Avoid streaming services in commercial contexts. Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube etc. ban commercial use in their consumer terms — even one-on-one sessions can technically violate that. Use your own legally-acquired music files or royalty-free sources.

What „public performance" means — country variations

USA (ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, GMR)

US copyright law (17 U.S.C. § 101) defines public performance broadly: anywhere „a substantial number of persons outside of a normal circle of family and social acquaintances" hears the music. ASCAP/BMI tend to interpret this strictly for commercial venues — including therapy practices. Recommendation: if you run a US practice and play copyrighted music, expect a licensing requirement even for one-on-one sessions. ASCAP general licensing for small businesses is around $300-700 per year, BMI similar.

Loophole: the „business size exemption" (17 U.S.C. § 110(5)) covers small establishments that just play radio/TV — but only if you don't charge for the music itself and the space is under specific square-footage limits. Therapy practices often qualify, but it's narrow.

UK (PRS + PPL)

PRS for Music collects on behalf of composers, PPL on behalf of recording artists. Together they form „TheMusicLicence" (yes, that's the official spelling). Therapy practices that play music for clients typically need this licence — it starts at around £200/year for small premises.

Exception: if you're a sole practitioner working from home and clients don't primarily come for the music, the licence may not be required. Check pplprs.co.uk for your specific case.

Australia / New Zealand (APRA AMCOS)

APRA AMCOS has a specific „PPCA" tariff for businesses. Therapy practices generally fall under the „health and wellbeing services" category. Annual licences for small practices are around AU$300-500.

Germany (GEMA)

GEMA's interpretation of „öffentliche Wiedergabe" (public performance) is comparatively narrow. One-on-one therapy sessions are generally NOT considered public performance, so no licence required. Group hypnosis sessions or waiting rooms with audible music = GEMA-relevant. Detailed guide: German GEMA guide.

Hypnosis sessions — what's the legal status?

One-on-one sessions in your practice

In most jurisdictions: not public performance = no PRO licence required. The client is your contractual partner, not „the public".

US is the exception — ASCAP/BMI consider any commercial venue with audible music to require a licence. If you're in the US, get the licence or use only royalty-free music.

Group hypnosis sessions

Generally licence-required, regardless of country. Multiple unrelated people in a paid setting = public performance, period. Either pay your local PRO's group-tariff or use royalty-free music.

Online sessions (Zoom, Teams, etc.)

Tricky — the legal status is unsettled in most jurisdictions. Two views:

• View A: the client „receives" the music in their own private space → no public performance.
• View B: you „transmit" the music via a public network → potentially public performance / „making available".

PROs are increasingly leaning towards View B. Safest path: use only royalty-free music for online sessions. That sidesteps the legal grey area entirely.

Recordings you give the client

This is a separate right: mechanical reproduction. Even if the live session is licence-free, the recorded MP3 you hand the client may need a separate mechanical licence. With royalty-free music: again, no licence needed by definition.

The simplest solution: royalty-free music

Royalty-free music = music you may use commercially without paying per-use royalties. The composer has either released it under a permissive licence (Creative Commons) or sold a one-time use right.

• Hypnotika TranceDeck ships with royalty-free hypnosis tracks — composed for this app, no PRO involvement, free for use in commercial sessions AND in client recordings. Zero licensing question.
• Plus 12+ external sources for additional royalty-free hypnosis music in our music sources blog post.

For most therapists this is the cleanest path: skip the PRO question entirely by only using royalty-free material.

If you do receive a licensing demand

PROs sometimes send mass-mailings to anyone who looks like they might play music commercially. If you receive one and you only use royalty-free music:

1. Don't ignore it. No reaction = they may issue an estimated invoice you'll have to fight in court.
2. Reply in writing within the deadline. State that you only use royalty-free music (CC0, CC BY, or explicitly royalty-free) — list your sources (Hypnotika TranceDeck, Pixabay Music, Free Music Archive, etc.).
3. Keep evidence: screenshots of licence pages, download confirmations, the music sources you actually use. PROs accept this — they have to.

Summary

• One-on-one sessions: usually no licence required (US: exception, get a licence)
• Group sessions: licence required, regardless of country
• Online sessions: legal grey area — use royalty-free to stay safe
• Client recordings: separate mechanical right — royalty-free sidesteps this
• Royalty-free music = the safe default for the whole question

Related: Music sources · Royalty-free music blog post