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Apple Music for Businesses

Written by

James Picken

Published

July 19, 2023

Category

Resources

Wondering why you can't use Apple Music in your shop or restaurant? Here's why...

We’re all fans of streaming platforms like Apple Music, of course. They’re a great way to listen to music. However, we get a lot of customers come to us and ask “why can’t I just use ‘insert-streaming-service-here’?”. The reason is based around the difference between consumer music services and business music services. 

Consumer Music Services

Streaming platforms like Apple Music are great consumer music services that are designed for personal consumption. 

But unfortunately, they’re not intended for commercial use. They don’t cover the licenses for commercial use, or ensure that artists, songwriters, composers, recording labels, music publishers and rights holders are properly paid for music played in a business environment. In simple terms, you’d be guilty of copyright infringement, and denying an artist the payment they’re entitled to by using it without the necessary permissions. 

Background music has such an influence on how customers perceive your brand, so it’s only fair that the artists producing the content are paid what they’re supposed to be paid. And it means you can avoid nasty fines by using a secure, legal music solution. 

Not only that, Apple Music doesn’t have a lot of the tools a business needs for their music to run smoothly like scheduling or curation, which we’ll talk more about. 

Business Music Services

So, of course, the most important reason to use a service like Startle and not a personal music streaming platform like Apple Music is the legal implications. It means that you’re not breaking any rules and you can avoid any fines. 

But the flexibility and functionality that business music services offer is much better. After all, they’ve been designed with a business audience in mind. Because of this, most will offer a host of atmosphere-enhancing features, such as the ability to:

  • Plan a music schedule for the week ahead, adapting to different days, times and events to save your staff time on shift picking music 
  • Assign different levels of control to staff members, so you can manage who has control over what
  • Automatically adjust the music volume depending on the busyness of your venue, allowing you to adapt your music to the environment

 

What about the music?

Of course, the Apple Music database is huge. But professional music services offer a system with high-quality music that is just as easy to manage.

We have over 100 ready-made playlists spanning different genres and moods, so there’s plenty of variety. With this available, you can simply choose the playlists you want for various times of day, with minimal effort. And if you’re a curation customer of Startle, you’ll get personalised playlists just for your brand. You wouldn’t get that with a consumer music service. 

Hardware

Unlike Apple Music,  most professional music services come with their own dedicated hardware, meaning that staff aren’t required to use their own devices.

With Startle, for example, customers are provided with their own Startle Player - a small, reliable piece of kit that updates overnight with new music and improved features. To ensure customers still have the convenience they need, however, Startle’s music solutions can be managed through a smartphone, where users can skip tracks, change the volume and more, on-the-go. 

Keep it professional

To sum up, using Apple Music (illegally) in a business opens you up to large fines and the risk of being perceived as unethical. It’s a much smarter move to set your business up with a professional music service that not only covers commercial licenses, but offers much more functionality and control. 

Frequently asked questions.

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James Picken

With an MA in Music, an MA in Music Psychology, and a Mini MBA in Brand Management… James is one of our Startle geniuses. As Creative Director, it’s his job to produce and execute our music output, making sure everything is sounding, feeling and performing just right for our customers. When he’s not on the clock, James loves to walk the dog, read, lift weights, even dabbling in some music production, and he’s known in the office for his love of Mariah Carey.

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Like what you hear?

Ready to amplify your brand? Get in touch to find out how we can use music and tech to help you achieve your goals.

Request information

Explore our audio branding services.

Elevate your brand with strategic music solutions, designed to build an impactful audio experience.

Discover more

Explore our visual branding services.

Elevate your brand with strategic visual solutions, from digital signage to branded TV, designed to build an impactful experience.

Discover more

Your support, your way.

Proactive account management, free player replacements, end-to-end support… our Relentless Support™ team are just that - relentless.

Discover more

Ready to amplify your retail brand?

Find out more about how we can use music and tech to help you achieve your goals.

Discover more

Ready to amplify your hospitality brand?

Find out more about how we can use music and tech to help you achieve your goals.

Discover more

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Startle Music Ltd
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Startle c/o I.D. Online Ltd
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Startle International Inc
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