The moment music plays at your event — a live band on a parade, a DJ in the marquee, a playlist between sports matches, or the house music at a theatre show — you owe music royalties. Not because the platform or the municipality made that up, but because it's written into law. Many organisers only find out when the invoice lands. It doesn't have to be that way: once you understand how it works, you simply budget for it.
Below we explain, plainly, who collects what, when it applies, roughly what you'll pay, and how to settle it in one step. This article covers the Dutch situation; if you organise events in another EU country, the principle is the same but the collecting societies and rates differ — check your national society.
Two rights, two organisations
The biggest misconception: people assume "Buma" is one pot that covers all music. In reality there are two separate rights, and therefore two separate organisations collecting money.
Buma/Stemra — copyright
Buma/Stemra collects on behalf of the creators: composers, lyricists and music publishers. The legal basis is the Dutch Copyright Act (Auteurswet), which dates back to 1912. Anyone who makes a work public — and an event with an audience counts as making it public — needs permission and pays a fee for it. Whether it's a cover band, a DJ spinning other people's tracks, or a Spotify playlist over the speakers: copyright sits on the composition, not on the specific recording.
Sena — neighbouring rights
Sena collects on behalf of the performers: the artists who played the track and the record company that produced the recording. These are the "neighbouring rights", governed by the Dutch Neighbouring Rights Act (Wet op de naburige rechten) from 1993. Sena only applies to recorded music — a DJ set or audio from a sound carrier. If only live music plays (a band performing their own or someone else's work), there's no Sena component, because no commercial recording is being played.
In short: Buma/Stemra is about who wrote it, Sena about who recorded it. For a DJ or background music you usually pay both. For a purely live performance, usually only Buma/Stemra.
Does this apply to your event?
Almost always, yes. The rules barely distinguish between a large dance party and a modest club night. A few of the guidelines Sena applies:
- If you run an event at an external venue (a rented hall, a tent, a field), you almost always need a separate event licence.
- If you have your own venue with a running music licence, an event with an entry fee up to €25 (excl. VAT) is usually included. Charge more, or offer free entry, and a separate event licence is required.
- One-off or small-scale moments — a market, a Christmas celebration, a sports tournament with music — fall under it too. Day licences exist for those.
So free entry does not automatically mean you have nothing to arrange. If you're unsure about registration and permits for a free event, read why your small event deserves tickets — it explains how attendee registration helps with exactly these obligations.
Roughly what will you pay?
The fee is calculated per event, usually as a percentage of the box-office revenue (recette) or of the artist fees. The exact percentages are set in the annual tariff texts and depend on how much of the music played belongs to each society's repertoire.
- Buma/Stemra, in its General Music Tariff 2026, charges 7% of revenue (or of the artist fees) when at least two-thirds of the music is Buma repertoire. Play less protected repertoire and the percentage drops.
- Sena charges 1.625% of revenue for dance and entertainment events when 60% or more of the music is Sena repertoire. This rate follows a Dutch Supreme Court ruling of 12 November 2021 on what counts as fair compensation.
So for a typical event with mostly well-known music, budget roughly just under 9% of your ticket revenue for music royalties combined. That's not a small amount, which is exactly why it's wise to factor it in when setting your ticket price. In how to price tickets for your event we walk through the cost side — music royalties belong there, alongside the ticket types and capacity decisions that shape your revenue.
Note: these are indicative figures. Your own situation — event type, repertoire, entry price — determines the exact rate. Always confirm it in your declaration.
How to settle it in practice
The good news: you don't have to visit two desks separately. Buma/Stemra and Sena work together under the name MijnLicentie. The practical route:
- Apply for the licence before your event. The organiser is legally the licensee and paying party — not the DJ or the band. So count on it yourself.
- Declare within 30 days after the event. You fill in one combined declaration form (Buma and Sena together) and send it to
evenementen@mijnlicentie.nl. You report your revenue, the type of music and the visitor count. - You receive a tailored invoice. The societies calculate the final amount from your declaration. The Sena invoice is VAT-exempt; payment is due within 30 days.
So keep your sales figures tidy — you'll need them for an accurate declaration. A platform that gives you a clear per-event overview of tickets sold and revenue makes this much easier.
Three misconceptions that cost money
"The DJ sorts that out." No. In almost all cases the organiser is the licensee, not the artist. Don't make assumptions about this in your agreements with acts.
"Entry is free, so it doesn't apply." Even free events may require an event licence. The calculation then works differently (often based on visitor count or budget rather than revenue), but the obligation stands.
"I'm just playing a playlist." Background music from a streaming service also falls under Buma/Stemra and Sena. A private Spotify subscription does not grant you permission for public use at an event.
Budget for it and it won't surprise you
Music royalties aren't a surprise but a fixed cost — as predictable as your venue rent. Put them in your budget from the start, arrange the licence on time via MijnLicentie, and keep your sales figures for a smooth declaration afterwards.
With MijnEvent you see exactly how many tickets you've sold and what your revenue is per event — precisely the data you need for your declaration to Buma/Stemra and Sena. No percentage commission on your turnover, just a flat fee per ticket, so your revenue is easy to reconcile. See the pricing or register your organisation and keep your records in order from the very first ticket.