A new government requirement to pay annual royalties for playing copyrighted music is a positive step towards a functioning creative economy, industry figures have said.
The UAE's Ministry of Economy confirmed this week that commercial premises will need to obtain a music licence from December 1. Restaurants, cafes, hotels, shopping malls, airlines and fitness centres are among those in scope, with fees managed by two authorised bodies: Music Nation and the Emirates Music Rights Association.
The cost structure has not yet been published but will be scaled by business size and the type of music used, with live music and DJ performances attracting higher rates. Non-commercial settings – schools, government entities and charity events – are exempt.
The announcement also established a Cultural Support Fund for Music, which will receive 10 per cent of all fees collected to provide financial, technical and artistic backing for musicians across all stages of their careers. That detail – money going back to the people who make the music – has shaped the response from within the UAE's music community.
‘It is my time to give back’
Tariq Al Nasrawi co-founded Peninsula Records, a record store in Abu Dhabi, after a career that included writing with Universal Music, an experience that left him with a clear view of what royalty systems mean to working artists.
“I have always been incredibly thankful for the work that the Performing Right Society did in collecting royalties on my behalf,” he said. “So, on a personal note, I should never forget that and ensure that both current and up-and-coming artists also have that same support. Perhaps it is my time to give back in some way.”
Hakim Abderrazek, co-founder of Raw Music Store, a Dubai retailer that sells vinyl, demonstrates HiFi equipment and runs curated listening sessions, said he strongly believes that artists, musicians, composers and rights holders should be compensated for their work. “Anything that genuinely supports musicians and helps develop the music ecosystem in the UAE is something I would support,” he told The National.
Haider Madani, co-founder and managing partner of the Dubai music and dining venue Cassette, said it was only a matter of time before the new framework arrived. “Any new annual cost is a line item for a business, but music is part of Cassette's DNA, so a system that puts value back in the hands of the artists we play every day is one I'm glad to see,” he said.
Knowing part of the fee reaches musicians directly, he added, “makes a difference to how we view it. Supporting the creative community here has always been important to us, and this is a tangible way of doing that”.
Abdullah bin Touq, the UAE's Minister of Economy and Tourism, described the guide as “an important step in enhancing rights management in line with international practice, strengthening the principles of transparency and fairness in their distribution, and improving the regulation of the music sector in a way that supports its growth and prosperity.”
Fair implementation
Despite a lack of a published fee structure four months before the deadline, the business owners said this new law is unlikely to change the way they operate.
Mr Abderrazek only hopes the implementation recognises that not every business using music uses it in the same way. “There is a significant difference between a business using music simply as background ambience and a record store or HiFi retailer whose entire activity is built around promoting, demonstrating and ultimately selling music and the equipment used to reproduce it,” he said.
“It would be similar to asking a television retailer to pay an additional content fee every time it demonstrates a television to a customer.”
Mr Al Nasrawi said Peninsula Records will find a way to absorb whatever the fee turns out to be. “Whatever happens, we will try our utmost to absorb the cost and continue to bring quality, affordable new and old music to the music lovers in the UAE.”
The broader picture, those in the industry say, is one of a music scene that has grown quickly enough to warrant the kind of infrastructure that more established markets have had for decades. “With the UAE's music scene flourishing, it feels like a natural next step,” added Mr Al Nasrawi.
