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Creative and IP rights · France and Switzerland : separate country-labelled rules

5 checks before playing music in a shop

Playing background music in a business is different from private listening. France's SACEM and related-rights arrangements should not be replaced with Switzerland's SUISA tariff by currency conversion. Record the premises, sound or audiovisual use, relevant surface and duration. Use the current applicable tariff and distinguish authorisation, copyright charges and other remuneration rather than inventing one average licence price.

  • Type of premises
  • Audio or video uses
  • Area and period
  • Contracts and permissions
Go to the toolSee the texts cited
  • Official texts cited
  • Sources checked on
  • Drafted with AI assistance, our method

By the AlphaDeep legal editorial team

General legal information with official references and dated checks. It is not personalised advice: for a decision that commits you, have your situation checked by a qualified professional.

Julie by AlphaDeep

Illustrative conversation
Example question

Does a personal subscription cover public playback?

Julie Illustration

A listening subscription does not automatically settle public-performance permission or the applicable rights.

Read the references

Your question concerns “5 checks before playing music in a shop”. I can help organise the facts and records. Which document have you received or prepared, and is this a French or Swiss matter?

French law

3 free questions at signup. Avoid names and sensitive information.

Answer

How is music used in the business?

Describe background audio, video, events and relevant spaces. One establishment may have several distinct uses.

Code de la propriété intellectuelle art. L122-4Code de la propriété intellectuelle art. L214-1231.1 : Art. 10 Utilisation de l’œuvre231.1 : Art. 35 Droit à rémunération pour l’utilisation de phonogrammes et de vidéogrammesService Public Entreprendre : Diffuser de la musique dans un commerce (Sacem)

Tool

Which records are still missing from your file?

Indicate which records you have. The result identifies gaps and prepares a complete question for Julie, without requiring an account.

julie://tool/bordereauNothing leaves your browser

Answers stay on this page until you explicitly continue to Julie. Avoid names and sensitive information.

Fictional example · Your preparation

Point to complete: Contracts and permissions. Compare the permission, representation contract and any separate SACEM/SPRE invoices. They do not identify one interchangeable right.

Type of premises
Record available
Audio or video uses
Record available
Area and period
Record available
Contracts and permissions
Needs checking
Records indicated
3 / 4
  1. What should be checked in France?

This worksheet organises records; it does not establish admissibility, entitlement or a procedural outcome.

In order

Which preparation steps come first?

Editorial preparation order, not a popularity or success-probability ranking. Describe the public use before checking permissions and the tariff.

Answer

Does a personal subscription cover public playback?

A listening subscription does not automatically settle public-performance permission or the applicable rights.

Comparison

Which documents answer which questions?

Which documents answer which questions?
Record or informationIssue to check
Type of premisesDescribe background audio, video, events and relevant spaces. One establishment may have several distinct uses.
Audio or video usesDescribe background audio, video, events and relevant spaces. One establishment may have several distinct uses.
Area and periodRecord business type, sonorised area, playback method and period. A generic monthly price omits relevant conditions.
Contracts and permissionsCompare the permission, representation contract and any separate SACEM/SPRE invoices. They do not identify one interchangeable right.

Code de la propriété intellectuelle art. L122-4Code de la propriété intellectuelle art. L214-1231.1 : Art. 10 Utilisation de l’œuvre231.1 : Art. 35 Droit à rémunération pour l’utilisation de phonogrammes et de vidéogrammesService Public Entreprendre : Diffuser de la musique dans un commerce (Sacem)

Answer

Which rights have separate payment routes?

Authors' rights and performers'/producers' remuneration are different mechanisms. Match each actual use to its applicable framework.

Answer

What inputs determine the tariff enquiry?

Record business type, sonorised area, playback method and period. A generic monthly price omits relevant conditions.

Answer

What should be checked in France?

Compare the permission, representation contract and any separate SACEM/SPRE invoices. They do not identify one interchangeable right.

Code de la propriété intellectuelle art. L122-4Code de la propriété intellectuelle art. L214-1231.1 : Art. 10 Utilisation de l’œuvre231.1 : Art. 35 Droit à rémunération pour l’utilisation de phonogrammes et de vidéogrammesService Public Entreprendre : Diffuser de la musique dans un commerce (Sacem)

The law

Which official provision helps explain this situation?

Dans tous les autres cas, il incombe aux producteurs desdits programmes de se conformer au droit exclusif des titulaires de droits voisins prévu aux articles L. 212-3 et L. 213-1.

Code de la propriété intellectuelle art. L214-1In force since 9 July 2016Read on Légifrance

In plain English: Authors' rights and performers'/producers' remuneration are different mechanisms. Match each actual use to its applicable framework.

Answer

What should be checked in Switzerland?

Read the applicable SUISA commercial-use conditions and tariff scope. Swiss author and neighbouring rights remain distinct.

Code de la propriété intellectuelle art. L122-4Code de la propriété intellectuelle art. L214-1231.1 : Art. 10 Utilisation de l’œuvre231.1 : Art. 35 Droit à rémunération pour l’utilisation de phonogrammes et de vidéogrammesService Public Entreprendre : Diffuser de la musique dans un commerce (Sacem)

Answer

How can the cost be presented honestly?

Use a dated official tariff for the stated inputs. No unverified 2026 amount or universal shop fee is supplied.

Answer

What does the music-use inventory produce?

It connects uses, spaces, periods and contracts. It neither grants a licence nor calculates an unsupported remuneration amount.

Frequent questions

What other questions arise in this file?

Does a personal subscription cover public playback?

A listening subscription does not automatically settle public-performance permission or the applicable rights.

Code de la propriété intellectuelle art. L122-4Code de la propriété intellectuelle art. L214-1231.1 : Art. 10 Utilisation de l’œuvre231.1 : Art. 35 Droit à rémunération pour l’utilisation de phonogrammes et de vidéogrammesService Public Entreprendre : Diffuser de la musique dans un commerce (Sacem)

What inputs determine the tariff enquiry?

Record business type, sonorised area, playback method and period. A generic monthly price omits relevant conditions.

Code de la propriété intellectuelle art. L122-4Code de la propriété intellectuelle art. L214-1231.1 : Art. 10 Utilisation de l’œuvre231.1 : Art. 35 Droit à rémunération pour l’utilisation de phonogrammes et de vidéogrammesService Public Entreprendre : Diffuser de la musique dans un commerce (Sacem)

What should be checked in France?

Compare the permission, representation contract and any separate SACEM/SPRE invoices. They do not identify one interchangeable right.

Code de la propriété intellectuelle art. L122-4Code de la propriété intellectuelle art. L214-1231.1 : Art. 10 Utilisation de l’œuvre231.1 : Art. 35 Droit à rémunération pour l’utilisation de phonogrammes et de vidéogrammesService Public Entreprendre : Diffuser de la musique dans un commerce (Sacem)

How can the cost be presented honestly?

Use a dated official tariff for the stated inputs. No unverified 2026 amount or universal shop fee is supplied.

Code de la propriété intellectuelle art. L122-4Code de la propriété intellectuelle art. L214-1231.1 : Art. 10 Utilisation de l’œuvre231.1 : Art. 35 Droit à rémunération pour l’utilisation de phonogrammes et de vidéogrammesService Public Entreprendre : Diffuser de la musique dans un commerce (Sacem)

Sources

Which official references should you consult?

  1. Code de la propriété intellectuelle art. L122-4Légifrance
  2. Code de la propriété intellectuelle art. L214-1Légifrance
  3. 231.1 : Art. 10 Utilisation de l’œuvreFedlex
  4. 231.1 : Art. 35 Droit à rémunération pour l’utilisation de phonogrammes et de vidéogrammesFedlex
  5. Service Public Entreprendre : Diffuser de la musique dans un commerce (Sacem)Source officielle

Texts cited last checked: 1 November 2026

Next steps

Which neighbouring situations should remain separate?