Do you need a licence for live music in the UK?

It depends on the hours, audience size and premises. Under current gov.uk guidance, no entertainment licence is needed for live music between 8am and 11pm at alcohol on-licensed premises with an audience up to 500, for unamplified music anywhere in those hours, or for amplified music at a workplace within those limits. Outside those conditions, a licence is normally required.

What's the difference between an entertainment licence and a music licence?

An entertainment licence, from your local council under the Licensing Act 2003, gives permission to put on the event itself. A music licence, from PRS for Music and PPL, gives copyright permission for the specific songs and recordings performed. You can need one, both or neither depending on the circumstances.

If my venue is exempt from entertainment licensing, do I still need PRS or PPL permission?

Usually yes. Entertainment licensing and copyright licensing are separate. Being exempt from needing a council entertainment licence doesn't remove the need for PRS for Music's permission for the songs, or PPL's for any recordings played, unless a specific copyright exception applies.

Does booking a live band cover the venue's licensing?

No. The public-performance right sits with the venue or event organiser, not the performer, even if the performer supplies their own equipment and sets their own playlist. Confirm in writing, before the event, who holds TheMusicLicence and whether it covers the performance you're booking.

Updated 8 October 2026 · 6 min read

Live music licence UK: the two permissions people mix up

Whether you need council permission and whether you need PRS or PPL permission are two different questions with two different answers.

On this page

Do you need council permission? The Licensing Act 2003 and the Live Music Act 2012
Do you need PRS for Music or PPL permission?
Booking a performer doesn't cover you
The practical checklist
Sources
Common questions

A licence for live music in the UK usually means two different things, and most confusion comes from treating them as one. The first is permission from your local council under the Licensing Act 2003 to put on the entertainment at all. The second is copyright permission for the actual music performed, from PRS for Music for the compositions, and from PPL as well if you also play recordings. A venue can need one, both or neither, depending on the circumstances.

Do you need council permission? The Licensing Act 2003 and the Live Music Act 2012#

The Live Music Act 2012, and later deregulation, removed the licensing requirement for a lot of small-scale live music. Under gov.uk's current guidance, you don't need an entertainment licence for a performance of live music if:

it takes place between 8am and 11pm; and
it takes place on alcohol on-licensed premises; and
the audience is no more than 500 people.

You also don't need a licence to put on unamplified live music anywhere at all between those hours, or to put on amplified live music at a workplace between those hours with an audience of no more than 500. The playing of recorded music at alcohol on-licensed premises between 8am and 11pm before an audience of up to 500 is similarly deregulated.

Outside those conditions, for example after 11pm, before 8am, at premises not licensed for alcohol, or before a larger audience, a licence is normally needed. That's usually a premises licence covering both entertainment and the sale of alcohol, or a temporary event notice for a one-off. There are separate blanket exemptions, regardless of hours or audience, for places of public worship, village and church halls, schools, hospitals and local authority premises, and for music that's incidental to some other activity that isn't itself regulated entertainment. A licensing authority can still add conditions about live music if it reviews a premises licence, even where the deregulated position would otherwise apply.

Do you need PRS for Music or PPL permission?#

Whether or not council entertainment licensing applies, the music itself is protected separately by copyright. A venue putting on live music generally needs PRS for Music's permission for the songs performed. If recorded music is also played, such as an interval playlist or backing tracks, PPL's permission covers the recordings. These are usually bought together as TheMusicLicence.

Which PRS for Music tariff applies depends on the venue. Pubs and bars are charged under Tariff 'P', where live music sessions are priced per session by room capacity (for a free-entry session under the 2026.10 tariff, £14.64 standard for a capacity up to 100, plus £3.70 for each further 25), as a percentage of what's spent on performers where that reaches a published threshold, or as a percentage of gross admission receipts where there's a ticket charge. Venues that don't fit a specific tariff fall under the General Purposes tariff, 'GP', which prices live music on a comparable session, expenditure or receipts basis. PRS for Music also publishes a tariff specifically for popular music concerts, 'LP', though we haven't verified its current figures here; check the 2026 tariff tables for the tariff and rate that matches your venue rather than assuming one basis applies everywhere.

Booking a performer doesn't cover you#

Paying a band or a DJ to play doesn't itself secure the public-performance right. That responsibility sits with the venue or the event organiser, not the performer, so it's worth confirming in writing who holds the relevant licences before the event, especially at a venue that doesn't play music day to day.

The practical checklist#

Check with your council, or read the gov.uk guidance, on whether your event's hours, audience size and premises type require an entertainment licence.
Separately, confirm whether the venue already holds TheMusicLicence covering events on its premises, or whether you as organiser need your own cover.
If you're licensing a one-off event at an unlicensed venue, see our guide on events and weddings.
Get any assurance from a venue about existing cover in writing, rather than assuming it.

Sources#

Common questions

Do you need a licence for live music in the UK?: It depends on the hours, audience size and premises. Under current gov.uk guidance, no entertainment licence is needed for live music between 8am and 11pm at alcohol on-licensed premises with an audience up to 500, for unamplified music anywhere in those hours, or for amplified music at a workplace within those limits. Outside those conditions, a licence is normally required.
What's the difference between an entertainment licence and a music licence?: An entertainment licence, from your local council under the Licensing Act 2003, gives permission to put on the event itself. A music licence, from PRS for Music and PPL, gives copyright permission for the specific songs and recordings performed. You can need one, both or neither depending on the circumstances.
If my venue is exempt from entertainment licensing, do I still need PRS or PPL permission?: Usually yes. Entertainment licensing and copyright licensing are separate. Being exempt from needing a council entertainment licence doesn't remove the need for PRS for Music's permission for the songs, or PPL's for any recordings played, unless a specific copyright exception applies.
Does booking a live band cover the venue's licensing?: No. The public-performance right sits with the venue or event organiser, not the performer, even if the performer supplies their own equipment and sets their own playlist. Confirm in writing, before the event, who holds TheMusicLicence and whether it covers the performance you're booking.

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This guide is general information, not legal advice, and MLC is an independent consultancy, not affiliated with PPL PRS Ltd, PRS for Music or PPL.