Music licence for hair and beauty salons: 2026 costs per chair

Playing music in a hair salon, barber's, nail bar or beauty studio, whether it's the radio, a playlist or a streaming service, is a public performance, so you need TheMusicLicence from PPL PRS. It combines two separate charges: PRS for Music (the songs) and PPL (the recordings). Unlike shops and pubs, salons aren't priced on floor area. Both charges follow the number of stylist chairs or treatment tables.

What counts as a chair#

PRS for Music's Hair & Beauty tariff defines a stylist or treatment chair as any chair, couch, bed or other piece of furniture where customers receive a hair or beauty treatment. Seats used only for waiting or for washing hair are excluded. The tariff also covers barbers, tattooists, nail bars and tanning salons.

PRS for Music: Tariff H&B (1 February 2026 to 31 January 2027)#

This covers background music in client areas, staff-only areas and staff training films, so staff rooms shouldn't be charged as something extra. Rates are adjusted for inflation every 1 February, and you're charged the rate in force at the start of your licence year.

PPL: Tariff PPLPP113 (1 January to 31 December 2026)#

The small-salon concession#

PPL offers a concessionary fee of 50% of its lowest band if your salon has 5 chairs or fewer and you only play traditional radio or TV. That means BBC radio, Ofcom-licensed AM/FM stations, and BBC1, BBC2, ITV1, Channel 4, S4C and Five. Playing a streaming service, CDs or your own playlists rules it out, as does charging for admission. More than 5 chairs, and it doesn't apply whatever you play.

What a salon typically pays in total#

If your licence year started before these rates took effect, your invoice will show the previous year's slightly lower figures, which is normal rather than an error.

Where salon bills go wrong#

• A chair count declared when the licence was set up and never updated after a refit, a downsize or a change of layout.
• Washing or waiting seats counted as treatment chairs.
• Sitting one chair over a band boundary. Moving from 10 to 11 chairs adds £96.54 a year before VAT across both charges.
• A first-year higher rate carried into later years. PRS charges 50% more for the first licence year where music was played before a licence was obtained, and PPL can add a 50% surcharge in similar circumstances. Neither should repeat once you're licensed.
• The same wrong figure copied across several branches, which is small per site and larger across a group.

How to check yours#

Your invoice shows the totals but not the chair count behind them. That's on the separate Usage Summary, which lists the number of chairs PPL PRS has on record for each tariff. Count the chairs where customers are actually treated, compare, and check the royalty against the tables above for your licence year.

If you have one site and want a written verdict, the free Invoice Check reviews one invoice and tells you the result either way. If you run four or more sites, the initial estate review is free; any success fee for work that follows is agreed in writing before we act. Not ready to send documents? Ask Matt a question. MLC is independent and is not affiliated with PPL PRS, PPL or PRS for Music.

• What is a PPL PRS Usage Summary? →
• The 50% higher royalty rate explained →
• Received an invoice? What to check first →

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.