The UAE's Ministry of Economy and Tourism issued a nationwide framework requiring annual licensing fees for businesses that publicly play copyrighted music, effective December 2026, covering restaurants, cafés, hotels, gyms, malls, radio, TV and airlines.
Restaurant fees start at Dh1,500 for up to 50 seats and scale up to Dh6,000 annually for larger venues; shopping centres face fees up to Dh50,000, and airlines pay up to Dh45,000 depending on seat count.
A personal streaming subscription does not cover commercial use, the ministry noted, and 10% of collected fees will fund a new Cultural Support Fund for Music, with government entities and personal celebrations exempted.
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