Music for Casinos: Stream Legal, Custom Playlists

Casinos are fast-paced, high-power settings where you want your patrons to have fun and feel comfortable spending their money. Everything you offer in your casino has to create this atmosphere. A key component of that atmosphere is music.

The right music for casinos can do the following:

Keep customers playing
Set your casino apart
Make the time fly by (so people linger longer)
Entertain your staff

Find out how to choose the right music, and why working with a partner can make the process easier.

Choose the Right Music for Your Customers

You must know who is walking through your doors and who you are serving. Some casinos cater exclusively to one group of people — either the casual gamers or the high-stakes players.

When you have identified your customers, you can select music that puts them in the right mood. The vacationing crowd will have a different mood than the professional gamblers.

You also want to choose music that serves as a counter to the loud and distracting sounds typical of the casino setting. Casinos are filled with background noise, slot and arcade machines, and other sounds of games and excitement. Those are not inherently bad noises, but they can snap a patron out of the moment.

The music you choose can help your patrons stay engaged with their games regardless of what is happening around them.

That being said, you don’t want music that is too loud or intense for your casino. There is a thin line between engagement and distraction.

What Are Public Performance Licenses?

When it comes to playing music in your casino, three primary performing rights organizations represent songwriters, composers, and other musical professionals.

BMI (Broadcast Music International)
SESAC (Society of European Stage Authors and Composers)
ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers)

If you want to stream music written by a composer represented by one of these organizations, you must apply for a public performance license from the respective organization.

In some cases, songs written by multiple composers will be overseen by more than one performing rights organization, so you will need to either obtain a license from each overseeing organization or get a single license from a third party that covers all three organizations.

If your casino is less than 3,750 gross square feet (including all interior and exterior spaces that exist to serve customers, except parking), and you are only playing music via radio or television (and not, for example, Spotify or Pandora), you are exempt from having to purchase a public performance license.

If your casino is greater than 3,750 gross square feet, public performance license fees will still be waived if you only play music over radio, television, satellite, or cable, you don’t charge your customers to listen to the music, and you have fewer than four televisions and six speakers. However, other caveats and exceptions to even these exceptions apply.

Choosing a Background Music Provider

A background music provider can help you find, share, and manage the right sounds for your casino, so you can focus on serving your customers.

Providers create agreements with PROs, and they create catalogs of music that are legal for use in facilities like yours. Everything you play in your partnership is protected, so you don’t have to worry about fines and lawsuits.

Background music providers also offer tools to help you manage your music effectively. You can stop worrying about adding songs, removing artists, and other minor details. Your partners can do the heavy lifting for you.

Cloud Cover Music & Your Casino

Cloud Cover Music knows the importance of creating the right atmosphere at your casino to encourage your customers to have fun and give you their business. With all levels of Cloud Cover Music’s plans, you get access to all our stations and unlimited customer support when you need help.

You can stream from any device, even your phone or tablet, without purchasing special hardware.

Our licensing plans (available at any membership tier) let you legally stream music in your casino. You don’t have to worry about being fined or penalized for not having the proper license to play songs your patrons want to hear.