Artists and record labels are losing $2.7 billion in revenue each year because many small business owners use their $10 per month personal accounts to stream music in their retail shops and cafes, rather than pay for a $35 per month commercial license.
“Personal music services are not designed for business use, which means music makers get less money than they should,” said Nielsen in the study which was commissioned by Swedish b2b streamer Soundtrack Your Brand AB.
Nielsen Music surveyed 5,000 small-business owners in the U.S. U.K., Sweden, Spain, Italy, Germany and France and found 83% who play background music use personal accounts. The market for music in businesses is worth as much as $5 billion globally per year.