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Choose hold music for the PBX, can I use any track or do I owe Buma?

Mainstream radio hits played to waiting callers fall under Buma/Stemra (NL collecting society) rights. For SMB, a royalty-free library or a platform with cleared rights is more practical.

Try this first

  1. 1Pick a royalty-free music library, for example a PBX vendor licence or music-as-a-service provider.
  2. 2Alternate your own recorded company message with instrumental loops, not vocals.
  3. 3Test volume and compression, the phone line cuts a lot of low and high frequencies.
  4. 4Do not stream radio as hold music, even 'just in the background', that is a real licence issue.

When to bring us in

Unsure about a specific track's licence: contact Buma/Stemra or pick a library that documents coverage.

See also

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