In the Netherlands, the music played at an event is paid for twice, to two separate collecting societies, on two separate invoices. Buma/Stemra licenses the copyright held by composers, lyricists and publishers. Sena collects the related rights owed to performers and phonogram producers. Neither of these is included in the artist's fee, and both have published their 2026 tariffs.
Who charges for the music at an event in the Netherlands?
Two separate rights, two collecting societies, two legal bases. The Auteurswet, the Act of 23 September 1912, in the version in force since 1 January 2026, defines copyright in Article 1 as «het uitsluitend recht van den maker van een werk van letterkunde, wetenschap of kunst, of van diens rechtverkrijgenden, om dit openbaar te maken en te verveelvoudigen». Two verbs: to communicate publicly and to reproduce. Article 12(1) clarifies that public communication includes «de voordracht, op- of uitvoering»: performance or execution. That's what a concert is.
Buma manages that first verb, public performance. Stemra manages the second, mechanical reproduction. They operate under a single brand, but what an organiser pays for playing music at a venue is Buma's repertoire.
The second right lives in a different Act. The Wet op de naburige rechten, of 18 March 1993, also in the version in force since 1 January 2026, states in Article 7 that «een voor commerciële doeleinden uitgebracht fonogram of een reproductie daarvan kan zonder toestemming van de producent van het fonogram en de uitvoerende kunstenaar» be communicated to the public, provided a *billijke vergoeding* is paid — a fair remuneration. It isn't a right of veto: it's a right to be paid. Article 15 adds who that payment goes to: «aan een door Onze Minister van Justitie en Veiligheid aan te wijzen representatieve rechtspersoon». That designated legal entity is Sena.
That gives you the practical rule. A band playing its own songs live triggers Buma, not Sena, because no commercial phonogram is being played. A DJ spinning records triggers both. A festival with a band stage and a dance tent triggers both, on different bases.
One final detail from Article 12(4) that catches out organisers of closed corporate events: a performance «in besloten kring» — within a closed circle — also counts as public, «tenzij deze zich beperkt tot de familie-, vrienden- of daaraan gelijk te stellen kring». A company party with 300 employees isn't a family circle. The scheme echoes the Spanish system of SGAE and AGEDI-AIE and the Belgian SABAM, which we cover in our guide to ticket sales in Belgium.
How much does Buma/Stemra charge for an event in 2026?
The Algemeen Tarief Muziekgebruik 2026 works on a sliding scale of descending bands. The document itself describes it as «een degressief stelsel waarbij gewerkt wordt met schijven», and the vergoeding «wordt per evenement en in elk geval per dag berekend». Per event, and in any case per day: a two-day festival means two separate calculations.
The percentage depends on how much Buma-protected repertoire is in the programme, measured by total duration, not by number of songs.
| Recette (excl. VAT) | >2/3 Buma repertoire | ≤2/3 repertoire | ≤1/3 repertoire |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to €100,000 | 7.00% | 5.00% | 3.00% |
| €100,001-500,000 | 6.25% | 4.50% | 2.75% |
| €500,001-1,000,000 | 5.50% | 4.00% | 2.50% |
| €1,000,001-1,500,000 | 4.75% | 3.50% | 2.25% |
| €1,500,001-2,500,000 | 4.00% | 3.00% | 2.00% |
| €2,500,001-3,500,000 | 3.25% | 2.50% | 1.75% |
| €3,500,001 and above | 2.50% | 2.00% | 1.50% |
Source: Algemeen Tarief Muziekgebruik 2026, Buma/Stemra, amounts excluding VAT.
The electronic music event licence sheet refers to the same table and settles on the top band: «7% over je totale recette of uitkoopsommen». For a dance event that's the norm, because the programme is almost entirely protected repertoire. The same sheet flags two operational requirements: events with a recette above €100,000 must submit audio recordings via a secure FTP server so the repertoire can be identified using *Music Recognition Technology*, and anyone running several simultaneous events, or booking fifteen artists or more, can use a grouped form.
What exactly counts towards the "recette"?
More than the word suggests. The 2026 *tariefbepalingen* define *Recette* as «het totaal van de bruto ontvangsten uit entreegelden, subsidies, donaties, sponsorgelden, ruiltransacties ('bartering'), inkomsten uit programmaverkoop en/of andere inkomsten met betrekking tot de uitvoering». Subsidies, donations, sponsorship and barter deals are all included. Applicable VAT is deducted from that gross figure.
There's also an alternative floor: if there's no recette, or if the total of *Gages* or *Uitkoopsommen* exceeds it, the percentage is applied to whichever figure is higher. *Gages* are the gross amounts paid to musicians, «inclusief loonbelasting en sociale lasten alsmede onkostenvergoedingen en kosten van licht- en/of geluidsinstallaties». The gross fee, lighting and sound costs included. A *Uitkoopsom* is the gross amount, excluding VAT, charged by the agency booking the artist.
Whatever the recette, a minimum per day and performance applies, calculated on the gross floor area where the music is heard. It runs from €33.55 for up to 50 m² to €122.47 for up to 1,000 m², plus a surcharge of €4.68 for every additional 50 m². For outdoor music, the minimum is set at the 700 m² rate, i.e. €94.39.
One detail that saves money at camping festivals: the *Special Event* clause allows events lasting at least two days, with a recette above €1,000,000 excluding VAT, and overnight accommodation included in the ticket price, to deduct 45% of that ticket revenue before calculating. The condition is strict: «uitvoerende artiesten op geen enkele wijze mogen meedelen in de opbrengsten van de Recette». If any artist is paid a percentage of box office takings, the deduction falls away.
How much does Sena charge, and what is the RAAP-PPI surcharge?
Sena publishes a specific tariff sheet, Tarieven (Dance) evenementen, applicable «vanaf 1 januari 2026» to events where mechanical music is played.
| Scenario | Sena 2026 rate |
|---|---|
| Ticket up to €112.77 (excl. VAT) | 1.625% of the recette |
| Ticket from €112.77 (excl. VAT) | 1.3% of the recette |
| Free event | €0.100 per visitor |
| Minimum (also for paid events) | €67.31 |
| Maximum for free events | €2,691.99 |
| RAAP-PPI surcharge, events sector | 12.5% |
Source: Tarieven (Dance) evenementen 2026, Sena.
The RAAP-PPI surcharge isn't something Sena invented. It stems from the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union in Case C-265/19, *Recorded Artists Actors Performers* v *Phonographic Performance (Ireland)*, which forced a change to Dutch law with effect from 1 January 2021. The tariff sheet explains it like this: «Als gevolg van deze wetswijziging is Sena genoodzaakt een toeslag te factureren aan muziekgebruikers». For the dance and events sector, that's 12.5%.
Three more conditions worth reading before building a budget. With a ticket price above €25 excluding VAT, «heb je altijd een aparte (dance) evenementen licentie nodig», even if the venue already holds its own background-music licence. For mixed programming, the calculation base is split: «de recettegrondslag wordt vastgesteld aan de hand van het aandeel mechanische muziek binnen het evenement». And if the ticket price includes camping, you need to call Sena before calculating anything.
Sena's events licence sheet sets out the administrative process: a declaration form within 30 days of the event, an invoice issued by Sena, and payment within a further 30 days. There's a joint form that goes to Buma/Stemra and Sena at the same time, though processing and invoicing remain separate for each society.
The numbers for a €1.3 million festival
Buma's own tariff sheet includes a worked example, which serves as a useful anchor. An event with more than 2/3 Buma repertoire, a recette of €1,300,000 excluding VAT and €1,000,000 in performer fees: 7% on the first €100,000 (€7,000), 6.25% on the next band (€25,000), 5.50% up to the million mark (€27,500), and 4.75% on the final €300,000 (€14,250). Total: €73,750.
From here on, the figures are our own, based on the published tariffs. That €73,750 works out at 5.67% of the recette, not the headline 7%: the sliding scale brings the effective rate down by almost a point and a half.
If that same festival had at most a third of Buma-protected repertoire, it would pay €3,000 + €11,000 + €12,500 + €6,750 = €33,250, a 2.56% effective rate. The gap between the two line-ups is €40,500 on identical ticket revenue.
Add Sena on top, assuming a dance event with tickets priced below €112.77: 1.625% of €1,300,000 is €21,125, plus the 12.5% RAAP-PPI surcharge, €23,765.63. Both invoices combined: €97,515.63, or 7.50% of the recette.
Sena's threshold deserves its own calculation, because it's a step, not a curve. With 10,000 tickets at €112.76 excluding VAT, the recette is €1,127,600 and Sena charges 1.625%: €18,323.50. With 10,000 tickets at €112.77, the recette rises to €1,127,700 and the rate drops to 1.3%: €14,660.10. One extra cent on the ticket price cuts Sena's invoice by €3,663.40. That's a quirk of how the tariff is built, not a pricing recommendation: only raise your ticket price if demand can bear it, and check what that does to VAT on the ticket.
At the opposite end, a free event pays €0.100 per visitor, with a minimum of €67.31 and a maximum of €2,691.99. The minimum stops biting at around 674 visitors, and the cap is reached at around 26,920: beyond that figure, each additional attendee adds nothing to Sena's invoice.
What happens if you declare late, or play Spotify at the bar?
The first of these has a published price. Clause 6 of Buma's tariff conditions, «Toeslag bij een regeling achteraf», allows a surcharge with a minimum of €25: 10% if authorisation is obtained between one and two months after the music was used, 15% between two and four months, and 20% beyond four months. On the €73,750 invoice from our example, arriving four months late costs an extra €14,750. It's the easiest line item to avoid in the whole process.
The second is less well known and appears in clause 11 of the general conditions: it's prohibited to play, for professional purposes, a work «dat door een streamingdienst slechts voor privégebruik is aangeleverd aan de muziekgebruiker». A personal streaming account at the bar, backstage, or in the VIP area won't do, and Buma can demand it stop immediately.
There are two further clauses worth knowing before signing anything. Clause 13 allows Buma to require, once a year, an auditor's certification of the declared data, at the organiser's expense; if Buma asks for further checks within the same year, it covers the cost itself, unless the declarations turn out to be incorrect or incomplete. Clause 12 allows Buma to demand payment security — a bank guarantee or personal surety — for the annual amount due, and to suspend the authorisation if none is provided.
Lastly, the price isn't fixed from one year to the next: clause 3 indexes the tariffs to the CBS consumer price index, the all-households derived series, comparing June of the current year against June of the previous one. Sena applies the same indexation approach to its event tariffs.
What if you livestream the event?
That's a separate licence. Buma/Stemra's conditions for the starter licence for livestreaming a music event set the rate at «7% van de Relevante Inkomsten» or €50 per event, «welke van de twee hoger is». It defines *Relevante Inkomsten* broadly: all income, excluding VAT, from exploiting the livestream service, «inclusief entreegelden voor fysieke toegang tot het evenement». Physical ticket revenue counts towards the streaming base.
The same document flags what it doesn't cover: the related rights of performers and record labels — «die regel je met Sena of de platenmaatschappijen» — synchronising music with images, and offering the service outside the Netherlands. And it warns where the party stops: «het regulaire tarief voor Online muziekgebruik 10% van de Relevante Inkomsten is».
Our own reading, worth stating plainly: this is a starter licence born out of the COVID-19 restrictions, it runs «tot 31 december van het lopende kalenderjaar», and the text itself reserves Buma/Stemra's right to amend, suspend or terminate it. Before budgeting a livestream around these figures, confirm in writing that the licence is still open to your case.
What VAT applies to these invoices?
Each society states it differently, and it's worth noting each one exactly. Buma's tariff sheet closes its pricing section with an unambiguous line: «Alle genoemde prijzen zijn exclusief btw». Sena's events sheet describes its invoice as VAT-exempt. Two different treatments on the same production budget.
The tax backdrop comes from the Belastingdienst. Its sheet on performances by performing artists places those performances under the 9% rate, «alleen als er een artistieke prestatie wordt verricht», and specifically mentions «optredens van diskjockeys of videojockeys op bijvoorbeeld danceparty's». Separately, its sheet on exemptions for composers and writers declares those services largely exempt.
The practical takeaway is simple: the DJ's fee and the copyright royalty don't share a VAT regime, so don't budget them at the same percentage. Whatever applies to your specific invoice is whatever that invoice states; the detail on ticket VAT is in our guide to VAT on events in the Netherlands.
Can you dispute a Buma or Sena tariff?
Yes, and there are two routes. The first is the regulator. The Wet toezicht en geschillenbeslechting collectieve beheersorganisaties auteurs- en naburige rechten, in force since 15 July 2003 and in the version applicable since 1 July 2025, tasks the College van Toezicht Auteursrechten with overseeing collective management organisations. Article 3(1)(c) requires the College's prior written approval for decisions that set or change standard tariffs applicable to newly managed rights or new forms of use, and for tariff increases. Tariffs aren't decided by the collecting society alone.
The second route is arbitration. The Geschillencommissie Auteursrechten, in its business branch, resolves disputes between professional users and societies such as Buma/Stemra, Sena and Videma, including invoices the user considers wrong or tariffs they consider excessive. There's an access cap: the total amount invoiced by the society in that year must not exceed €100,000, excluding interest and costs, except for online music service providers.
A festival the size of our earlier example falls outside that route on amount alone. For a venue or club billed in the tens of thousands a year, it's the cheap route compared with going to court. The drop in attendance at Dutch clubs means every fixed cost weighs more heavily on that P&L, and the music licence is one of them.
What should your ticketing platform give you to settle these correctly?
A figure that's traceable and broken down by day. Both invoices are calculated on the recette per event, and, in Buma's case, in any case per day; with mixed programming, Sena splits the base according to the weight of mechanical music. That means the box office report needs to separate income by day, by ticket type and by stage, and export the gross figure excluding VAT, not the net after commissions. If you also receive municipal subsidy or sponsorship, remember these count towards the definition of recette: it's worth having them identified in the same table.
On our own tool, fairly put: with Futura Tickets, the attendee database belongs 100% to the organiser, and Futura Tickets charges no monthly fee — €0 a month, just a commission per ticket sold. There's a dedicated product page for the Dutch market. What no platform does for you is declare the music use: the organiser signs both the Buma form and the Sena form.
Checklist before opening ticket sales in the Netherlands
Seven steps, in calendar order.
Decide who holds the licence before signing the venue rental. With tickets priced above €25 excluding VAT, the venue's background-music licence doesn't cover you: you need your own event licence with Sena. Get it written into the rental contract.
Request Buma's authorisation before the event, not after. The tariff only applies «indien voor het Muziekgebruik vooraf door Buma toestemming is verleend». The surcharge for regularising late reaches 20%.
Calculate using the definition of recette, not just box office. Add up ticket sales, subsidies, donations, sponsorship, barter deals and programme sales, and deduct VAT. Compare the result with the total of fees and uitkoopsommen: pay on whichever is higher.
Measure protected repertoire by programme duration. The gap between the over-2/3 band and the up-to-1/3 band is more than four percentage points in the first recette bracket. Keep the setlists: they're your evidence.
Mark day 30 after the event on the calendar. Sena requires the form within the following 30 days and payment within 30 days of invoicing. The joint form saves one piece of admin, but not one invoice.
Give the livestream its own budget line. If you're broadcasting, the calculation base includes physical ticket sales, and the streaming licence doesn't cover related rights.
Keep the paperwork for a good year. Buma can require an auditor's certification of the declared data, at your expense. The licence is one more piece of the Dutch paper trail, alongside the municipal evenementenvergunning.
Sources
- Auteurswet, consolidated version in force since 1 January 2026 (wetten.overheid.nl)
- Wet op de naburige rechten, consolidated version in force since 1 January 2026 (wetten.overheid.nl)
- Wet toezicht en geschillenbeslechting collectieve beheersorganisaties auteurs- en naburige rechten (wetten.overheid.nl)
- Het Algemeen Tarief Muziekgebruik 2026 and tariefbepalingen, BUM.121.26_02 (Buma/Stemra, PDF)
- Algemeen tarief 2026, minimum rates by floor area table, BUM.414.26_01 (Buma/Stemra, PDF)
- Licentie elektronische muziek event (Buma/Stemra)
- Voorwaarden starterslicentie livestreaming Muziekevenement (Buma/Stemra, PDF)
- Tarieven (Dance) evenementen 2026 and RAAP-PPI toeslag (Sena, PDF)
- Licentie evenementen: declaration and invoicing (Sena)
- College van Toezicht Auteursrechten (CvTA)
- Geschillencommissie Auteursrechten, business branch (De Geschillencommissie)
- Btw-tarief optredens uitvoerende kunstenaars (Belastingdienst)
- Vrijstellingen componisten, schrijvers, cartoonisten en journalisten (Belastingdienst)