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Updated 19 July 2026 · 4 min read

Music licence for nurseries and childcare settings: what applies

Nurseries play and sing music all day — so licensing applies. Here’s a plain-English look at what’s fair for a childcare setting.

Music is part of daily life in a nursery — songs at circle time, background music, dancing and play. Where commercially released recordings are played to children and staff, TheMusicLicence generally applies, in the same way it does to other businesses. It’s an area owners often find confusing, so it’s worth being clear on what you actually need and what a fair figure looks like.

What drives the cost for a nursery?

  • How recorded music is played across your rooms and communal areas.
  • The size of the setting and the number of sites.
  • Whether a first-year higher rate applies from any previously unlicensed period.

A note on singing: staff and children singing nursery rhymes unaccompanied is treated differently from playing commercial recordings — but if you play recorded music at all, a licence is generally needed. If you’re genuinely unsure whether you need one, that’s exactly what a free Sanity Call is for.

What does it typically cost?

For a single small setting playing background and activity music, the figure is usually toward the lower end of the tariffs — the PRS minimum is around £133.40 a year, with PPL adding its element (all ex-VAT). Multi-site nursery groups scale from there. Check the exact figure against your invoice rather than assuming.

Where nurseries commonly overpay

  • Being billed as though the setting is a commercial entertainment venue.
  • A carried-forward first-year higher rate.
  • The same error repeated across a group of settings.

Send us your invoice, or book a free Sanity Call, and we’ll tell you honestly what you need and whether your bill is right. No savings, no fee.

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Related guides

TheMusicLicence for restaurant & bar groups: what you should be payingAcross a multi-site estate, the same small tariff error repeated site-by-site is where the real money hides.Music licensing for car dealerships: showrooms, workshops & groupsDealership estates pay for music in showrooms and workshops across every site — a structure that quietly invites overcharges.Music licence for cafés and coffee shops: do you need one and what does it cost?Most cafés play background music — which means TheMusicLicence — but independents are among the most likely to be over-charged. Here’s what’s fair.

This guide is general information, not legal advice, and MLC is an independent consultancy — not affiliated with PPL PRS Ltd, PRS for Music or PPL.