Is Tunify Legal in France, Germany and Switzerland?

What Is Tunify?

Tunify is a Belgian music streaming service founded in 2012, designed specifically for commercial environments such as retail stores, restaurants, hotels, and fitness centres. Unlike consumer platforms such as Spotify or Apple Music, Tunify markets itself as a fully licensed business music solution, offering curated playlists, scheduling tools, and multi-zone audio management.

The service is particularly popular in the Benelux region and has expanded its reach across Western Europe. But the central question for business owners in France, Germany, and Switzerland is this: does Tunify actually hold the performing rights licences required to operate legally in those countries?

How Music Licensing Works for Businesses

When a business plays music in a public or commercial setting, it requires two distinct types of licence:

• A performing rights licence — covering the public performance of musical compositions (melody and lyrics), managed by collecting societies such as SACEM in France, GEMA in Germany, and SUISA in Switzerland.
• A neighbouring rights licence — covering the use of the actual sound recording, managed by organisations such as SCPP/SPPF (France), GVL (Germany), and SWISSPERFORM (Switzerland).

A business music streaming service can either obtain these licences directly on behalf of its customers (a "blanket licence" model), or it can leave the responsibility with the business owner. The distinction matters enormously: if the service does not hold the correct licences, the business owner is personally liable for any infringement.

Is Tunify Legal in France?

In France, the relevant collecting society for performing rights is SACEM (Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique). Any business playing music publicly must either hold a direct SACEM licence or use a streaming service that has negotiated a blanket agreement with SACEM on their behalf.

Tunify has historically held agreements with SABAM, the Belgian collecting society, and has expanded its licensing coverage across parts of Europe. However, businesses operating in France should verify directly with Tunify whether their current subscription includes SACEM coverage, as licensing agreements are renegotiated periodically and coverage can change. If SACEM coverage is not included, the business owner must obtain a separate SACEM licence independently — an additional cost and administrative burden.

The safest approach is to use a business music service that explicitly guarantees SACEM compliance as part of the subscription, so that no separate filing or payment is required.

Is Tunify Legal in Germany?

Germany has one of the most rigorous music licensing frameworks in Europe. The GEMA (Gesellschaft für musikalische Aufführungs- und mechanische Vervielfältigungsrechte) controls performing rights for virtually all commercially released music in Germany. Separately, the GVL (Gesellschaft zur Verwertung von Leistungsschutzrechten) manages neighbouring rights for sound recordings.

For a business music service to be fully legal in Germany, it must hold agreements with both GEMA and GVL. Tunify has pursued licensing agreements in Germany, but the scope and completeness of those agreements — particularly for the full GVL neighbouring rights — should be confirmed with Tunify directly before deploying the service in a German commercial setting.

Businesses that play music without the correct GEMA and GVL licences face significant financial penalties. GEMA actively monitors commercial premises and issues invoices retroactively for unlicensed use.

Is Tunify Legal in Switzerland?

Switzerland operates outside the EU and has its own collecting society framework. SUISA (Schweizerische Gesellschaft für die Rechte der Urheber musikalischer Werke) manages performing rights, while SWISSPERFORM handles neighbouring rights for sound recordings.

Swiss licensing requirements apply to any business playing music in a public or commercial context, regardless of whether the streaming service is based in Switzerland or abroad. Tunify's licensing coverage for Switzerland should be verified carefully, as Swiss collecting societies operate independently from EU frameworks and require separate agreements.

Tunify vs. Dedicated Business Music Services

The core challenge with Tunify — as with many regional business music platforms — is that its licensing coverage varies by country and can change as agreements are renegotiated. This creates uncertainty for multi-location businesses operating across France, Germany, and Switzerland simultaneously.

Services such as Soundsuit are designed from the ground up to handle multi-country licensing complexity. Soundsuit holds the necessary agreements with SACEM, GEMA, GVL, SUISA, and SWISSPERFORM, meaning that a single subscription covers legal compliance across all three countries without any additional filing, separate licences, or administrative overhead for the business owner.

For businesses with locations in multiple European countries, this "one subscription, full compliance" model eliminates the risk of inadvertent infringement and the cost of managing separate collecting society relationships in each jurisdiction.

Key Questions to Ask Any Business Music Provider

Before committing to any business music streaming service for use in France, Germany, or Switzerland, ask the provider to confirm the following in writing:

1. Which collecting societies have you signed agreements with, and in which countries?
2. Does my subscription include SACEM coverage for France?
3. Does my subscription include both GEMA and GVL coverage for Germany?
4. Does my subscription include SUISA and SWISSPERFORM coverage for Switzerland?
5. If your licensing agreements change, how will I be notified, and what is my liability during any gap in coverage?

A reputable provider will answer all five questions clearly and provide documentation. If a provider is vague or redirects you to the collecting societies themselves, that is a strong signal that the compliance burden falls on you rather than on them.

Conclusion

Tunify is a legitimate business music service with a long track record in the Benelux market. Whether it is fully legal for your specific locations in France, Germany, or Switzerland depends on the current state of its licensing agreements with SACEM, GEMA, GVL, SUISA, and SWISSPERFORM — agreements that should be verified directly with Tunify before deployment.

For businesses that need guaranteed, documented compliance across all three countries without managing multiple collecting society relationships, a service like Soundsuit — built specifically for multi-country European compliance — offers a more straightforward path to legal certainty.