Playing Music in a Building Lobby: Copyright, YouTube and ACUM Licensing

Background: Music in Building Lobbies and Why It Matters

The lobby of a residential building is a shared space where digital signage or a digital notice board is often installed to display information and even play music. Many homeowner committees and property-management firms wonder whether playing music via YouTube videos in a building lobby is legal. This is an important question, because copyright in Israel protects music from unauthorized use. In this article we will examine the legal aspects of playing music in a residential building lobby, clarify what counts as “public performance,” and explain what Israeli law says about using YouTube videos to play music for the public.

Playing Music in a Lobby – Is It a “Public Performance”?

Under Israeli Copyright Law, “public performance” of a protected work is defined as “playing or displaying it in public, directly or through a device.” In other words, playing music anywhere outside the narrow private/family setting constitutes a public performance. Israeli courts have made it clear that playing recorded music through a television set in a hotel lobby qualifies as “public performance” that infringes copyright without a license. By the same logic, the lobby of a residential building – intended for residents and their guests, and not solely for private home use – can be considered a public space for copyright purposes. Therefore, playing music in a lobby through digital signage falls under the category of public performance and requires legal review.

Copyright in Israel: The Licensing Obligation for Public Performance

In Israel, playing music publicly without an appropriate license infringes copyright. Section 11 of the Copyright Law 5768-2007 enumerates the acts reserved to the rights holder, including the exclusive right to publicly perform the work. This means that any performance of protected music outside the private sphere requires permission from the rights holders. ACUM, the Israeli society of authors, composers and music publishers, emphasizes that in every case where music is played in public – whether at a business, an event or a shared space – the user must approach ACUM for an appropriate license. This license constitutes consent from the copyright holders to publicly perform the work in exchange for royalties.

It is important to understand that the licensing requirement is not waived simply because the music is played through a YouTube video. Even when the source is a freely available online video, copyright in the underlying song remains in force. In practice, playing a song in a lobby without a license harms the creator’s economic right to be compensated for their work. Many Israeli businesses have been sued in the past for playing music without a license, and the same applies to background music in sports facilities, cafés and event halls – any venue open to the public. By extension, homeowner committees may also bear liability if they play protected music in the building lobby without proper rights clearance.

Who Issues Licenses and What Do They Cost?

In Israel, playing music publicly without an appropriate license is an infringement of copyright. Section 11 of the Copyright Law 5768-2007 enumerates the acts reserved to the rights holder, including the exclusive right to publicly perform the work. This means that any performance of protected music outside the private sphere requires the rights holders’ permission. ACUM, the society of composers, authors and publishers, emphasizes that in every case where music is played in public – whether at a business, an event or a shared space – the user must approach it for an appropriate license. This license constitutes consent from the copyright holders to publicly perform the work in exchange for royalties.

For homeowner committees, this means that playing music in a residential building lobby is treated as a public performance requiring a license. The cost is not particularly high: according to ACUM’s 2025 rates, an annual license for background music in a small public space (such as a building lobby) is around NIS 1,950 per year before VAT – roughly NIS 2,300 including VAT. Spread across all residents in the building, the amount is reasonable, especially compared with the legal risk: playing music without a license can lead to damages claims of up to NIS 100,000 per infringed work.

What About YouTube? – Clarifying the Use of YouTube Videos in the Lobby

A common question is whether using YouTube videos removes the licensing requirement, on the assumption that “the content is free and available to the public.” It is important to debunk this misconception: the fact that a video is available on YouTube does not automatically grant the right to play it in public. While YouTube as an internet service maintains agreements with ACUM to pay royalties for views on the YouTube site itself, that license addresses copyright in works within the platform (i.e., YouTube pays ACUM for hosting and streaming music-bearing content). YouTube’s license does not cover commercial public use outside the private context. In fact, YouTube’s Terms of Service prohibit unauthorized commercial use: the service is intended for personal/private use, not for playback in commercial or public settings. Playing YouTube as background in a building is similar to setting up a public screen broadcasting protected content without licensing – this may breach both the platform’s terms and the law.

Other jurisdictions have made it clear that using YouTube for business purposes requires additional licensing. For example, the YouTube Music platform is not licensed for commercial/public use without permission from the rights holders. The common comparison is that “using YouTube in a business is like opening a cinema and playing YouTube clips in it” – the fact that the content is accessible to everyone does not mean there is a license to play it for an audience for a fee or in a commercial environment. As of 2025, Google does not offer a dedicated commercial version of YouTube for business use, which underscores that any public use of the platform calls for extra caution.

Liability When Using YouTube Videos

Even when YouTube videos are integrated via embedding on the digital screen in the lobby, keep in mind that the music played may still be protected. On the one hand, embedding a video through YouTube (using the “Share” -> “Embed” button) is permitted under YouTube’s Terms, as long as the video owner has enabled sharing. In fact, under EU case law, embedding a YouTube video is not in itself a copyright infringement so long as it uses YouTube’s legitimate interface. On the other hand, embedding does not eliminate the need for a public-performance license. The licensing obligation toward the rights holders still applies, because the use is public (it is not enough that “the video is embedded legally”). Therefore, if the content of the video is protected, appropriate licensing is required (through ACUM and the other organizations, as noted).

Further reading: technical guide – finding and embedding a legal YouTube video on a digital lobby notice board

Summary: How to Stay Compliant in the Building Lobby

Homeowner committees and management companies that want to play music in the building lobby through digital signage must address the issue in one of two possible ways:
(1) Purchase the required licenses for legal cover (from ACUM, the Federation, etc.), or (2) use only royalty-free music content (for example, music under a Creative Commons license or in the public domain) to avoid paying royalties. There are now free music libraries and even dedicated YouTube videos with royalty-free background music. Content marked as Creative Commons is usually the most permissive, and sometimes even allows commercial public use as long as proper credit is given to the creator according to the license terms. If you chose the first route – approach the relevant bodies for a license and invest the cost so you can sleep soundly legally. If you chose the second – make sure 100% that the music really is free for public use and not merely “free to watch.” Either way, do not ignore the issue. Without a proper arrangement, exposure to lawsuits and hefty fines is real and not theoretical.

Ultimately, adding music in the building lobby can improve the atmosphere for residents and visitors, but it must be done correctly and lawfully. Respecting copyright – whether by purchasing a license or by choosing royalty-free content – will protect you from unnecessary legal complications and ensure that your digital signage plays background music with peace of mind and responsibility.

Sources

• ACUM tariff page for public performance – background music