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MPLC Is the leading provider of public performance licenses for businesses who use streaming, TV and film content to enhance their employee or customer experience. We’ve been in business for nearly 40 years and have provided licenses to tens of thousands of businesses, government entities, and non-profit organizations across the US and in 27 other countries worldwide.
MPLC’s US licensees include well-known restaurant chains; major hotel brands; healthcare networks; Fortune 500 companies; auto dealerships; campgrounds; property management companies, HOAs, and apartment communities; federal, state, and local government agencies; and small and medium-sized businesses who want to operate in compliance with all federal laws, including the Copyright Act.
MPLC also works with leading restaurant, dental, senior living, campground, and auto dealership associations (among others) to help their members continue to publicly perform TV, news, and film content legally at their premises.
Any place where a substantial number of persons outside a normal circle of family and its social acquaintances is gathered. This includes clubs, lodges, factories, summer camps, and schools and a public performance license is required to show audiovisual content to its members or patrons, with only narrow and limited exceptions.
All content obtained via download, streaming, over-the-air broadcast, cable, or satellite TV, DVD or Blu-ray is intended for personal, private use only and is not licensed for public showing without permission from the rightsholder. An MPLC Public Performance License is required when MPLC rightsholders’ content is shown in public.
Yes, you do.
An MPLC Blanket License is required to legally stream or show TV and films to the public or any closed group of customers, members, or other people, regardless of whether you charge for admission.
Note: the MPLC Blanket License only covers showings where no admission fee is charged. If you want to charge people to see a movie, you need a different license called a ‘Title-by-Title’ license. We do not provide these but can point you to organizations that do.
Yes. The US Copyright Act applies equally to all organizations, including not-for-profit organizations, members’ clubs, public sector organizations, and charities.
When you are showing TV and film publicly or streaming either to a group of the general public or a closed group of members or supporters, you still need a license. The MPLC Blanket License covers works from the major television studios, movie studios, and many other smaller producers.
Licenses are very affordable, easy to buy, and can be in place immediately.
Yes. Copyright law applies to all organizations, including not-for-profit organizations, public sector organizations, and charities. MPLC licenses many local, state, and federal agencies.
When you are streaming, showing TV or films publicly either to a group of the general public or a closed group of members or supporters, you still need a license. The MPLC Public Performance License covers works from the major television studios, movie studios, and many other smaller producers.
Licenses are very affordable, easy to buy, and can be in place immediately. Contact us to ask questions, find out how much a license will cost, or to get licensed today.
Yes, you likely do. If the documentary is produced by one of MPLC’s rightsholders (the list is vast), then a license would almost certainly be required.
It does not matter whether you are a private club or open to the public, both are treated the same. Whether you show documentaries or a Hollywood blockbuster, a license is required.
MPLC Blanket Licenses are affordable, easy to buy, and can be put in place immediately.
MPLC does not currently license live sports, so if you only show live sports, you do not need an MPLC license. However, before or after a game, the channel will often broadcast a TV sitcom or movie that is likely represented by an MPLC rightsholder, for which our license would be needed.
To avoid copyright infringement you would need a reliable mechanism to ensure that nothing except live sports could appear on screen. Without such a mechanism, an MPLC license addresses that risk. Many sports bars secure a license precisely because they cannot guarantee the channel will be changed when a sporting event stops airing.
MPLC Blanket Licenses are affordable, easy to buy, and can be put in place immediately.
Yes, you do. A music license covers the playing of music and the money collected goes to the artists, performers, and music labels. This includes the music contained within TV programs (in the US, you generally do not need a separate license for music included in feature films).
To play audiovisual content, streaming or films and TV you need a separate license, and that is what the MPLC Blanket License provides. The money MPLC collects is shared with our rightsholders, and in turn with the individual actors, professionals, technicians, and other creative personnel who create movies and TV content.
An MPLC Blanket License is very affordable, easy to buy, and can be in place immediately.
Yes, you likely do. Your cable or satellite business package almost certainly does not fully protect you against copyright infringement claims from rightsholders of unlicensed programming included in those packages. As far as we are aware, none of these business package agreements include a warranty that all necessary public performance rights are covered, and almost all offer no indemnity against copyright infringement lawsuits from rightsholders of unlicensed programming. This means subscribers could be left liable for potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars.
That is not to say you do not need these commercial packages — you very much do. They provide great content, the necessary rights to publicly display their channels, and valuable public performance rights for certain content such as live sports and channel-owned material.
However, they do not include all of the public performance rights you need. The MPLC Blanket License goes far to fill the remaining gap, protecting you from claims not covered by your business package.
While cable and satellite business packages include public performance rights for some content (for example, live sports), the MPLC Blanket License provides the broadest commercially available coverage to complement your existing package.
We understand this can come as a surprise. MPLC has been helping organizations stay compliant with copyright law for nearly 40 years. While we license hundreds of thousands of companies and organizations worldwide, there are still many that need a license.
If you have been operating without a license, it is not too late to secure one today and take the right steps towards legal copyright compliance.
MPLC Blanket Licenses are affordable, easy to buy, and can be put in place immediately.
The MPLC Blanket License is the legal way to stream and show TV and Film programmes in a public or commercial space. ‘Umbrella License’ is an older name for the same license. We updated the name in 2024 to make things simpler. There is no difference between the two; you may see both terms on documents and materials during the transition.
The license covers all content produced by the thousands of rightsholders MPLC represents. It is affordable, easy to buy, and covers you immediately.
You pay a simple, affordable annual fee based on the type and size of your site, location, or business. You do not need to report to us, or anyone else, which movies or TV programs you show. You are free to show any licensed program at any time.
You can use any legal media as a source from broadcast television, streamed content, DVDs, satellite, cable TV channels, anything that is intended to be ‘for personal, private use only’. When you have an MPLC Blanket License, that restriction is removed for use in your licensed premises.
The only restrictions are that you cannot charge an admission fee to watch movies or programs, and you cannot advertise the showing of a specific film or show (or include a description identifying a specific film or show) to anyone other than a closed group of patrons at your licensed premises. If you want to charge an admission fee or promote a specific showing more publicly, you need a Title-by-Title license, we can provide details of companies that offer these.
An MPLC Blanket License runs for one year, allowing you to show all licensed TV and film content you want in your business or commercial setting during that period.
You do not need to tell us which shows or films you plan to show. Towards the end of the year, we will contact you to renew your license.
MPLC Blanket Licenses are affordable, easy to buy, and can be put in place immediately.
The MPLC Blanket License is a simple, affordable annual fee. There is no ongoing reporting or administrative paperwork.
The cost depends on:
MPLC Blanket Licenses are affordable, easy to buy, and can be put in place immediately. Contact us for a quote tailored to your organization.
No, you do not. The license covers everything produced by the thousands of rightsholders we represent, so you do not need to report what you are showing.
MPLC Blanket Licenses are affordable, easy to buy, and can be put in place immediately.
You can find a full list of all the rightsholders and producers we represent on our website: Our Rightsholders
It is a legal requirement to have a license from the copyright owner. If you stream or show TV and films publicly without one, you may be in violation of the Copyright Act. This can result in penalties of up to $150,000 for each program or movie shown, plus court costs and attorney fees.
For example, in June 2009 a Minneapolis jury found a defendant liable for $1.92 million for infringing the copyright on 24 songs (ultimately reduced on appeal for unrelated technical reasons). One month later, a Boston jury ordered a college student to pay $675,000 for infringement of the copyright on 30 songs (upheld on appeal).
It is not worth risking these penalties when a license is very affordable. MPLC Blanket Licenses are easy to buy and can be put in place immediately.
Failure to comply with the Copyright Act can result in serious financial consequences — up to $150,000 for each work infringed, plus court costs and attorney fees. These can add up quickly. For example, one defendant was required to pay $36,000 in damages and over $160,000 in attorney’s fees and costs for playing unlicensed music.
We prefer not to refer unlicensed organizations to our rightsholders for legal action, as it is expensive and disruptive for everyone and can result in significant costs for a small business. An MPLC license is affordable, easy to buy, and can be in place immediately and we would much rather talk to you and reach an agreement.
Rightsholders pursue legal action only as a last resort. However, in cases where an organization is knowingly showing copyrighted content in a public space in breach of the law, copyright holders can and do take legal action, and there are many documented examples. There is no need to expose yourself or your business to that risk.
Yes. You may be held contributorily or vicariously liable for copyright infringement if you have a financial interest in the activity and/or make your facility available for a public performance without the appropriate license in place.
Please contact us through our Support Contact Form with your last license or invoice number (if you know it), and we will ensure your license is renewed so you remain compliant with copyright law.
No worries. Simply send us a request through our Support Contact Form and we will find your license and send it to you by email.
For a copy of your last or any previous invoice, please use our Customer Support form and we will send one to you straight away.
Please send us a request through our Support Contact Form with your license or last invoice number (if you know it) and the details you would like to change, and we will make the updates for you.