Morocco guide
Music licence for cafés and restaurants in Morocco: the BMDAV authorisation
The music licence for cafés and restaurants in Morocco comes from the BMDAV, the Moroccan Bureau of Copyright and Neighbouring Rights: as soon as your café, restaurant or salle des fêtes plays music for guests, it needs an authorisation. This guide explains who the BMDAV is, which venues are concerned and how the process works. It is general information, not legal advice.
In short
- In Morocco, the BMDAV (formerly BMDA) handles both copyright and neighbouring rights
- Cafés, restaurants, hotels, salles des fêtes and shops that play music in public are concerned
- You apply to the BMDAV regional delegation using the official form
- Amounts follow official tariff scales; this guide quotes none because they can change
- SkafRemix plays your own licensed music; the BMDAV authorisation stays with the venue
The BMDAV: the body that collects music royalties in Morocco
The Moroccan Copyright Bureau was created in 1965. Law no. 25-19, promulgated in August 2022, turned it into a collective management organisation with public legal personality and financial autonomy, under the name Moroccan Bureau of Copyright and Neighbouring Rights (BMDAV). It is based in Rabat and supervised by the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication.
The law tasks it with managing and protecting the rights set out in Law no. 2-00 on copyright and neighbouring rights: it sets the collection tariffs, which require approval by the administration, collects the amounts due and distributes them to rights holders, including foreign authors through reciprocal representation agreements. Unlike France, where SACEM and SPRE both collect, a Moroccan café therefore deals with one body for copyright and neighbouring rights.
BMDAV for cafés and restaurants: which venues are concerned
Any public performance of protected works is concerned. The BMDAV publishes separate tariff scales by type of use; these are the most common cases.
Cafés and restaurants
Background music played for guests, indoors or on the terrace, is a public performance.
TVs and screens
Music videos and music programmes on screen fall under a separate audiovisual scale. Showing football matches is a different rights question.
Hotels
A specific scale covers general sound in hotels: lobby, corridors, bar and restaurant.
Salles des fêtes and one-off events
Weddings, galas and single events count as occasional sessions, with their own application form.
Shops and other venues
Supermarkets, gyms, festivals and tourist complexes are concerned too as soon as they play music.
How to get a BMDAV authorisation for your venue
You apply to the BMDAV and its regional delegation. The steps below show the general process.
Describe how you use music
Note where music plays (room, terrace, screens), at what times and whether you hold events or special nights.
Find your regional delegation
The BMDAV has regional delegations from Casablanca-Settat to the Oriental and the southern regions. Contact the one for your city.
Submit the application
Use the official authorisation request form (Mod. 136) on the BMDAV website, or the occasional session form for a single event.
Pay according to the tariff
The delegation tells you which scale applies and how to pay. Keep the written authorisation and the receipts at the venue.
Report changes
A new terrace, extra screens, dance nights: tell the BMDAV so your authorisation matches how you actually use music.
A legal royalty, not a penalty
In early December 2025, after conflicting messages on social media, the BMDAV publicly restated its mission: the amounts asked of cafés and restaurants are neither a tax nor a penalty, but the remuneration of authors and performers for the public use of their works, calculated from scales published in the Official Bulletin.
The Bureau also said it prefers amicable settlement and grants extra time to operators acting in good faith. The simplest route is therefore to contact your delegation before opening, or now if your venue already plays music.
Music rights checklist for a café or restaurant in Morocco
- A list of the spaces where music plays: room, terrace, upper floor, screens
- The authorisation request form filled in and submitted to the regional delegation
- The written authorisation and payment receipts kept at the venue
- A separate application for each one-off night or event outside your usual use
- An update to the BMDAV after every significant change
SkafRemix and music rights in Morocco
SkafRemix supplies no commercial music: it plays your venue’s own licensed music and shapes the flow of the day. The BMDAV authorisation therefore stays in the name of your café or restaurant, and SkafRemix does not declare anything on your behalf. If you add screens or special nights with SkafRemix, remember to tell the BMDAV.
Official sources
The official texts and pages this guide relies on (checked in October 2026; mostly in French).
- BMDAV – Authorisation request Official forms: authorisation request (Mod. 136) and occasional session
- BMDAV – Tariff scales Scales by type of use: sound, audiovisual, hotels, occasional sessions
- BMDAV – Regional delegations The delegations and the cities they cover
- Official Bulletin no. 7158 (SGG) Official French text of Law no. 25-19 (BMDAV) and Law no. 66-19 (amending Law no. 2-00)
- WIPO Lex – Law no. 2-00 Law on copyright and neighbouring rights
- Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication The BMDAV among the bodies under its supervision
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Questions and answers
Does a café in Morocco have to pay royalties for background music?
Generally, yes: as soon as protected works are played for guests, it is a public performance that needs a BMDAV authorisation. The amount depends on the scale that applies to your use.
Are the BMDAV and the BMDA the same body?
Yes. Law no. 25-19 of 2022 turned the Moroccan Copyright Bureau (BMDA) into the Moroccan Bureau of Copyright and Neighbouring Rights (BMDAV), a public-law collective management organisation.
How much does a BMDAV authorisation cost for a café or restaurant?
It depends on the official scale that matches your use, and this guide deliberately quotes no amount. Your BMDAV regional delegation tells you the scale and the amount for your venue.
Is a TV in a café concerned?
Yes, music programmes shown on screen fall under a separate BMDAV audiovisual scale. The rights to show football matches are a separate matter for the broadcaster concerned.
How do I show that my venue is properly licensed?
Keep the written BMDAV authorisation and the payment receipts at the venue. Sworn BMDAV agents can check how works are used in venues.
Does SkafRemix pay the BMDAV for me?
No. SkafRemix plays your venue’s own licensed music and supplies no commercial music; the BMDAV authorisation remains the responsibility of your café or restaurant.
Plan the music for your venue in Morocco
We plan the music flow of your café or restaurant with you; for the authorisation, your BMDAV delegation is the right contact.
Tell us about your venue · we get back to you personally to plan sound, nights and pilot scope · no obligation