Vollou's music recognition technology approved for Belgian venues
Following Sabam’s recent announcement that venues can pay a licence based on actual usage, Vollou, the music recognition company, has been approved by Sabam as one of its approved music recognition technologies for venues in Belgium. The approval gives venues an accurate way to show exactly what music they play and to be charged accordingly.
A fairer, usage-based model
Sabam's move to usage-based licensing is a progressive step for the industry. Until now, the absence of reliable data and reporting caused issues both in setting the licence itself and in distributing what's collected to the correct rights holders. The new approach pushes for full transparency on both fronts: what a venue pays, and how accurately that money reaches the artists behind the music played.
In practice, a venue can use one of the Sabam-approved MRT companies to carry out a repertoire check to measure what music is actually played. If the check shows the venue is playing music outside the licensed repertoire, it could qualify for a reduction in its music licence fee. Across venues Vollou has measured in other countries, it has seen that some venues play a substantial share of unreleased music, often between 20% and 50%. This varies from venue to venue and is never guaranteed, but where such music is played it sits outside the licensed repertoire and, without measurement, cannot be separated from repertoire works. Demonstrating this requires Sabam-approved MRT, and Vollou is one.
Software-based, no new hardware
What sets Vollou apart is that it is entirely software-based, using the audio equipment a venue already operates and requiring no additional hardware installation. Unlike many existing recognition approaches that rely on dedicated hardware, Vollou fits into a venue’s existing setup with no disruption to day-to-day operations.
Measurement, not estimation
Vollou was founded on a simple principle: artists should be paid fairly for the music that is played while venues should only pay for the music they use. It replaces estimation with measurement, capturing and identifying the music played in a venue and producing an accurate, timestamped record matched to the relevant rights identifiers, ready to support licensing and royalty distribution. The result is greater accuracy and fairness on both sides: venues are charged for the music they play, and rights holders are paid on the basis of real usage.
Proven across the music industry
Vollou is already trusted across the music rights industry. It supplies music usage data to PRS for Music and BumaStemra among others, and its DJ tracking is used by over 30% of the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs, identifying music in the most demanding live conditions. Having already proven its technology in live performance reporting, Vollou now brings that accuracy to Belgian venues.
“Vollou exists to make sure artists are paid fairly for the music that is actually played,” said Andres Payne, CEO and co-founder of Vollou. “For too long, the music industry has lacked the necessary data at scale, and that has affected everyone. Sabam deserves real credit for moving to a fairer, usage-based model that brings transparency to both what venues pay and how artists are paid. Being one of Sabam's approved partners is very exciting, and we're proud to be part of bringing fairness and transparency to the Belgian market.”
Vollou is available to Belgian venues from July 2026.
