Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Almotech?

Established in 1996, Almotech has grown to be the leading supplier of In-Store Radio, Jukeboxes and other entertainment equipment to retail outlets, pubs, clubs and leisure facilities. It was established by Vivian Dooley and Patrick O'Connor For more information check out our about us section here

What is the Zon@t In-Store Radio?

The Zon@t in-store radio is your customized internal radio station which is played out across your store. Deliver an internally branded radio station that improves customer experience and promotes your brand and products at the point of sale. Distribute your audio content across a wide network so there is a uniform message throughout, all from one central location.

Does the Zon@t need an internet connection to play music?

No, the Zon@t in-store music system does not need to be connected to the internet 24/7 it will play music perfectly independently of the internet.
However, we do recommend you plug in your system on a weekly/monthly basis to ensure that your system can communicate with our servers and retrieve the most up to date music and adverts for your business.
You can control your music playlists and manage your advertising by using the online music manager but it is not essential for the Zon@t unit to work.
The Zon@t music system is not a streaming service and therefore it does not consume large amounts of your bandwidth costing you money the Zon@t system ensures you will always have music playing in your store no matter what your internet connection may be like.

What is Copyright Music?

Copyright is a property right, regulated by statute (the Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000) which gives the owner of a creative work (e.g.) a song or a piece of music) the right to permit or prevent the use of that work by others. Copyright confers on the creator of a work the right to allow or prevent a number of 'restricted acts'. These restricted acts include making a copy of the work, making the work available to the public and making an adaptation of the work. Intellectual property refers to all intangible property such as copyrights or patents.
This basically means that if you play this type of music in your store you are liable to pay royalties for doing so.

What is Royalty Free Music?

Royalty Free Music at its core simply means music that has a single, or one time licensing fee rather than paying royalties each time it receives airplay.
This basically means that if you play this type of music in your store you are not liable to pay royalties for doing so.

What are the advantages of using Royalty Free Music?

There are many advantages to using Royalty Free Music over Copyright Music:
  1. Peace of mind - you know you're legally covered; you don’t have to pay PPI or IMRO charges.
  2. Low Prices – one single monthly payment rather than multiple payments to your provider, to PPI and to IMRO.
  3. Saves You Time - Using royalty free music saves you time. You get the luxury of selecting music at your own time and pace. Our online Royalty free music library allows you to choose the music you want to play and when you want to play it.
  4. Hassle-free - Using royalty free music relieves you from messy licensing applications, royalty payments and all the procedures associated with traditional Copyright music licensing and music clearance.
  5. Highly Flexible - Here at Almotech you can program your music playlists to play at specific times to suit your business needs. We also have pre defined playlists for you to choose the atmosphere that you would like to project in your premises.
  6. Good Selection - The Almotech Royalty free music library offers you a good selection of music and mixes to choose from. Virtually every genre is available to you from Hip-Hop, Jazz, R&B, Country, Rock to Classical, Christmas music and much more.

Who are PPI and IMRO?

PPI

Phonographic Performance (Ireland) Limited was established in 1968 to act as a central administrator of record company rights in the public performance, broadcasting and reproduction of their recordings. PPI is owned by its members - Irish and multinational record companies - and membership is open to all record companies, big & small.
Record companies have a right to be paid whenever their recordings (CDs, tapes, LPs, Mp3/iPods etc.) or music videos are played in public. Performers have a right to be paid when sound recordings they have contributed to are played in public.
PPI collects both of these payments in one single license fee and then distributes the money to record companies and performers through RAAP (Recorded Artists Actors Performers Ltd).
For more information visit their website here

IMRO

IMRO is a national organization that administers the performing right in copyright music in Ireland on behalf of its members - who are songwriters, composers and music publishers - and on behalf of the songwriters, composers and music publishers of the international overseas societies that are affiliated to it. IMRO does not represent the interests of record labels.
Music users such as broadcasters, venues and businesses must pay for their use of copyright music by way of a blanket license fee. IMRO collects these monies and distributes them to the songwriters, composers and music publishers who created the songs.
For more information visit their website here

What else do I receive with my In-Store Radio?