All radio stations do pay for the music they play. They are required to acquire public performance licenses and report the songs they played to the licensing gr

All radio stations do pay for the music they play. They are required to acquire public performance licenses and report the songs they played to the licensing groups so the licensing groups can collect the correct royalties from them and distribute them correctly. IIRC this is actually why Spotify’s T&Cs don’t allow usage for businesses or public gatherings because they don’t pay out at the public performance licensing rate.