Canadian hair salons are being asked to pay for the right to play music in their businesses, said SOCAN, the umbrella group for Canadian music composers.

The performing rights organization for music in Canada has sent out notices to hair salons across the country, urging them to pay a licensing fee or face legal action.

The law has always required that barbers and hairdressers pay to play music CDs, MP3s or other formats in public, said Serge Boutros, a SOCAN customer operations manager.

"Hairdressers happen to utilize music quite frequently, and so currently, we are targeting hairdressing salons to educate them on the fact that they do require a licence if they are using music," he told CBC News.

The licensing fee varies according to the size of the salon, with a minimum cost of $94 per year.

SOCAN says it approached dentists last year with the same request.

With files from the Canadian Press