Is permission required to stream music on my website?

[Lesismore]

I've read a number of "licensing" questions here, but to make it clear to me: Am I able to play a song as background music on my private website (available only to my family on a back page with password-issued sign-in)? I understand about giving credit to the artist. Do I require explicit permission, need to pay for it, or is it forbidden altogether?

I want to do the right thing. Thanks for any info.

Moderator Edit: Edited title for clarity

[AdamPandora · Accepted solution]

@Lesismore Broadcasting Pandora over live stream is a violation of our Terms of Use.

You can read more about your individual license to use the service under our Terms of Use in Section 6.

Thanks for listening!

[Lesismore]

Thanks for the reply. I've done a bit of research on this now, and hope this will be helpful if the question ever comes up again.

I should have stated my original question more succinctly. I wasn't asking about broadcasting anything over a live stream through Pandora. Of course, that would be in violation. I simply discovered a song (on Pandora) and thought how nice it would be as a background for my family's private web page. So, in general terms, I was wondering "How can I do that legally?" Artists deserve to be paid for their talent and creative efforts, which is why I PAY for the Family Plan on Pandora. I appreciate that Pandora works hard to legally secure those streaming rights for us subscribers.

I've since learned that I could contact the record label and ask. If amenable, they MAY be willing to negotiate a license for that one specific song, with specific terms for private use, and I may or may NOT have to pay for it. Or they could just flatly deny me.

I've seen loads of YouTube videos with background music (many of which are here on Pandora), and they simply give the artist credit in the description text of the video. In retrospect, I'm not sure that's legal, and if it isn't, well then they're for stealing from the artist.

In the end, it's just too much trouble. If I ever DO decide to go down that rabbit hole, it will be with royalty-free music. Thanks again for helping!