Top 7 tips and tricks to create a perfect Christmas music playlist for your venue
Christmas music is a sure way to create a festive warming atmosphere at your store, hotel, bar, café, or restaurant during the holiday season. This is what your potential and existing clients expect from you and want to have.
I personally very love world-famous compositions, such as “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” by Frank Sinatra and “All I want for Christmas is you” by Mariah Carey.
Playing the same old hits over and over again, however, may annoy and irritate your customers and employees. Furthermore, you should take into account that other establishments will also be streaming Christmas music. This way, it is crucial to stand out from numerous competitors by providing a special vibe.
So, how do you compile a Christmas music playlist that will engage the audience and match brand identity, helping you increase sales? In this article, you will learn the tricks and recommendations from Moodby Play’s music experts.
How to create a perfect Christmas music playlist
1. Choose the right type of Christmas music
In order to create a Christmas music playlist, you may select songs from various genres that involve pop, jazz, and even rock. It is also important to pay attention to music style, for example, vocal, acoustic, and instrumental.
Actually, the guidelines to choosing a style and genre are practically the same as when composing an ordinary playlist. To make a mix of Christmas compositions, you should consider the mood and preferences of your target audience. Additionally, the music has to align with your venue type and brand positioning.
For instance, if you run a cozy coffee shop, you may stream acoustic or indie Christmas songs to design a warm and relaxing ambiance. If you run a trendy clothing store, you might opt for upbeat and modern Christmas tracks that appeal to younger customers. In a classical prestigious restaurant, it is advisable to stream instrumental music.
2. Play different Christmas music
Choosing songs of one style and genre can make your Christmas music playlist too predictable and monotonous. It will be also impossible to deliver a unique memorable experience and differentiate your brand from rivals.
We recommend that you mix up your playlist with a range of styles and genres. Additionally, you should play background music from various artists, decades, and sometimes languages.
For example, you can alternate between classic and contemporary tracks, or between slow and fast tunes, or between vocal, acoustic, and instrumental compositions. On top of that, you can play remixes of Christmas hits and the same well-known songs performed by different artists.
Just imagine, Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Buffett, Gwen Stefani, Peggy Lee, Andrea Bocelli, Bing Crosby, Barbra Streisand, and many, many others sang “Jingle Bells”. So, you can stream, for instance, not so popular versions (perhaps not in the entire world but in your region).
Thanks to this, you will create a fresh compelling Christmas music playlist that will meet various tastes and help you stand out from the crowd.
3. Avoid repetitive Christmas songs
Customers and employees may get irritated when hearing the same song over and over again in a short period of time. As a result, businesses are likely to encounter problems such as lower consumer retention and job satisfaction, leading to drop in sales.
Therefore, it is crucial not to play the same composition more than once in an hour, or even better, in a half of day. In addition, you should avoid streaming Christmas background music that sounds too similar or have the same lyrics or melody.
Our Moodby Play music streaming platform involves Christmas playlists that include diverse music selections lasting for many hours without track repeats.
All music playlists and stations on Moodby Play are created by professional DJs and curators. The content is licensed for commercial goals, unlike the music provided by Spotify, YouTube Music, and other B2C streaming applications.
4. Consider the volume and tempo
The volume and tempo of Christmas music can have a significant impact on consumer behavior. If the volume is very loud or the tempo is too fast, it may create a sense of stress and urgency, disturbing visitors from their business (conversations, purchases, etc.) and negatively affecting their mood.
In case the volume of Christmas melodies is too low or the tempo is slow, however, people may get bored and less engaged. As a consequence, customers will be less willing to spend time at your place, buy goods, and retain.
To find the right balance, you should consider the atmosphere you want to design, the noise level of your environment, and activities you aim to encourage. For example, if you plan to drive sales at your shop, you should not stream fast-paced Christmas tracks.
Studies determined that the purchase amount in a restaurant was larger when music was soft in volume than when it was loud. While the average tab valued at $21.63 in the first case, it was $18.57 in the second one. Additionally, analysts revealed that clients generally spend less time in stores when the background music is loud.
5. Play songs of different beliefs and cultures
Christmas music is not only about celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ but also about celebrating the spirit of joy, peace, and goodwill that transcends religious boundaries. If you want to reach out to a wider audience, we recommend that you take into account that your customers and staff may have different beliefs and cultures.
By playing songs for other holidays or traditions that fall in the same season—for instance, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Year’s Eve—you will boost consumer engagement and gain a competitive advantage.
6. Look for unique Christmas music
Seek for out-of-the-box Christmas songs in order not to annoy customers and staff with cliché hits played everywhere, any year. For instance, you can try to find festive tracks and melodies across a variety of genres—not so trending for Christmas—like soul, latin, country, or reggae. This will help you come up with a unique background music experience and create a special vibe, leading to improved consumer satisfaction.
7. Keep pace with Christmant music trends
Christmas music trends change every year, as new songs are created and old songs are rediscovered. For example, Taylor Swift’s “Christmas Tree Farm”, which was released in December 2019, is still popular. “Santa, Can’t You Hear Me” by Kelly Clarkson feat. Ariana Grande is another hit that was introduced in 2022. And there are many more.
Old famous Christmas tunes by Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Brenda Lee, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Andy Williams, José Feliciano, Dean Martin, Louis Armstrong, Paul McCartney, and John Lennon may also bring joy to your audience.
To keep up with the latest trends and preferences, you should update your music selection regularly. Pay attention to the feedback from your customers and team members, then adjust a Christmas music playlist accordingly.
Summing it up
Although it may be quite challenging to differentiate the atmosphere of your public place and keep customers engaged, our recommendations will help you compose or find a perfect Christmas music playlist.
Moodby Play is a music streaming platform that offers a variety of playlists and stations with Christmas songs and compositions. The whole content is licensed for commercial use, so there are no risks of fines.
Our experienced DJs can also compose a personalized station according to your business-specific needs. With Moodby Play, you will be able to manage background music experiences across multiple locations via a simple interface. Furthermore, the music streaming service provides a 30-day free trial.🎁
So, choose the best Christmas music selection for your venue!
