Background music for business: a brief dive into the subject

Do you remember the last time there was no music at a store, bar, or café you walked into, just the sounds of silence? We believe you do not because background music, as well as interior design, food specials, or cashless payment options, is now one of the essentials in retail, hospitality, and any other service business. 

Let’s break down the major reasons for this in the article.

• What is the background music?
• How does music affect sales, customer mood, and experiences?
• What background music do businesses stream?
• Why do human-curated playlists beat AI algorithms?

What is background music?

This question is as simple as it is tricky. On the one hand, any kind of music, including live performances, may be called background music. 

On the other hand, the main idea behind this type of music is to create the mood of a place. Like icing on the cake, it is a tiny little detail that rounds out the interior and completes the brand personality. 

It is not entertainment in general, like karaoke or DJ gigs, because background music shouldn’t be the focus of a guest’s attention. Otherwise, it becomes an irritating background noise. Metaphorically, this is not the main course but a smooth sauce.

How does music affect sales, customer mood, and experiences?

The right background music for business can help you get various benefits:

1. Set the tone of a place

Appropriate music creates ambiance in cafes, restaurants, bars, and stores. Upbeat or relaxing tunes that match the mood of visitors can also improve the overall experience. That is how it works. 

Imagine a cup of good coffee you taste, a cozy couch you sit on, and a beautiful view outside the window you enjoy. Add your favorite song in the background – and you get the best coffee shop you have ever visited!

2. Engage customers

There is a lot of music in our daily life. Customers want to listen to songs while shopping for groceries or waiting for their turn at a hair salon. This visit would be even better if the store or salon had a great soundtrack to enhance customer engagement. 

3. Stand out from the crowd

As part of a company’s identity, music can make any business unique. Handpicked playlists compatible with the atmosphere at the venue complement the brand and help a business stand out from the competition.

4. Create a better working environment

Many companies play their radio stations at the office because listening to music at work may improve motivation and supercharge staff productivity. It also can put employees in a holiday mood a couple of weeks before Christmas or help them beat Monday blues and make them a little happier. 

It works the same way with store, bar, and hotel employees. By the way, poor quality or repetitive tunes can torture them.

5. Increase customer loyalty and retention

In retail, background music keeps shoppers focused on buying and nudges them to stay longer and spend more. For example, the study found that fast-tempo songs encourage customers to move faster and make quick purchases, whereas calmer ones slow them down and make them take a closer look at the goods on shelves. 

No venue that thrives with sick music in the background, though. 

6. Win new clients

The genre and style of music playing in business attract different audiences. By adjusting their music message, venues can reach out to various groups of customers. Furthermore, using a music jukebox app to let people request their faves at a place where they hang out can double the reach. 

7. Shape brand identity

Finally, music defines what a bar or restaurant is. It could be an essential part of the brand identity as name, decor, and menu, something that grabs the customer’s attention. The soundtrack also sets a company’s vibe and feel.

What background music do businesses stream?

Here are the options most venues use:

1. Popular music streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, etc.

There are many playlists tailored to different businesses on these platforms. The problem is personal streaming services are not applicable for commercial use because artists, songwriters, and other rights holders whose song is played do not get royalties for their input in guest entertainment. 

When a barista connects their phone to speakers at a café and puts on some music, it is copyright infringement. And that can lead to huge fines. 

Rightfully, businesses should obtain commercial music licenses and receive permission to play tracks publicly from a local collective management organization (CMO).

2. Online and terrestrial radio stations

Usually, it is the soundtrack of small businesses like diners, coffee shops, and corner stores. However, if radio stations broadcast copyrighted songs, business owners are still obliged to pay for this music asset. The US, though, is one of the exceptions. So far, it is the only major country in the world where cafes, bars, hotels, and other venues can publicly listen to over-the-air radio with commercial music without copyright implications.

Another story is companies that use radio stations to create the ambiance at their places of business can’t manage what is playing and skip inappropriate or sick songs. Plus, there are a lot of annoying commercials on the air.

3. Royalty-free music

There are tons of royalty-free tracks on the web that businesses can stream online or download. Usually, it is a DJ remixes compilations and free to use catalogs of generous composers.

Streaming royalty-free music in business might seem easy, but the options are limited.

First, the majority of sites provide song catalogs, not ready-to-use playlists. Second, these tracks may sound generic because the compilations include no major hits. Third, royalty-free songs are perfectly suitable for ad videos, presentations, and other sorts of business materials. It is hard to make a bar playlist using them. Although it may be a good solution for small businesses such as flower shops or vintage clothes stores.

On top of that, many royalty-free music sites require a paid subscription. Considering the quality of songs, the use of paid services seems more appropriate.

4. Licensed music streaming providers for business

Finally, businesses can subscribe to B2B music streaming services with licensed content to play. They offer song compilations, not individual tracks, which seems like a convenient option for venues.

On top of that, these playlists include songs fit for a particular type of business like a restaurant or beauty salon. Plus, since vendors enter into licensing partnerships with rights holders, their catalogs contain a variety of well-known tracks, including the latest hits and timeless bangers.

There are many solutions in the market. Moodby Play is one of the best industry players. The platform has 2.5+ million tracks licensed for commercial use, 500+ stations, numerous playlists, and a mobile jukebox for guests. You’ll also get access to features such as lyrics filter, offline mode, access from any device, and full music control.

This B2B music streaming service is available to users in Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Poland, and Romania on a monthly subscription basis. It consists of dozens of stations packed with multi-genre tracks for bars, cafes, restaurants, gyms, hotels, spas, retail stores, and other establishments.

Why do human-curated playlists beat AI algorithms?

You may find a lot of background music solutions that generate song compilations automatically. For businesses it might sound like a great option. However, with millions of tracks in databases and tons of new releases, it is hard to navigate the song landscape. 

As a playlist curator focused on electronic, reggae, or rock music, you might prepare better offerings to businesses. You can easily make a unique track compilation based on classics and new music drops in a particular genre. Or compile a playlist that perfectly fits the ambiance of an Irish bar or Indian restaurant. Or pick non-trivial Christmas tunes to stream in shopping malls. 

If you have an ear for music and know how to match tunes in a better way, all you need to start your career in background music curation is to put yourself in your customer’s shoes. 

For the rest, check out Moodby DJ.