Playing music in your business helps add energy and creates a unique environment, whether it’s chill house music at a hotel, classical and jazz at a restaurant or vocal pop in a retail store. Regardless of the business type, music can help hone the identity of who you are and what your business is selling.
Connecting with your Customers:
When businesses choose music, it varies on the type and size of the business, but more often than not, it’s about the right music that matches a brands identity. In this article we outline some advice and tips on the right music for businesses to play. Whether you’re a small business owner or a regional chain, playing the right music is key to connecting with your customers, keeping employees engaged and growing your business.
One of the first steps in choosing the right music is knowing exactly who your customer is. Some will assume playing standard top-40 radio music is a neutral offering but this is couldn’t be further from the truth. Sometimes overbearing and loud music can turn customers off and top-40 radio music generally isn’t a one-size fits all solution, therefore it’s vital to create and identify what music matches well with your business.
Music Styles:
– Hotels:
Hotels are some of the biggest music users in terms of businesses, being that most hotels have multiple zones, whether it be the lobby, bar, restaurant, pool or the elevators and hallways.
The type of music depends on the style of the hotel. For example, a luxury business hotel in a city would mostly have house, lounge and jazz music spread across each zone while a family resort would be better off playing vocal pop and indie-rock.
– Restaurants
Music in restaurants is a key component in dining. You want music that creates the right atmosphere while not being overly-intrusive. For a luxury or upscale dining experience, smooth and soft jazz music works well and for a chain or fast-food restaurant more upbeat pop or dance music works well.
– Cafes
Like with Restaurants, cafes depend on the surrounding area and there needs to be a delicate balance of how prominently the music is heard. For an urban cafe where customers are more likely to take their coffee to go some more hip, upbeat music like house or lounge would work well, if it’s a more social and relaxed type of coffee shop then perhaps some jazz and smooth vocal music would be best,
– Retail
When you walk through a shopping mall you tend to get a full musical experience by walking between shops, from fashion retailers to shoe stores and upscale jewelry stores, each of these stores have a more specific customer base so the music styles obviously vary.
A fashion retailer for example, would be playing current and upbeat music, most commonly house and other styles of dance music, while a jewelry store will go with something more traditional such as classical or jazz.
– Supermarkets, Grocery Stores and Convenience Stores
This all depends on location and style, but a suburban grocery store will generally change their music styles on the time of day based on the habits of shoppers. For example, a smooth classical or jazz sound in the morning followed by more upbeat pop and vocal music throughout the day.
Playing Music in your Business:
Most businesses play music from their own personal collection in the case of small businesses, while brands and chains generally work with a background music service provider that provides them with music and hardware for playing music in their business. In all cases, in order to play music in your business you need a license. In the US the three main collection societies, or PRO’s are ASCAP, BMI and SESAC, in the UK it’s PRS and PPL, and in Australia it’s APRA and PPCA.
At Rightsify, we provide businesses with both uniquely designed music and an official music license certificate so they can play music that fits their business style while saving costs on music licensing. We offer a mix of pre-made playlists for business types as well as custom playlists designed exclusively for your business. For more information on how Rightsify can provide music for your business, contact us today.
