Return to all postsReturn to all resources
The Impact of a Good Restaurant Music System

The Impact of a Good Restaurant Music System

Written by
James Picken
Published

July 4, 2018

Category
Music

While a good restaurant music offering can significantly improve a dining experience, if high-quality, well-profiled music isn’t achieved, it could have the opposite effect.

Music has been played in restaurants for centuries, building the desired atmosphere, entertaining guests, and creating an overall more enjoyable customer experience. Research has shown that millennials are eating out at restaurants more than any other generation, suggesting a huge opportunity for the restaurant operators who are ‘getting it right’.

Customer Experience

Music evokes emotion, and the impact of this on the quality of a customer’s restaurant experience shouldn’t be underestimated.

Investing in a professional restaurant music system gives operators the tools they need to ensure a high-quality soundtrack is maintained. For example, while consumer music services such as Spotify are great for personal use, these are illegal to use commercially and could result in large fines and a disruption to your atmosphere if used in your restaurant.

As well as ensuring your restaurant music solution meets the legal requirements, a professional background music system will usually come with a range of high-quality playlists suitable for different audiences, day-parts and purposes. With these at your disposal, scheduling a soundtrack that enhances your customer experience is made much easier.

While bespoke music profiling is often a great choice for brands seeking a soundtrack specifically tailored around them, making use of ready-made playlists means you can access professional music compilations without having to start from scratch if you’re lacking time or inspiration.

Brand Image

That said, it’s essential to carefully consider the types of music you play in your restaurant in order to uphold your brand image. Just like your logo, interior design, and all other elements of your brand, your background music is a reflection of your values and what your brand is about.

First impressions of a brand are key, as customers will be quick to develop a perception of your restaurant that can be hard to change. If you're using a consumer music service like Spotify or Pandora which are not intended for business use and often include ads, this signifies a lack of attention to detail and little regard to your atmosphere. Similarly, using CDs can be repetitive and suggest a dated approach and an ignorance to technology, which many consumers consider highly important in a restaurant experience.

Instead, a professional restaurant music system that has been designed specifically for its environment will give you more choice, quality, flexibility and control, helping you shape the way customers view your brand.

Employee Morale

While customers are quite rightly front-of-mind for restaurant operators, it’s also imperative to consider how your background music impacts your employees. It’s been proven that playing music within businesses can improve employee performance levels, increase job satisfaction and reduce absenteeism, but repetitive or unsuitable music can also be incredibly frustrating when you’re listening to it day in, day out.

While it’s often tempting to hand over control of your restaurant’s background music to your team members and their own preferences, a good restaurant music system like Startle Music will help you manage access levels by allowing you to delegate or restrict user permissions. This way, you can choose certain genres, artists or playlists to ‘allow’ and rest assured that your music schedule will always reflect your predetermined choices.

Heard enough?

Ready to create standout customer experiences? Get in touch to find out how we can use music and tech to help you achieve your goals.

Request a quote
Rotary phone

Heard enough?

Music is powerful, but using it with intention takes skill. Chat to our team today to find out how our behavioural-science backed, curated playlists could help you achieve your goals.

Tell me more
Woman dancing

Heard enough?

Seeing is believing. Engaging your customers through vibrant visual displays can be a game-changer in your retail or hospitality experience. Chat to our team today to find out how our dynamic digital signage solution could help you achieve your goals.

Tell me more
Woman's face

Heard enough?

Live sport has been at the heart of many pubs for decades. Chat to our team today to find out how Arena, our automated, all-inclusive sports promotion platform, could help you achieve your goals.

Tell me more
People watching sports in a pub

Heard enough?

Your environment is always changing. Chat to our team today to find out how using our invaluable insights to auto-adjust your atmosphere could help you achieve your goals and fine-tune your operations.

Tell me more
Happy woman eating in restaurant

Heard enough?

Replicate a perfectly curated atmosphere across an entire estate, all from a single platform. Chat to our team today to find out how using Studio could help you achieve your goals.

Tell me more
Technoology

Heard enough?

Creating something so deeply subjective as an atmosphere without a strong understanding of human behaviour is kind of silly. Chat to our team today to find out how behavioural science can be applied to help you achieve your goals.

Tell me more
People walking

Heard enough?

Dedicated management, free player replacements, 24/7/365 support… what you want, baby we got it. Chat to our team today to find out how relentless our Relentless Support™ really are.

Tell me more
Man with headphones

Heard enough?

Creating a standout retail experience isn’t easy. Chat to our team today to find out how we can use music and tech to create a till ringing atmosphere and help you achieve your goals.

Tell me more
Clothes on rack

Heard enough?

Creating a standout restaurant experience isn’t easy. Chat to our team today to find out how we can use music and tech to serve up the perfect atmospheres in your restaurants and help you achieve your goals.

Tell me more
Restaurants kitchen

Heard enough?

Creating a standout coffee shop experience isn’t easy. Chat to our team today to find out how we can use music and tech to brew the perfect atmospheres for your cafes and help you achieve your goals.

Tell me more
Cafe

Heard enough?

Creating a standout pub experience isn’t easy. Chat to our team today to find out how we can use music and pint-sized tech to create the perfect atmosphere and help get the drinks flowing.

Tell me more
People celebrating in pub

Heard enough?

Creating a standout hotel experience isn’t easy. Check out (or in) how we can use music and tech to create the perfect atmospheres and help you achieve your goals by chatting to our team today.

Tell me more
Restaurant table with cutlery

Heard enough?

Creating a standout gym experience isn’t easy. Chat to our team today to find out how we can use music and tech to get your atmospheres into perfect shape and help you achieve your goals.

Tell me more
Gym equipment

Heard enough?

Creating a standout salon experience isn’t easy. Chat to our team today to find out how we can use music and tech to create an atmosphere with the perfect finish and help you achieve your goals.

Tell me more
Salon equipment

Heard enough?

Creating a standout office experience isn’t easy. Chat to our team today to find out how we can use music and tech to create atmospheres that work as hard as your customers.

Tell me more
Co-working space

Heard enough?

Creating a standout spa experience isn’t easy. Chat to our team today to find out how we can use music and tech to create the perfect peaceful atmosphere and help you achieve your goals.

Tell me more
Towels and insense

Heard enough?

Creating a standout ship experience isn’t easy. Chat to our team today to find out how we can use music and tech to create the perfect atmospheres for your cruise ships and help you achieve your goals.

Tell me more
Beach with cruise ship in background
The Impact of a Good Restaurant Music System

James Picken

With an MA in Music, an MA in Music Psychology, and a Mini MBA in Brand Management… James is one of our Startle geniuses. As Creative Director, it’s his job to produce and execute our music output, making sure everything is sounding, feeling and performing just right for our customers. When he’s not on the clock, James loves to walk the dog, read, lift weights, even dabbling in some music production, and he’s known in the office for his love of Mariah Carey.

Say hello on LinkedIn

Hey, we've just met you and this is crazy. But here's our number +44 (0)203 397 7676. So, call us maybe?

  • Number of locations *