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.