Background Music Strategy

20 Minute Read

How to Boost Your Restaurant’s Ambiance with SiriusXM Music for Business

 

by Ryan Santangelo, Ph.D., Co-Founder & CEO, Dynamic Media

background music for businesses

Restaurants are more than just a place to eat. They can help create a lasting memories for guests of all types. The style of furniture, art on the walls and even the cutlery all come together to create an ambiance that makes guests feel welcome and relaxed. Of course, the one thing that ties everything together is the background music.

For your to be truly memorable, it is important to use music to your advantage.

Whether your restaurant is fine dining or fast-casual, SiriusXM Music For Business has restaurant music that will set the mood and engage your customers in powerful ways. With over 240+ channels of commercial-free music and 10,000 Pandora Artist Channels, SiriusXM Music For Business has the best music for restaurants available today.

This article will show you how to use SiriusXM’s business music platform to craft the best experience for your restaurant. Learn how to use background music for restaurants to enhance guest loyalty, increase ticket averages, turn over tables and grow repeat visits. We’ll also discuss the impact that music for restaurants has on employee morale and retention.

First Things First: What is SiriusXM Music for Business?

SiriusXM Music for Business is a music subscription service that provides professionally curated audio experiences for commercial entities like restaurants, offices, and hotels. These services are built on special platforms with features designed to help entrepreneurs create the right sound to magnify their brand and delight their customers.

Listening to Music for restaurantsProfessional streaming services like SiriusXM Music For Business include music licensing fees for restaurants in its subscription cost. These performance licenses are required to play copyrighted music legally. Restauranteurs pay a monthly fee for access to libraries of professional business content and all the licenses to keep the restaurant legal.

Restaurant owners sign up for a SiriusXM Music For Business account and then log into the service using a physical player, mobile app or software that allows them to select the channels they want to play.

SiriusXM Music for Business offers advanced features like central management, the ability to select restaurant music based on the time of day (known as “dayparting”), overhead messaging ads, real-time monitoring, filters to block explicit content, and the ability to customize channels or create a custom-curated playlist.

How to Choose the Right Background Music for your Restaurant

There are a few things to consider when choosing background music for your restaurant. First, you’ll need to decide what type of atmosphere you want to create. Then, choosing a playlist with the correct theme and tempo will be needed to support the ambiance. Finally, having the proper music system is necessary for restaurants to set the volume to the correct levels and cover all of the dining area. Put broadly, we can divide these areas into three categories: Theme, Tempo and Volume.

Theme

It’s important to make sure that the restaurant music you choose is appropriate for your desired theme and demographic. Theme can be defined as the overall style or genre of music. For example, if you have a seafood restaurant, you might want to consider playing music with a nautical theme. This could be anything from traditional sea shanties to modern pop songs with references to the ocean.

Similarly, if you cater to families with young children, your restaurant music will need to be appropriate for all ages. This means avoiding playlists with explicit lyrics or offensive language. For a younger crowd, the best music for restaurants might be popular chart-topping artists while older demographics tend to prefer classic artists or specific genres like Jazz or Blues.

Here are some rules of thumb to help you select the background music for your restaurant:

  • Hip Hop music for a modern and trendy restaurant scene
  • Pop music for a fun and casual environment
  • Rock music for an edgy and exciting atmosphere
  • Classical or instrumental music for an upscale and refined fine dining restaurant
  • Jazz music for a sophisticated and intimate atmosphere
  • Country music for a down-home and rustic setting
  • Latin music for a festive and lively atmosphere
  • Retro music for an antique or classic diner theme
  • Ambient nature sounds for a relaxing zen experience
  • World music for an eclectic and international flavor

Tempo

When selecting music for restaurants, it is important to consider the tempo of the music. Tempo has to do with the speed of the music, typically measured in beats per minute (BPM).

Playing Background music for restaurantsFor restaurant music, high BPM music is generally considered to be anything over 100 BPM, while low BPM music is anything under that. Different tempos give rise to different energy levels and greatly impact the feeling a playlist produces. High BPM restaurant music can create a more lively and energetic atmosphere. Low BPM music, on the other hand, is generally more relaxing and soothing, making it ideal background music for restaurants hoping to create a laid-back vibe.

Playlists with a slow tempo cultivate a relaxing and tranquil atmosphere. Restaurant music for an upscale and refined dining experience tend to use slower tempo music as they are less concerned with customer volume and more concerned with maximizing the experience. Studies in consumer behavior show that lower BPM songs will cause people to eat and drink more slowly, which can be used to increase bar sales and produce higher average tickets during dinner shifts.

If you’re looking to add some energy to your restaurant, music with an upbeat tempo will do the trick. Up-tempo music will cause people to eat and drink more quickly, which is great if your goal is to turn tables or add a little extra “fast” to your fast-casual concept. Fast tempo playlists produce an energetic mood with a sense of momentum and pace. This can be a great thing if you are looking to craft a lively and fun backdrop for environments like breweries, pubs, and sports bars.

The more intentional you are about selecting a playlist with the right tempo, the closer you get to creating the best background music for your restaurant.

Volume

Another thing to keep in mind when deciding on music for restaurants is volume. It should be loud enough to be heard, but not so loud that it becomes intrusive or annoying. Instead, aim for a volume that is just loud enough to be noticed but not so loud that it takes over the room.

The optimal volume for your restaurant music will change based on the time of day. As your dining room gets busier, you’ll probably want to turn up the music a bit to make sure it can be heard over the ambient crowd noise. As things start to wind down, though, you’ll want to lower the volume to a more comfortable level.

If you’re not sure what volume to use, consider testing out a few different levels and seeing what works best. Watch your guests and listen to feedback. Do visitors seem to be enjoying the music or are they straining to talk over it? How they react will guide you to the perfect volume for your restaurant music.

When used thoughtfully, music for restaurants can be a powerful marketing tool that will influence your ambiance and the customer experience. By choosing the right songs and using them effectively, you can make your restaurant music and by extension your restaurant more inviting, enjoyable, and successful.

The Best Music for Restaurants Increases Repeat Visits and Supports Brand Identity

The ambiance you create with background music for restaurants goes beyond just setting the mood – it can also have psychological benefits that contribute to your guests’ overall dining experience. For example, restaurant music can help guests relax and focus on their meal, evoke emotions, stimulate senses and cause them to form positive psychological associations from dining with you.

Soundtrack Fosters Community

Background music for restaurants can foster a sense of community. By setting the scene in your dining room, restaurant music has the power to connect people. By listening to music, we can connect with others who share our taste in music.

This mutual love of music can help foster a sense of community spirit and happiness. Happy customers are more likely to leave positive online reviews and return for future visits. In fact, a recent study found that 70% of diners said that music is an important factor in their decision to return to a restaurant.

So whether you’re looking to create a romantic ambiance or encourage your guests to let loose and have fun, the right mix of tunes for your restaurant music can make all the difference.

How Does Background Music for Restaurants Impact Employees?

Any restauranteur can agree that for a restaurant to function properly, it needs employees that are motivated and productive. There are a number of studies that show background restaurant music’s positive impact on employee productivity.

For example, a study by the University of Windsor found that music has a positive effect on workers’ moods, energy levels, and motivation. Another study by the University of Birmingham showed that music can help to increase worker productivity by up to 15 percent.

Background music for restaurants can help foster a more positive and productive work environment for your employees. By choosing the right restaurant music and playing it at the right volume, you can build an atmosphere that is conducive to productivity and focus. If you’re looking to increase employee productivity, consider using SiriusXM Music For Business in your restaurant. It may just be the boost you need to help everyone get the job done.

How SiriusXM Music For Business Can Help With Your Restaurant Music

Restaurant musicSiriusXM Music For Business offers a massive selection of background music for restaurants. The streaming service provides access to over 240+ channels of commercial-free music and over 10,000 Pandora playlists to create the exact sound you need to support your brand. With SiriusXM Music For Business, there is no need to worry about licensing or the complex laws that come with using copyrighted music for restaurants.

With SiriusXM Music For Business, you get the best restaurant music for a low monthly rate with all of the licensing fees included in the subscription price.

Sign up for SiriusXM Music For Business

To use SiriusXM in your restaurant, you will first need to subscribe online or by contacting the music experts at Dynamic Media at 586-684-7050. Once you have done this, you can listen online using the SiriusXM Web Player, SiriusXM Mobile App, Sonos, or by using any SiriusXM-enabled device. You can also listen to the service over a dedicated hardware player.

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