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Music In Restaurants
Music in restaurants acts as a potent tool that enhances the dining experience and creates an inviting ambiance. It plays a critical role in establishing the desired atmosphere, engaging customers, and reflecting the restaurant's unique brand identity. Whether you operate a fine dining establishment, a trendy bar, or a cosy café, the significance of music in the retail mix cannot be overlooked. It is essential to consider the music selection on your premises and develop a sound music strategy. If you’re wondering how it can benefit you and your restaurant, keep reading to find out!

Music is significant in the retail sphere and can bring about numerous advantages. These include:
1. Customers Spend More:
Having music in restaurants increases customers' likelihood of spending money and encourages them to visit more frequently. This becomes particularly beneficial on slower days when it's challenging to fill up tables. The addition of music adds vibrancy to the atmosphere, elevating the overall vibe and attracting more people to the venue.
2. Stops Boredom:
During periods of waiting, whether it's for a table or food to be served, customers can become bored and fixate on the passing time. Incorporating music provides a delightful distraction, diverting their attention away from the wait and allowing them to embrace the present moment
3. Keep Staff Feeling Positive:
Live music has the added benefit of boosting the morale of your employees. When employees feel good, they can genuinely enjoy their work shifts, resulting in a higher level of job satisfaction and motivation.
4. Grants Guests Privacy:
The absence of music in a restaurant can create discomfort for customers, as they may feel self-conscious about their conversations being overheard by neighbouring tables. Additionally, the sounds of cutlery and dishes in the restaurant can detract from the overall dining experience, making it less pleasant to enjoy a meal.
5. Slow Paced Music Increases Sales:
Research indicates that when slow-tempo music is played, customers tend to spend an average of $55.82, whereas with fast music, the average spending decreases to $48.62. This observation suggests that customers may prefer the atmosphere created by slow-tempo music, which potentially influences their willingness to spend more.
How do you successfully play music in your restaurant?
1. Appropriate Music for your brand:
If you run a café, bar, diner or restaurant, don’t let just anybody choose which songs should play. The head waiter may like hip-hop, while the cook might be a jazz fan – but before you give in to personal tastes, ask yourself:
Is this the right vibe? Does this music create the right atmosphere? Does it fit with what my brand stands for?
- According to a study, when a restaurant plays classical music instead of pop or top 40, customers are more inclined to select higher-end wines. Additionally, the study revealed that playing French music increases the likelihood of customers choosing French wine, while German music increases the preference for German wine.
- It is crucial to select music that aligns with the overall ambiance of your restaurant. However, it’s also essential to strike a balance by maintaining a common thread in your music choices while also incorporating enough variety to keep the vibe fresh.
- Loud music with a fast tempo tends to prompt diners to eat more quickly. However, it is also associated with reduced enjoyment of food and potentially a decreased appetite.
- Soft music with a slower beat, on the other hand, encourages diners to slow down their eating pace and linger longer at the table. This may result in fewer table turnovers. Furthermore, diners in this environment typically tend to order more.
- High notes in music are generally linked to and can intensify the perception of sweetness in food. Resonating notes, on the contrary, can evoke sensations of bitterness.
- The impact of music tempo on dining speed is backed by research, indicating that faster-paced music tends to make people eat more quickly. However, it is crucial to note that the goal is not to make guests feel rushed.
- In small restaurants that rely on high turnover for profitability, faster-paced music can subtly encourage a quicker dining experience.
- While there is no definitive rule regarding tempo, it is important to consider how it affects guest behaviour. The choice of dinner music tempo should align with the desired effect on guests, taking into account the type of restaurant, whether it is a 5-star establishment, a casual diner, or something in between.
- For example, one study showed that younger people are more prone to linger when music is louder while older people will stick around in places where the music is just in the background.
- For a typical restaurant, maintaining a noise level of around 70 decibels, which includes both ambient sound and conversation, is considered ideal. Bars, on the other hand, can handle a slightly higher range of 75 to 80 decibels comfortably.
- Incorporating music into restaurants offers numerous benefits. It enhances the dining experience and creates an inviting atmosphere.
- Music has the power to influence customer behaviour, such as dining speed and spending habits. It can also improve employee morale and productivity.
- Selecting the right music genres, tempos, and volumes according to the restaurant's concept and target audience is crucial for maximising these benefits. By leveraging the power of music, restaurants can elevate their ambiance, attract and retain customers, and ultimately contribute to their overall success.
Illustrated with an example: For a cosy Italian trattoria, curate a playlist that encompasses a mix of traditional Italian classics, smooth jazz, and romantic ballads. This selection will help maintain an authentic Italian ambiance while adding a touch of sophistication and creating a soothing atmosphere for diners to enjoy their meals.

2. The Type of Music:
According to research conducted at the University of Oxford, the findings suggest that:
Hour of the day
While it may be recommended to select slower-tempo music during the peak dinner hours (6:00 - 8:00 pm) to create a relaxed atmosphere for customers, Happy Hour (4:00 - 6:00 pm) presents an opportunity to introduce livelier music with a slightly higher volume.
Additionally, research suggests that increasing the volume of music during this time frame may contribute to a higher number of drink purchases within a given period.
As the dinner service winds down (8:00 - 10:00 p.m.), a gradual increase in tempo, while keeping the volume unchanged from the earlier prime time, can assist servers in smoothly concluding the service and accommodating the last seating for the night.

3. Right Volume, Speed and Tempo:
The effects of volume are not as straightforward as they are with pace and genre. Age and gender impact people’s preferences when it comes to volume.
Did you know we naturally absorb approximately 0.3db of sound just by being in the room?
This implies that when your restaurant is crowded, you can slightly increase the volume to accommodate the higher capacity. Conversely, when the venue is less crowded, you can adjust the volume accordingly and bring it down a notch.