5 minute read

Without doubt, creating the right atmosphere and ambience is a skill which can transform an ordinary night out into a great night out. While the elements of décor, lighting, and menu play significant roles, an often overlooked yet absolutely key ingredient is your background music. Get this key ingredient right in your venue and you can watch it weave a kind of magic where mere background noise transforms to become the heartbeat of your venue.

 “Music is the strongest form of magic”.

Marilyn Manson

Setting the mood:

Background music sets the stage for your customers and their experience in your venue. The right tunes can evoke emotions, create a sense of belonging and set the perfect ambiance for any occasion. Whether it’s a lively Friday night with friends, a cozy date, or a few jars with mates at the local, music adapts and embraces the crowd’s vibe, making everyone feel something. We all know a song which when we hear it played, it takes us back to a time and place evoking strong emotional connections. Thats the magic of music!

 A memorable first impression

First impressions matter and background music is the melodic handshake that greets your customers. As they walk through the door, the right music engages, puts an arm around them and gently coax’s them into your world, leaving the outside world behind. Great atmosphere and ambience is a hook that keeps customers coming back for more. And a well thought out and balanced background music policy will be instrumental in presenting a venue customers don’t want to leave.

 “The amazing thing about music is there’s a song for every emotion”.

Harry Styles

When Art Becomes Science:

Beyond the ‘melodic handshake’ and creating the right ambience in a venue, background music is also a key business tool playing a major role in influencing customer behaviour including their spending habits!

With countless studies conducted over many years, there is now a wealth of hard evidence supporting the statement that music really can be used to engineer consumer behaviour. More on that below.

Enhancing social connections:

Music has the ability to bring people together. In the bar or pub setting it can often spark conversations, laughter, and camaraderie, often turning strangers into friends. The shared experience of music fosters a sense of community, where memories are created, and bonds are strengthened, making your venue a place where customers return, not just for drinks, but for the feeling of belonging.

Optimizing the customer experience:

Background music sets the tempo of your establishment too! Subtly influencing the pace at which customer enjoy their drinks and meals. Upbeat tunes invigorate, encouraging lively conversations and increased social engagement, while mellow melodies provide a soothing backdrop for intimate moments and relaxation. By curating the right playlists, you can deliver the perfect ambience for your customers.

“Jazz is not dead, it just smells funny”

Frank Zappa.

 The competitive advantage:

In a competitive market, setting yourself apart from the competition is vital. Background music is an excellent differentiator that allows your venue to stand out from the crowd. By having your own signature sound, you create a unique identity that resonates with your target audience. It’s true that the right tunes can be the feature which keeps your customers staying longer, but did you know, music can also influence there buying behaviour. There are many well-known studies focussed on music and behaviour and the findings of most interest to us from a business perspective are…

  • Tweaked appropriately, music can regulate the speed at which customers consume food and drink. Subtly increasing the tempo and volume of your background music will speed up drinkers and diners, whilst slowing things down a little will likewise slow consumption.
  • Certain genres of music with a more decadent vibe have been shown to increase customer spend, with customer having a far greater tendency to purchase more premium brands.

Two important findings to consider when tailoring your music to your customers likes and your business needs. Like everything it’s a balancing act. But get it right and you’re creating a place, a refuge where your customers can escape the outside world, even if it’s just for the time it takes them to down a pint!

 “Music is life. That why our hearts have beats”.

Jon York.

Adapting to the moment:

Whether it’s, ‘tell me why I don’t like Mondays’ or ‘easy like Sunday morning’, background music is a flexible tool and with some thought and tinkering it can effortlessly adapt to the setting and indeed as mentioned above, also go some way to engineering the social setting, your customers buying behaviour and the clientele you want in your venue.

By scheduling changes to your background music genre and tempo, you can broaden the appeal of your venue to a larger audience. From setting the right ambiance for a cozy Sunday brunch to transforming your pub into something more vibrant at weekends. The versatility of background music allows you to cater to a diverse clientele and maximize your establishment’s potential.

In conclusion, the significance of creating great ambience in pubs and bars using background music as the major hook cannot be underestimated. It breathes life, energy, and soul into your establishment. In doing so, enriching the customer experience, loyalty and most importantly, adding to your bottom line!

“Let the music play” Annon.