The silly season is almost upon us, and right on cue, everyone is preparing to eat, drink, and be merry. For hospitality vendors the Christmas and New Year time frame represents one of the busiest and most profitable periods of the year. There are end of year corporate Christmas parties and social gatherings galore, but savvy operators know there’s an art to attracting high-volume Christmas party bookings year after year, and the secret is all in the small details.

From bars to cafes, high-end restaurants to casual bistros, hospitality managers who take the time to create the right setting, ambience, and a whole lot of buzz with music as their centrepiece are rewarded with heaving venues come Christmas and New Year. 

In this article:

• Why does music matter?
• Get your venue pumping 
• Music licenses
• Matching to the venue 
• The classics 

Why does music matter?

Preparing for the festive season isn’t as straightforward as popping on the full Michael Bublé and Mariah Carey Christmas catalogue. Though hospitality vendors may put a lot of thought into decorating their venue for the silly season, music rarely warrants a second thought. Science tells us why this is a mistake: studies prove that background music unequivocally evokes specific positive emotions in diners and affects their eating behaviour.

The right song can make a huge difference in keeping customers coming back - and when it’s time to celebrate, music is the key ingredient to getting the party started. One survey found that 61% of customers will visit a bar or restaurant just for the music, and 79% will stay longer if good music is playing. On the flipside, research found that 90% of customers have said music in a restaurant or bar has driven them to leave in the past or vow never to return. 

In a hospitality setting, music’s link to how the brain processes memory powerfully influences diners’ menu choices. It can enhance diners’ enjoyment of fine wines and induce them to stay longer and spend more. Soft music causes diners to linger over meals, while classical music puts them in the mood to splash the cash. 

There are so many components that contribute to a great dining experience, but outside of the obvious, like food and service, intangibles like music exert an outsize invisible influence over customers’ overall experience. Though music is a highly personal choice, a venue without music is perceived as dull and lifeless. Bad music, on the other hand, has the potential to distract and detract from the customer experience. 

Get your venue pumping with the perfect Christmas party playlist

A well-chosen playlist can do wonders to elevate your customers’ hospitality experience however, there are some key caveats to follow:

Rule 1 - Make sure you have a music license

Venues need to ensure they have permission to blast out the Christmas carols of their choice. Even if you subscribe to a music streaming service like Apple Music or Spotify, you still need a license to be able to play music in a commercial or public setting like a cafe, bar, or restaurant.

Creative works, including music, are governed by the Copyright Act, which considers music to be the intellectual property of the music creator. Obtaining a music license is a quick and easy way to stay compliant with regulations and enable creators to be fairly compensated for their work.

The majority of commercially released music worldwide, including music frequently heard on radio, streaming services, and TV, is legally accessible via a music license. Venues can use the vast repertoire of these works to compile the ultimate on-brand playlist for Christmas.

Rule 2 - Match the music to the venue

Choosing the right song is important: one consumer study found that sales increased by 9.1% when restaurants played a carefully selected mix of hit songs and obscure tracks specifically chosen to fit their brand. In contrast, sales plummeted by 4.3% when restaurants played a random playlist compared to having no music on at all.

Whether the venue is a Caribbean themed bar or a fine dining restaurant, customers expect the venue’s music to match its brand and decor. One experiment confirmed that playing French music triggered customers to buy more French wine while playing German music led them to buy more German wine.

Think about the mood you are trying to convey and choose the appropriate genre to set the theme for patrons. Volume and tempo matter here too - fast music encourages diners to eat faster which increases table turnover while loud music causes customers to buy more drinks. 

Rule 3 - Don’t overdo the Christmas classics

Music might be instrumental in dictating customers’ moods, but spare a thought for your staff, too. It also has a direct impact on productivity, and being forced to listen to the same playlist day in and day out could have a detrimental effect on job satisfaction and performance. 

These days, it's easy to find scores of versions of well-known Christmas tunes to match your brand and style, so you can steer clear of the overplayed classics. Venues can - and should - mix things up to keep the festive playlist fresh and never boring. While there are no hard and fast rules, opt to play a festive song every third song or go for a 60:40 split to prevent Christmas songs from taking over entirely.

Festive music should be uplifting and fun, but that doesn’t mean venues should start pumping out carols in mid-November. Christmas fatigue is real, and studies show that most people aren’t even ready to do their Christmas shopping till 1 December, which means that festive tracks played too early will stress them out instead of encouraging them to spend big.

So feel free to arm up with a killer playlist this festive season, but don’t start too soon!

To learn more about how to get your music license in a few easy steps, visit One Music.