Music that sets the right atmosphere without drawing attention
Your guests barely notice a good background music installation. It is there, it suits the moment, the volume is just right and conversations can carry on as normal. Bad background music does the opposite: too loud, too quiet, the wrong music for the time of day, or a speaker above one table that drowns out everything else.
We design and install background music systems and multi-zone audio for restaurants, hotels, retail, offices and cultural venues. Subtle where it needs to be, dynamic where it helps.
What good background music does
Improves the atmosphere Research by Charles Spence (Oxford) shows that the right background music influences how long people stay, how much they order and how they rate the food. Subtle, but measurable.
Masks background noise A quiet venue where you can only hear the clink of cutlery and the neighbouring table’s conversation often feels more awkward than a venue with soft background music. It takes the pressure out of the room.
Suits the moment Brunch music on a Sunday morning is different from dinner music on a Tuesday, and different again from Friday-evening cocktail hours. With scenes and automatic daily schedules it follows along without your staff having to touch any controls.
Multi-zone audio: one system, multiple atmospheres
A typical hospitality venue has several spaces that can each have their own atmosphere. Multi-zone audio makes that possible without separate installations for every room.
Example for a restaurant:
- Dining room: calm dinner music, volume adjusted to how busy it is
- Terrace: more upbeat, a little louder in the afternoon, softer after 22:00
- Lounge: lounge music with a DJ connection for weekends
- Bar: energetic, a little louder, with an optional DJ set
- Toilets and corridor: subtle background, fixed music
All from one central matrix, controlled with a single touch panel or tablet. A different source, volume and schedule for each zone.
Streaming and music sources
We work smoothly with the streaming services most used in hospitality:
- Soundtrack Your Brand: recommended for commercial hospitality use, BUMA/Stemra-compliant, curated by professional music curators
- Spotify: fine for atmosphere, but use commercial Spotify (business) for BUMA/Stemra compliance
- Internet radio: a range of stations you can plug in
- Local sources: DJ connection, microphones for announcements, external audio players
Who it's for
- Restaurants with several atmospheres or a terrace
- Hotels with a lobby, bar, restaurant, conference rooms and in-room audio
- Beach clubs with several bars and zones
- Retail for central music distribution to several departments or branches
- Offices for communal areas, lobbies and staff restaurants
- Cultural venues for the foyer, café and exhibition spaces
Frequently asked questions
For a simple café with one main space: one zone is enough. For venues with several rooms used in different ways (dining room and terrace, bar and lounge, or several floors): multi-zone isn’t a luxury, it’s the difference between “it works” and “it doesn’t”.
Not for commercial use. For BUMA/Stemra compliance you need a business streaming licence such as Soundtrack Your Brand, or a commercial Spotify licence. We’ll advise on what suits your situation.
A fixed multi-zone installation starts at around €3,000. The price depends on your space and what you want, such as the number of zones and the controls. Request a guide price after a site visit.
Yes. Each zone can have its own source (its own Soundtrack account, its own Spotify stream, its own internet radio). You can have brunch jazz in the dining room and deep house on the terrace at the same time.
A simple multi-zone installation is finished in 2 to 5 days. With new cabling and acoustic work, allow 1 to 2 weeks.
Yes. As standard we install a touch panel on site and can also set up an app on a tablet or phone. Handy for the manager, who can then also check remotely whether there are any problems.
With DANTE-based installations, expanding is simple. Run a cable to the central matrix, configure it in software, done. No major works or new wiring through existing rooms.
Yes. We often fit zones with a DJ input so that for a special evening you can plug in a DJ deck without any cable hassle. Including switching between background music and DJ set at the press of a scene button.