Owners of hospitality venues spend a lot of time and money setting their venues up with the right aesthetics, beer systems and wine inventory. This is all done with an aim to getting the perfect finished product; however, one element that is often forgotten is the music.
The music that a particular venue plays has a number of effects, including the fact that it helps to influence the type of patrons that the venue gets. Music also affects the demeanour of those patrons and helps them to decide whether or not they will return to the venue. The volume of the music as well as its tonality, length and tempo all affect the patrons’ experience in the venue and can be adjusted to help deliver success.
Venue owners can use music to help identify their business and to distinguish it from an otherwise similar competitor. By creating a distinctive atmosphere within their venue, they can draw in a different kind of customer and influence their behaviour. What pub DJs should get from this is that they should think about what they play as a way to get customers to stay longer and spend more. The exception would be if patrons are at the pub specifically to see the DJ.
Studies show that average spending varies greatly depending on the type of music being played. For example, the results of one study showed that playing classical music resulted in higher spending than other genres like pop or when compared to having no music at all. But this doesn’t mean you should start playing classical music in your Mexican restaurant; be sensitive to the context.
Music’s benefits are not limited to hospitality. Other studies have proven that people tend to shop longer and spend more when there is popular music playing in the background. This is why it is important to understand the usefulness of music as a business tool.
There are more positives to music such as the UK music industry’s claim (backed by research) that employee morale is improved by music. Surveys of over 1,000 small and medium-sized businesses in various industries found that 77 percent of respondents viewed music as effective for improving workplace morale and atmosphere.
Live Music in Australia
The National Live Music Research Study conducted in 2011 by Ernst & Young stated that Australian hospitality venues (such as pubs, restaurants and clubs) that played live music were beneficial for the economy. The study found that 41 million patrons were entertained annually, and $1.21 billion was contributed to the nation’s economy along with 15,000 jobs being created.
If you want to create a better perception of your business and thereby increase your revenue, you need to make use of music. The studies together with the increase in customer spending and the benefits to Australia’s economy should be sufficient evidence of its value.