<-
Back to all posts
Exclusive Insight: The Power of Background Music in Hospitality

Exclusive Insight: The Power of Background Music in Hospitality

Written by

Abbie Dawson

Published

September 1, 2025

Our new whitepaper provides exclusive insight into the use of background music in hospitality.

Hospitality is an exciting and ever-evolving industry that we’re so proud to work with. From restaurants to hotels, pubs to high end bars, we work with some of the biggest and best across the sector to help them amplify their brands.

That’s why we are excited to launch our new whitepaper: Sound Decisions: The Role of Background Music in Hospitality

This whitepaper offers fresh insight into how background music can boost atmosphere, customer experience, staff morale, sales, and brand identity. 

What’s inside?

From the history and trends of background music, to the challenges and benefits it presents, we’re taking a deep dive into music and how it’s used on the ground today. From staff preferences interfering with branded playlists, to achieving a consistent atmosphere across multiple sites, background music - like any technology - has its difficulties. But the clear impact it can have on brand perception, customer experience, and the lesser-understood customer behaviour and spend have operators agreeing that it’s an essential tool for their business.

An example page from our new whitepaper, displaying how businesses are using music

How did we research?

We conducted a series of interviews with key industry leaders across casual dining, high-end restaurants, quick-service restaurants (QSRs), competitive socialising and food halls, aiming to identify patterns and draw useful insights on the use of background music from their responses. We’ve combined this with further research into the hospitality industry to build a full picture of the trends, challenges and future landscape.

Ready to give it a read? Just download the report.

Frequently asked questions.

We conducted a series of interviews with key industry leaders across casual dining, high-end restaurants, quick-service restaurants (QSRs), competitive socialising and food halls, aiming to identify patterns and draw useful insights on the use of background music from their responses. We’ve combined this with further research into the hospitality industry to build a full picture of the trends, challenges and future landscape.

Share this post

LinkedIn
Facebook
X
Email icon

Like what you hear?

Ready to amplify your brand? Get in touch to find out how we can use music and tech to help you achieve your goals.

Request information

Explore our audio branding services.

Elevate your brand with strategic music solutions, designed to build an impactful audio experience.

More on Audio Branding

Explore our visual branding services.

Elevate your brand with strategic visual solutions, from digital signage to branded TV, designed to build an impactful experience.

More on Visual Branding

Your support, your way.

Proactive account management, free player replacements, end-to-end support… our Relentless Support™ team are just that - relentless.

More on Support

Ready to amplify your retail brand?

Get in touch to find out how we can use music and tech to help you achieve your goals.

More for Retail

Ready to amplify your hospitality brand?

Find out more about how we can use music and tech to help you achieve your goals.

More for Hospitality
Abbie Dawson profile photo

Abbie Dawson

After spending years executing marketing activity for everything from water bottles to mortgages, Abbie was ready to take a step closer to her goal of working with a brand with music in its DNA. Enter: Startle. With a bachelors degree in Marketing and a Marketing Week Mini MBA in Marketing, she is in charge of our marketing activity, making sure to spread the word of Startle to as many brands as possible. When Abbie’s not working, you'll find her vinyl shopping to add to her collection or in the gym picking up heavy things or making enemies with a punching bag.

Say hello on LinkedIn

Like what you hear?

Ready to amplify your brand? Get in touch to find out how we can use music and tech to help you achieve your goals.

Request information

Explore our audio branding services.

Elevate your brand with strategic music solutions, designed to build an impactful audio experience.

More on Audio Branding

Explore our visual branding services.

Elevate your brand with strategic visual solutions, from digital signage to branded TV, designed to build an impactful experience.

More on Visual Branding

Your support, your way.

Proactive account management, free player replacements, end-to-end support… our Relentless Support™ team are just that - relentless.

More on Support

Ready to amplify your retail brand?

Find out more about how we can use music and tech to help you achieve your goals.

More for Retail

Ready to amplify your hospitality brand?

Find out more about how we can use music and tech to help you achieve your goals.

More for Hospitality

More to explore.

Contact us.

Get in touch to speak to our team who are ready to help you amplify your brand. We’d love to hear from you.

  • Number of locations *

UK

Startle Technologies Limited
6 Hillside Farm, Pepper Hill
Great Amwell, SG12 9FX, UK
+44 (0) 203 397 7676

Europe

Startle Technologies Limited
3015 Lake Drive
Dublin, D24 DKP4, Ireland
+353 1 697 2557

Americas

Startle International Inc
228 Park Ave S, PMB 88380
New York, NY 10003, USA
+1 646-585-0165