For most restaurants, music is an overlooked cost that is both higher and riskier than it should be.
The National Restaurant Association estimates that owners and operators pay an average of $4,500 per year to license music. In an industry where margins are tight and every decision matters, that number deserves attention.
Yet for many operators, music remains a blind spot. It runs in the background, but the cost, compliance risk and operational impact are often misunderstood or overlooked entirely.
The reality is simple: What you’re using today is likely costing you more than it needs to. It also may not be compliant.
A Cost Few Fully Understand
Music licensing has become one of the most confusing line items in brick-and-mortar businesses. There are multiple Performing Rights Organizations (PROs), overlapping fees and unclear rules around what qualifies as legal use.
Even experienced operators struggle to navigate it. Some end up paying for redundant licenses. Others assume they’re covered when they’re not.
This lack of clarity tends to play out in two ways: businesses either overpay, or they absorb risk without realizing it. Neither is a position you want to find yourself in.
The Compliance Gap
Research shows that 79 percent of businesses use consumer streaming services that are not licensed for commercial use.
It’s an easy mistake to make. A Spotify or Apple Music subscription feels like a complete solution, but in reality, those services are built for personal use, not public spaces.
Using them in a restaurant is the legal equivalent of running a movie theater with a Netflix account. It exposes businesses to fines, back payments and reputational risk.
This isn’t about technicalities. It’s about operating with confidence and knowing that your business is protected.
Why Some Are Turning Music Off
Faced with rising costs and unclear rules, some operators are choosing to turn music off altogether. It feels like the safest option.
In reality, removing music changes the experience in ways that are easy to underestimate. Atmosphere shifts. Energy drops. Staff engagement often takes a hit.
Music isn’t just background noise. It shapes how long guests stay, how they feel and how they remember your brand.
Avoiding the issue doesn’t remove risk. It simply trades one problem for another.
A Smarter, Simpler Approach
But there is a more reliable path forward. Streaming platforms designed for commercial use offer a clear, compliant and often more cost-effective alternative. Licensing is built in. There’s no guesswork, no overlap and no need to manage multiple agreements.
For operators, this creates a one-stop solution that aligns with how restaurants actually run.
These platforms also bring practical tools that support day-to-day operations. You can filter explicit songs, schedule playlists for different times of day and tailor music across zones within your venue.
This is where music becomes more than a cost. It becomes something you can control and use intentionally.
The Business Impact
When music is aligned with your brand and your environment, it drives measurable results.
In one global restaurant chain example, sales increased by 9.1 percent when guests heard a curated mix that matched the brand and the space, compared to a playlist of random hits. This statistic was pulled from analyzing 1.8 million transactions.
That kind of lift doesn’t come from overthinking. It comes from getting the fundamentals right and using tools built for the job.
Bringing Music Into Focus
Music deserves the same level of attention as any other line item on your P&L statement. It’s part of your guest experience, brand and operational foundation.
The goal is not to make things more complicated. It’s to bring clarity to something that’s been unnecessarily complex for too long.
When you have the right setup, you reduce cost, remove compliance risk and create a more consistent experience for your guests and your team.
In a business that depends on precision and consistency, that’s not a small win. It’s a reliable advantage.
Ola Sars is a Stockholm-based serial music tech entrepreneur and 2024 Billboard International Power Player. He is the founder and CEO of Soundtrack Technologies, the leading music streaming service for businesses. Originally founded as a joint effort with Spotify, Sars has transformed Soundtrack into the only global B2B streaming service of its kind servicing over 80,000 businesses across 74 countries with a music catalog of more than 100 million tracks cleared for commercial use. Sars is an established thought leader with international influence including speaking at the Global Tech Conference and Djooky Music Investment Summit and has been featured in top-tier business and music publications and podcasts, including Bloomberg, Music Business Worldwide, TechCrunch, Billboard, International Business Times, Forbes and Business Insider, among others.
