Music can be a game-changer for your business. By picking the right mix or channel, you can accomplish different business objectives. Certain types of music can influence customer behavior, like how long people stay in a restaurant.
Consider these two situations: If you own or manage a quick service restaurant, you want to get as many people in as possible and want a high amount of dining turnover. Sit down establishments want to keep people longer, increasing check totals for every minute longer a person stays. Music can also relax customers while they’re waiting for service – a definite perk if you’re a little behind! It also affects employees’ mood, morale, and productivity.
The benefits of playing music within a venue are obvious and extensive. But there are a couple legal considerations you must look into before you turn up the volume and blast your favorite artists.
The same music over and over again can be annoying for customers, and definitely employees. As such, you must determine a mechanism for constantly playing fresh music that follows a certain theme. Services like Spotify or Pandora seem like a great solution, but they’re not suitable for commercial purposes.
The problem with playing music from services like Spotify or Pandora is that a single user is only supposed to listen to it on their own, or with a group in a non-commercial setting. When you play Spotify or Pandora in a venue, you’re actually breaking the law and may face fines if authorities catch on to these practices.
So why is it that you can’t play Spotify or Pandora in a venue?
On the surface, Spotify, a popular music streaming app, has all the functionality to personalize and curate fresh music. But it’s illegal to use Spotify in a commercial setting because of Mechanical Rights. Put simply, the fact that the music is played in a commercial setting changes the usage situation. You’re distributing the works to a larger audience for the purpose of affecting your business. Upgrading to Premium or another subscription status still doesn’t legally protect usage. It’s still considered “public performance” where the business is achieving a business advantage (more sales, improved customer relations, etc.) without paying fees for usage.
The basic use of Pandora falls under the same usage criterion. The same situation also applies with a CD you may have purchased. Google Play Music and Amazon Prime Music are also out of reach with similar laws protecting usage.
So what’s a business owner to do? You want to provide behavior-affecting music, but certainly don’t want to get sued or pay fees by using music streaming services like Spotify or Pandora. Rights handling organizations activity audit shops, bars and restaurants – you don’t want to be on edge waiting for it to happen!
Mevato’s Music for Business service is made for business owners and managers that can’t play Spotify or Pandora in a venue. This solution allows you to stream high quality music for a low monthly payment that includes proper licensing fees. There are just three simple steps to set up and use Mevato’s Music for Business:
- Connect to your wi-fi network
- Control music and channels with the free app
- Send to speakers in other rooms if desired
Set The Tone Of Your Business
Let music set the tone for your business, and make sure that you don’t compromise your business by following the rules so you don’t get audited and fined. Choose a smart solution that’s easy to control and customize.
If you’re interested in learning more about how Mevato’s Music for Business can help your business, get in touch for a demo!
