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Written by Christine St. Pierre
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Thursday, 07 February 2008 12:29 |
Canned music it’s not. So what can these companies do for your restaurant to create the right sound and ambiance?
When chefs create great dishes, the focus is on how they’ll taste and the visual aspect of the final presentation. But restaurateurs may be leaving something out of the dining experience. “Sound is one of those senses that need to be considered as well,” said Barry Knittel, senior VP of business affairs for DMX Music.
“Before the food is served, customers take in the smell of the restaurant and hear the music, and that sets the atmosphere.” As a follow-up to last month’s article about music licensing and copyright laws, we spoke with three suppliers of music programs to learn about options for using music in your establishment.
We’ve learned, some of us the hard way, that there’s no way around paying for music licensing. The federal copyright law dictates that songwriters must be paid for commercial use of their music. So, you can buy CDs or download songs to your iPod, create play lists and as long as you send your checks to BMI, ASCAP and SESAC (yes, all of them to make sure you’re covered), you’re all set. But do you really have time for that?
At The Fireplace in Brookline, Jim Solomon, chef/owner, recalls buying CDs to play at his restaurant, but it became a hassle when they’d get scratched or stolen. “I faced a constant battle and my pet peeve was that someone would change the CDs so that the music wasn’t right for clientele,” he explained. Then he switched to iPods, thinking it would be easier, but eventually “it got too technologically advanced for me,” he added. Staff would play their iPods and that soon turned into inappropriate music in the restaurant. Although Solomon was paying fees to BMI and ASCAP, it became too time consuming to generate play lists and to make sure that the music was suitable for his restaurant. He opted for a program with Baystate Audio & Media Services. And while Solomon is still in a trial service period, he reports that it’s much easier having the music planned out for him. Since he only plays American music in his restaurant, he can choose music by genre and artist, then customize the energy level for each meal - softer for the lunch crowd, but more upbeat for the after-dinner crowd. And when working with a company such as Baystate Audio, the licensing fees are covered for you, so there are no additional checks to write and worries about the music you’re playing. “It’s cooler than an iPod where you have to pay a buck a song to download,” Solomon added. “And the flexibility they’ve shown has astounded me.”
Meggin Anderson, president of Baystate Audio explained that while it’s great that some restaurateurs are being diligent in paying BMI and ASCAP for the right to play their music, they still have to sit down and figure out what music to play. “Changing and refreshing music often takes a backseat to other things they do,” she said. “With a service like ours, we include the programming, updating music, putting new artists in the libraries, as well as several ways to handle the music, like through satellites.”
Rob Germain, partner at Baystate Audio, added that when you’re using their services, the music is dedicated to this market. “When someone is using an iPod for a restaurant, you can get songs on there that are offensive to customers. And the volume levels jump up and down and someone needs to keep changing the volume,” he explained. “The music in our programs all fall under same realm of volume level.”
Users can have a 15 or 20 channel receiver for their restaurant and customers can have as much control as they want, with Anderson estimating that at about 50/50. “Some want to get in there and pick out each song, some don’t want to spend the time. Everyone runs their business in a different way and we cater to them.” They noted recent requests for a specific style of music in the Boston area - café del mar and Buddha bar - geared to middle age, upper middle class. “The music can be aimed at a certain demographic or location. We find out what our customers’ needs are and can program it track by track,” Germain stated. “This is a tool for restaurant owners to use, and they can speed up table turning by the type of music played.”
Another supplier of music programs is Muzak, and according to Jon Luther, director of audio architecture, “Restaurant owners are our largest client group. They have enough to do in operating their business, so for a nominal fee, perhaps pennies per day, we help with selection of music and equipment.” Muzak provides more than two million songs and 80 broadcast programs, and most subscribers receive programming on their small box via satellite, though other delivery options are available. Account execs are available to help owners decide what type of music they’re looking for to create custom programming, and Luther noted that each restaurant has a slightly different need. By creating programming with no repetition, customizing leasing options and contracts, and covering the licensing fees for performing rights organizations, he explained that Muzak works with customers so they don’t have to worry about their music delivery. “You’re rolling the dice for some pretty heavy fines if you ignore the copyright laws,” he stressed. “There are a lot of options available to you now.”
“We deliver lifestyle music programs,” said DMX’s Knittel. “Our music designers create programs by looking at the subscriber’s clients, learning what they’re trying to do at the restaurant, supporting the food and driving the energy of the restaurant.” The company’s local sales reps work with 30 music designers in the U.S. to create the sound restaurant owners are looking for based on the type of food, age demographic and location. The programs are usually on a 30-day cycle but can be changed anytime with updates via satellite, Internet or disks from DMX. “Decibels in a bar compared to a restaurant should be very different, and that also changes depending on the time of day,” he added. “It defies logic how much restaurateurs have to do and this takes the burden off their back.”
Baystate Audio, Muzak and DMX all have a vast catalogue of music to choose from and all have services available throughout New England. So, if you find that you’re spending too much time creating playlists of music on your iPod or are bored with repetitious CDs, one of these music suppliers may have a solution for you. And that might give you more time to devote to the other needs of your restaurant.
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General Business 
