Best Playlists for Restaurants

Walk into a restaurant and the first thing that registers usually isn’t the menu or the décor. It’s the music playing in the background. That soundtrack sets the pace of service, shapes conversation, and affects how long guests choose to stick around, which makes picking the right playlist just as deliberate a decision as building the wine list.

That’s worth taking seriously, and the research backs it up. Here’s what studies actually show about music and spending, which playlists are performing best in restaurants right now, and how to match music to the way a specific restaurant runs, whether that’s a counter-service lunch spot or a white-tablecloth dining room.

What the Research Says About Music and Spend

The connection between music and restaurant sales isn’t marketing folklore, sources back it up:

A 1986 study in the Journal of Consumer Research: researcher Ronald Milliman tracked a real restaurant’s dinner service under slow-tempo and fast-tempo music. Diners stayed noticeably longer under the slower soundtrack, with average dinner duration going from 45 minutes to 56 minutes, roughly a 24% increase, and that extra time showed up directly in higher alcohol sales.
A study in Psychology & Marketing: diners under slow-tempo music stayed close to 14 minutes longer than those who heard faster tracks.
A 2024 field experiment published in the journal Behavioral Sciences: reproduced the effect in a modern restaurant setting, with the slow-tempo group staying the longest of any condition tested.
A 2023 study from BMI and the National Research Group: close to 80% of guests said they would stay longer in a restaurant with music they enjoyed, and about 60% said they’d order more food and drinks to keep listening. Roughly half said they would leave altogether if the music was wrong.

That last figure is the one worth sitting with. The wrong soundtrack doesn’t just underperform. It can cost a restaurant the guest.

Top Restaurant Playlists by Genre

Restaurants come in all shapes and flavors, from Italian trattorias to modern gastropubs, casual diners, and fine dining establishments. No single playlist fits every situation, which is why many operators look to curated music for restaurants to find the right fit. SoundMachine offers a variety of stations designed specifically for restaurants. Here are ten of the top picks, based on real listening data across restaurants, and how you can use them to match your atmosphere.

1. 70s-80s Rock

Rock classics are near-universal crowd-pleasers, the kind of background music that feels approachable rather than demanding attention. This station’s broad, era-spanning familiarity is exactly why it holds the top spot in current listening data, guests recognize the tracks instantly, which plays well across multi-generational tables. It’s a strong fit for casual, nostalgia-driven dining rooms. Featured artists include Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, and Queen.

Sample track: “Any Way You Want It,” Journey

2. Pop

Pop is the safest bet for casting the widest possible net. It’s upbeat, current-leaning, and instantly recognizable, which keeps energy up without alienating a broad crowd. Family diners, brunch cafes, and trendy urban eateries tend to get the most out of it, since the genre refreshes constantly and rarely feels dated. Featured artists include ZAYN, Ariana Grande, and Shawn Mendes.

Sample track: “thank u, next,” Ariana Grande

3. 70s and 80s Feel Good Megahits

This station leans hard into nostalgia, built around songs guests already know by heart, which lowers the odds that any single track feels out of place. It suits lighthearted, convivial spaces particularly well, an Italian family restaurant where the laughter is as loud as the music, or a retro-themed diner leaning into the golden years. Featured artists include The Emotions, Peter Frampton, and Chaka Khan.

Sample track: “I’m Every Woman,” Chaka Khan

4. Country

Country has long been paired with food, gatherings, and storytelling, and it holds a consistent pull in casual dining and bar settings, particularly outside major metro areas. It’s a natural match for BBQ joints, roadside diners, and other comfort-food spots aiming for a relaxed, welcoming vibe. Featured artists include Blake Shelton, Kacey Musgraves, and Tim McGraw.

Sample track: “Humble and Kind,” Tim McGraw

5. Frank Sinatra – Artist Radio

This station isn’t Sinatra alone, it blends his voice with other crooners and jazz greats from the same era into one smooth, sophisticated mix. A single-artist anchor like this gives a room an upscale, consistent mood without needing a full genre change, which makes it a strong fit for fine dining, steakhouses, and cocktail lounges where dinner is meant to feel like an occasion. Featured artists include Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Tony Bennett.

Sample track: “Fly Me to the Moon,” Frank Sinatra

6. Pop Rock

Pop rock sits between pop and rock, a slightly higher-energy option for rooms that want more drive without losing accessibility. It’s versatile enough to work across fast-casual eateries and modern bistros, especially during a lunch service that needs energy without tipping into intensity. Featured artists include ZAYN, The Vamps, and Maggie Rogers.

Sample track: “Alaska,” Maggie Rogers

7. Smooth Jazz Instrumentals

With no lyrics to compete with conversation, this station is a natural fit for quieter, upscale dining. It works well in fine dining rooms, wine bars, and anywhere the atmosphere leans toward calm sophistication, particularly during evening service when guests want an elegant soundtrack that doesn’t demand attention. Featured artists include Joe Sample, Boney James, and Peter White.

Sample track: “Butter,” Boney James

8. Soul

Soul brings warm, mid-tempo energy that carries well through lunch and into early dinner service. It resonates across generations in a way few genres do, which makes it a strong choice for brunch cafes and neighborhood eateries built around community and connection. Featured artists include Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, and Otis Redding.

Sample track: “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” Aretha Franklin

9. 80s Pop

Retro without feeling dated, 80s pop is one of three explicitly decade-based stations in the current top ten, which says a lot about how well nostalgia performs in this vertical. It fits playful, upbeat brand identities well, burger joints, pizza parlors, and other casual concepts looking for a charmingly retro energy. Featured artists include Lipps Inc., Queen, and Olivia Newton-John.

Sample track: “Funkytown,” Lipps Inc.

10. 90s-10s Adult Contemporary

This station covers three decades of radio favorites, striking a balance between recognizable pop hits and mellow rock ballads. That range makes it a safe default for restaurants serving a wide mix of ages, modern enough to hold a younger diner’s attention without running too loud for an older one. Featured artists include Ed Sheeran, Sia, and Maroon 5.

Sample track: “Chandelier,” Sia

Matching Music to Restaurant Type

Genre is only the surface. The more useful question is what job the music needs to do in a specific restaurant, since that changes with the pace of service, the acoustics of the room, and how long guests are meant to stick around. For a broader walkthrough of matching genre to concept, including how this plays out for a cuisine-specific space like an Italian restaurant, see our guide on how to choose the best music for your restaurant.

Restaurant Type	Primary Genres	Tempo	Volume	Example Stations
Quick Service and Fast Casual	Pop, feel-good indie, light R&B	Mid to fast	Moderate, above kitchen noise	Top Pop, Amped Pop
Full-Service and Fine Dining	Adult contemporary through jazz and classical	Slows as the room gets more formal	Moderate down to very low	Adult Contemporary, Jazz Dinner
Bars, Pubs and Sports Venues	Alternative, classic rock, upbeat country	Mid to fast	Moderate to high, ducked under broadcast audio	Alternative, Rock Party
Cafes and Coffee Shops	Acoustic, soft jazz, chill alternative	Slow in the morning, more energy by midday	Low throughout	Acoustic Cafe, Chill Alternative Rock

Music for Quick Service and Fast Casual Restaurants

In a counter-service restaurant, music has a direct effect on how the line feels. Upbeat, mid-to-fast tempo tracks (think modern pop, feel-good indie, and light R&B) keep energy high and make a wait feel shorter, which matters more here than almost anywhere else since guests are standing, not seated. Volume should sit above the noise of a busy kitchen without forcing anyone to raise their voice to order.

Top Pop (“24K Magic,” Bruno Mars)
Amped Pop (“Dear Maria, Count Me In,” All Time Low)
Energetic Pop (“Party in the U.S.A.,” Miley Cyrus)
Fun Pop (“Boom Clap,” Charli XCX)
Pop Dance (“Don’t Start Now,” Dua Lipa)

Music for Full-Service Restaurants and Fine Dining

Full-service restaurants span the widest range of any category, from a neighborhood bistro to a formal tasting-menu dining room. The right approach is a gradient: as a restaurant gets more upscale, three things tend to shift together, tempo slows, lyrics thin out in favor of instrumentals, and volume drops so conversation stays effortless.

A casual bistro sits comfortably with acoustic pop and soft rock at a moderate volume. A white-tablecloth dining room usually needs something quieter, like jazz, classical, or ambient instrumentals low enough that guests only notice it if it stops.

Acoustic Pop, casual bistro (“Stitches,” Shawn Mendes)
Chill Pop, relaxed bistro (“Don’t Know Why,” Norah Jones)
Adult Contemporary – Mix 60s-80s, mid-range (“Dreams,” Fleetwood Mac)
Jazz Dinner, upscale (“Dream a Little Dream of Me,” Ella Fitzgerald)
Classical – Piano, formal fine dining (“Clair de Lune,” Debussy)

Music for Bars, Pubs and Sports Venues

Bars are the one format where music competes with something else for attention, whether that’s a game on six screens or the noise of the crowd itself. The fix most operators miss is ducking, automatically lowering the music when a broadcast feed is active instead of turning it off completely or fighting it at full volume.

When music is the main event, classic rock, pop anthems, and upbeat country consistently perform well, since they hold up in a loud, high-energy room without needing anyone’s full attention.

Alternative (“Carry Me Home,” Royal & the Serpent)
Rock Party (“Give It Away,” Red Hot Chili Peppers)
Rock Throwback (“Sweet Home Alabama,” Lynyrd Skynyrd)
Fun Country (“Chicken Fried,” Zac Brown Band)
Country Dance (“Chattahoochee,” Alan Jackson)

Music for Cafes and Coffee Shops

Cafes see the least consistent crowd of any restaurant type over a single day, which makes one static playlist the wrong approach. A morning crowd working quietly or grabbing an early coffee responds well to slow, mellow acoustic and soft jazz at low volume.

That same room at midday, filled with a lunch crowd and more conversation, can handle a bit more tempo and volume without losing the relaxed feel that makes a cafe a cafe.

Acoustic Cafe, morning (“You Let Me Walk Alone,” Michael Schulte)
Jazzy Calm Cafe, morning (“The Girl from Ipanema,” Stan Getz)
Indie Folk, late morning (“Emmylou,” First Aid Kit)
60s Bossa Nova, midday (“Corcovado (Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars),” Antonio Carlos Jobim)
Chill Alternative Rock, midday (“Budapest,” George Ezra)

The Parts of a Music Strategy Most Guides Skip

Picking the right genre gets a restaurant most of the way there. The operators who get the most out of background music treat it as something to manage, not something to set once and forget.

Day-part the playlist. The right music for an 11am lunch rarely works for a 9pm dinner service in the same room. A cafe might open with Smooth Jazz Instrumentals for breakfast, shift to Pop Rock for the lunch rush, and close out the evening with 70s-80s Rock. A fine dining room could pair Frank Sinatra – Artist Radio with dinner service, then switch to Soul for weekend brunch. Scheduling changes in advance means no one has to remember to switch it manually.
Keep every location on the same page. For multi-location restaurants, managing music from one account keeps the brand consistent everywhere, instead of one location drifting toward whatever the manager on shift prefers.
Watch for staff fatigue, not just guest fatigue. Guests hear a playlist for an hour. Staff hear it for an eight-hour shift, five days a week. Rotating between a few approved stations keeps that from quietly wearing on morale.
Bring over what already works. Restaurants that have already built playlists on a personal Spotify or Apple Music account don’t need to start from scratch. Those can be imported into a licensed account and refined from there.
Revisit the data. Listening reports, like the ranking above, show which stations guests actually respond to over time, which beats sticking with whatever was picked on day one.

Why Licensed Music Isn’t Optional

Playing music from a personal streaming account, whether Spotify, Apple Music, or YouTube, in a restaurant counts as a public performance under copyright law. Personal subscriptions are licensed for private, non-commercial use only.

Covering a restaurant properly means licensing through performance rights organizations, or through a commercial provider that already holds those licenses. Skipping this step risks fines that a licensed plan avoids entirely, and it’s worth confirming regardless of which provider a restaurant ends up using.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the type of music actually change how much guests spend?

Yes. Guests spend more and stay longer when the music fits the room, and the effect gets stronger when the music matches the restaurant’s brand instead of just being generically popular.

Can I just play music from my own Spotify or Apple Music account?

No. Personal streaming subscriptions are licensed for private listening only. Using one in a restaurant is a copyright violation, even on a paid plan.

Should every location of a multi-location restaurant use the same playlist?

Not necessarily the same playlist, but the same system. Centralizing music management keeps the brand consistent while still allowing small adjustments for a location’s specific room or crowd.

How often should a restaurant update its playlists?

There’s no fixed schedule, but reviewing listening data every quarter is a reasonable starting point. Day-part scheduling handles the daily and weekly shifts automatically.

How loud should background music be in a restaurant?

It depends on the room, but a commonly used range is 65 to 75 decibels, roughly the volume of normal conversation. Quick-service spots can run toward the higher end to keep energy up, while fine dining rooms usually need it low enough to fade into the background entirely.

References

Milliman, R. E. (1986). “The Influence of Background Music on the Behavior of Restaurant Patrons.” Journal of Consumer Research, 13(2), 286-289. Oxford Academic.

Caldwell, C., & Hibbert, S. (2002). “The Influence of Music Tempo and Musical Preference on Restaurant Patrons’ Behavior.” Psychology & Marketing, 19(11), 895-917. Wiley Online Library.

Field experiment on music tempo, dining duration, tips, and bill amounts in restaurants. Behavioral Sciences, 2024. PubMed Central.

BMI and National Research Group (2023). “New BMI/NRG Study Confirms Consumers Eat, Drink & Spend More When Listening to Music.” bmi.com.