✧ Free AI music adviser

Restaurant music.
Chosen with your goals in mind.

Describe your restaurant. Get music to try, one useful next step, and the research behind it.

Describe your restaurant and goal — or answer 6 quick questions below.

Higher average check, faster table turnover, or guest loyalty? Add your service hours and music preferences.

or press Tab
0 / 256

Try an example

Or take the quiz

Your goal1 of 6

Three ways to test restaurant music

Cozy dinner

Try an acoustic dinner playlist

What to try
On comparable dinner shifts, try lively acoustic guitar and light hand percussion without jazz or vocals. Compare with your current playlist at the same barely audible volume.
What to measure
Average check per guest, wine orders per guest, and how easily guests can talk.

Research

The field report compared sales with playlists that fit the brand and with silence. Track wine orders in your own test.

Read the HUI & Soundtrack report

Lunch rush

Try a faster lunch playlist

What to try
When guests are waiting for tables, compare your usual acoustic instrumentals with a slightly faster selection on similar lunch shifts. Keep volume, style, and the number of tracks in rotation comparable.
What to measure
Guests served per hour, revenue per available seat-hour, and how easily guests can talk.

Research

In one restaurant experiment, guests stayed for less time with faster music than with the usual playlist. Track revenue separately to see whether faster turnover helps your business.

Read Malcman et al. (2024)

Guided wine tasting

Pause music while the sommelier speaks

What to try
Pause the music when the sommelier speaks. Resume the same playlist at the same volume afterward. Compare with continuous playback on similar tastings, with the same pairing offer and price.
What to measure
How clearly guests hear the sommelier, the share of guests offered a pairing who buy one, and repeat bookings if you can track them.

Research

A review looked at how sound affects attention and food perception. Pausing music during speech is a practical test inspired by that work.

Read Spence et al. (2019)
Get free music advice for your restaurant

Start with the experience

How to choose a music service for restaurants

01

Choose your goal

More spending per guest, smoother peak service, or a more welcoming atmosphere? Pick one priority so you know what to test.

02

Match the room and guests

Use your concept and guest preferences to choose a direction. Check how it feels in the room; an interior style alone does not prove a musical match.

03

Make conversation easy

Listen from several tables during service. Music, voices, equipment and room acoustics all contribute to what guests hear.

Customer experiences

What customers say about Moodby

TrustpilotMoodby TrustScore: 4.5 out of 54.5 out of 5 · 49 reviewsVerified November 10, 2026
5 out of 5 stars
“The variety of atmospheric tracks is impressive”

Adam De Paolis

April 14, 2026Read original ↗
5 out of 5 stars
“The product is exactly what we need.”

Christopher Müller

March 23, 2026View source ↗

Research behind the recommendations

15 + 3 studies
  1. Maria-Angeliki Trompeta et al.A meta-analysis of the effects of music in tourism and hospitality settingsPublished 2022; online 2021. Review coverage: before 1990 and 1990–2019.
  2. Jochen Steffens et al.Junk Food or Haute Cuisine to the Ear? Investigating the Relationship Between Room Acoustics, Soundscape, Non-Acoustical Factors, and the Perceived Quality of RestaurantsPublished 2021.
  3. Merav Malcman et al.How Does Background Music Affect Dining Duration, Tips and Bill Amounts in Restaurants? A Field ExperimentPublished 2024.
  4. Holger Roschk et al.Calibrating 30 Years of Experimental Research: A Meta-Analysis of the Atmospheric Effects of Music, Scent, and ColorPublished 2017; online 2016. Review coverage: 1982–March 2016.
  5. Ori Grossman, Matti RachamimThe impact of background music style on price thresholds for food and beverage productsPublished online 2025; journal issue 2026.
  6. Sven-Olov Daunfeldt and the HUI / SoundtrackThe impact of music in restaurants — HUI/Soundtrack
  7. Yen-Cheng Chen et al.Does Background Music Affect Silent Dining Emotions? An Empirical Study of Restaurants during COVID-19Published 2022. Fieldwork: March–June 2020.
  8. NRG / BMIValue Of Music Research — BMI/NRGPublished July 2022.
  9. Kathleen R. Keeler, Harshad Puranik et al.In sync or out of tune? The effects of workplace music misfit on employeesPublished 2025.
  10. Domenico Sanseverino et al.Dont Stop the Music, Please: The Relationship between Music Use at Work, Satisfaction, and PerformancePublished 2023; online December 2022. Fieldwork: March–May 2022.
  11. Adrian C. NorthWine & Song: The Effect of Background Music on the Taste of Wine
  12. Charles Spence et al.Extrinsic Auditory Contributions to Food Perception & Consumer Behaviour: An Interdisciplinary ReviewPublished 2019.
  13. Lieve Doucé et al.Crossmodal Congruency Between Background Music and the Online Store Environment: The Moderating Role of Shopping GoalsPublished 2022.
  14. Sven-Olov Daunfeldt et al.Effects of employees opportunities to influence in-store music on sales: Evidence from a field experimentFieldwork: July 5, 2016–August 1, 2017; baseline from February 1, 2016.
  15. H. Bruce LammersAn Oceanside Field Experiment on Background Music Effects on the Restaurant TabPublished 2003.

Additional research on staff focus and guest waiting

Questions about music for restaurants

What is the best music for a restaurant?

Start with your guests, concept and service. Compare a coherent musical direction at a comfortable volume, then ask guests how it feels. There is no single genre that is best for every restaurant. The free AI adviser helps turn your preferences into a specific starting point.

Can music help increase the average check?

There are promising tests. In Lammers’ restaurant experiment, mean party bills were $21.63 with quiet music and $18.57 with loud music — about 16.5% higher, calculated from the published means. It was one restaurant and 80 parties, not a forecast for your venue. Keep your playlist constant and test volume in comparable shifts. Lammers, 2003 ↗

What should I try during a busy lunch service?

If guests are waiting for tables and conversation is comfortable, test a faster selection at the same volume. One experiment found shorter visits with faster music. Track guests served, waiting time and revenue per seat-hour; faster visits alone do not prove more revenue. Malcman et al., 2024 ↗

Can I play personal Spotify playlists in my restaurant?

Spotify says its consumer service is for personal, non-commercial use and cannot be played publicly in businesses such as restaurants. Choose a service intended for business use and check the terms for your location and repertoire. Spotify’s guidance ↗

Is the AI music adviser free?

Yes. You can describe your restaurant or complete the six-question quiz without signing up. Playlist previews are also available on this page. Playing music through the Moodby service is separate; check its current plans and terms.

How do I choose a music service for restaurants?

Look for music that suits your guests, playlists for different service times, and playback controls that fit your team’s routine. Check the business-use terms for your location. Start with the free AI adviser and playlist previews, then explore Moodby’s restaurant music service.

How does the AI use research?

It uses reviewed findings relevant to your answers to propose music and a practical test. The recommendation links to its sources. Musical directions are suggestions to try in your restaurant; research results are not promises of a particular outcome.

Find a sound that fits your restaurant.

Start with your goal. Leave with something practical to try.

Get free AI recommendationsExplore Moodby for restaurants ↗