Music for Business: Research & Statistics
Should you invest in licensed music for your business?
The answer isn’t a gut feeling. It’s in the data.
Decades of academic research show that background music directly affects how long customers stay, how much they spend, and whether they come back. We’ve compiled the most important studies here, organized by business type. The findings may surprise you.
Key Music for Business Benefits At a Glance
| Business Vertical | Stat | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🍽️ Restaurants | +9.1% revenue | Brand-fit music vs. random popular music | HUI Research / Daunfeldt et al., 2017 |
| 🍽️ Restaurants | -4.3% revenue | Random popular music vs. silence — wrong music hurts | HUI Research / Daunfeldt et al., 2017 |
| 🍽️ Restaurants | +15.6% dessert sales | Brand-fit music vs. random playlists | HUI Research / Daunfeldt et al., 2017 |
| 🍽️ Restaurants | +40% drink revenue | Slow-tempo music vs. fast-tempo music | Milliman, R.E., 1986 |
| 🍽️ Restaurants | 56 vs. 45 minutes | Average dining time: slow music vs. fast music | Milliman, R.E., 1986 |
| 🛍️ Retail | +40% spend per customer | Slow-tempo vs. fast-tempo music in stores | Milliman, R.E., 1982 |
| 🛍️ Retail | +10% weekday sales | In-store music effect on shoppers (Mon–Thu) | University of Bath School of Management |
| 🛍️ Retail | +42% ticket size | Holiday music effect on retail spending | Mood Media, 2024 |
| 🧖 Spas & Wellness | 5–7 mmHg | Drop in systolic blood pressure after 20 min of calming music | Clinical research, via Salon Today, 2025 |
| 🧖 Spas & Wellness | 81% faster / 88% more accurate | Staff performance with background music vs. without | IMRO / SiriusXM for Business, 2019 |
The Largest Study Ever Conducted on Music and Sales
In 2017, researchers at HUI Research ran the biggest field study on background music ever completed. They tracked 1.8 million sales transactions and surveyed 2,101 customers across 16 restaurants over five months.
Their finding was clear: music that fits your brand increases revenue by 9.1% compared to playing random popular music.
But the results went further than that. Specific add-on sales saw even bigger lifts:
- Dessert sales rose by 15.6%
- Side dish sales rose by 11%
Perhaps the most striking finding: playing random popular music that doesn’t fit your brand actually decreased sales by 4.3% compared to playing no music at all.
The takeaway is simple. The right music makes you money. The wrong music costs you money. And no music at all beats a random playlist.
Source: Daunfeldt, Rudholm & Sporre (2017). Effects of Brand-Fit Music on Consumer Behavior: A Field Experiment. HUI Research Working Paper 121. Read the study →
How Background Music Affects Restaurants
Slow music sells more drinks — a lot more.
In a landmark 1986 study by Ronald Milliman, slow-tempo background music led diners to order an average of 3 more drinks per table. That translated to a 40% increase in drink revenue for the restaurant.
Why? Diners in the slow music group took 56 minutes to finish their meal. Diners in the fast music group took just 45 minutes. More time at the table means more orders.
Fast music turns tables faster — and increases tips.
A 2024 field experiment published in Behavioral Sciences studied 282 tables and found that fast-tempo music significantly reduced dining duration. In a busy restaurant, that means more seatings per shift and more revenue per hour.
The same study found that tips were higher in the fast-tempo condition — possibly because diners felt the service was faster and more attentive.
The practical implication is powerful: restaurant owners can use music tempo as a dial. Slow it down during quiet shifts to increase spend per table. Speed it up during peak hours to turn tables faster.
Slow music also makes customers more patient.
Research shows that slow background music made customers willing to wait an average of 47 minutes for a table — without complaint. That’s a meaningful buffer during a dinner rush.
Sources:
- Milliman, R.E. (1986). The Influence of Background Music on the Behavior of Restaurant Patrons.Journal of Consumer Research.
- Shaki, S. et al. (2024). How Does Background Music Affect Dining Duration, Tips and Bill Amounts in Restaurants? A Field Experiment. Behavioral Sciences. Read on PubMed →
How Background Music Affects Restaurants
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How Background Music Affects Retail Stores
Slow music increased in-store spending by up to 40%.
The original and most cited study in retail music research comes from Ronald Milliman (1982), published in the Journal of Marketing. He found that slow background music reduced customers’ walking pace. They browsed longer. And they spent significantly more.
Shoppers in the slow music condition spent an average of $17 per visit. Shoppers in the fast music condition spent around $12. That’s a 40% difference per customer — from nothing more than a tempo change.
Music in stores boosts weekday sales by over 10%.
Research from the University of Bath’s School of Management found that in-store music increases spending by more than 10% — but specifically on weekdays. The theory: weekday shoppers are mentally fatigued from work. Pleasant music lifts their mood and makes them shop more intuitively, picking up extra items they might otherwise skip.
The effect largely disappears on weekends, when shoppers are more relaxed and deliberate.
Classical music makes customers willing to pay more.
A 1993 study published in Advances in Consumer Research found that a wine store saw noticeably higher sales when classical music played compared to Top 40 hits. Separate research confirmed that classical music primes associations with quality and sophistication — making customers more willing to pay premium prices for products they see as status-linked.
The wrong music actively hurts sales.
A study of 601 real shoppers found that music incongruent with a store’s brand image had a measurable negative effect on sales and customer satisfaction. Music isn’t neutral. If it clashes with your brand, it works against you.
Holiday music can boost ticket size by up to 42%.
A 2024 Mood Media survey found that 42% of shoppers spend more time in stores when holiday music is playing, and 44% are more likely to return. Ticket sizes in some retail categories rose by as much as 42% during holiday music periods.
Sources:
- Milliman, R.E. (1982). Using Background Music to Affect the Behavior of Supermarket Shoppers.Journal of Marketing.
- University of Bath School of Management (referenced in): Groves Sound Branding →
- Areni, C.S. & Kim, D. (1993). The Influence of Background Music on Shopping Behavior. Advances in Consumer Research.
- Mood Media Holiday Music Study (2024), via: Street Fight Magazine →
How Background Music Affects Retail
How Background Music Affects Spas and Wellness Businesses
For spas and wellness businesses, music isn’t just atmosphere. It’s part of the treatment itself.
Music actively lowers stress — measurably.
Research shows that just 20 minutes of calming music can lower systolic blood pressure by 5–7 mmHg. That’s a clinically meaningful reduction in stress. For a spa client who arrives wound up from their day, the right music starts the unwinding process the moment they walk through the door.
A Stanford University study went further, finding that listening to music can change brain functioning to the same extent as medication.
Music affects staff performance too.
A study cited by the Irish Music Rights Organisation found that with background music playing, 81% of staff worked faster and 88% worked more accurately. In a spa or salon where service quality and throughput are directly linked to revenue, that’s a meaningful operational benefit — not just an atmospheric one.
Silence is a missed opportunity.
In a wellness context, silence doesn’t feel peaceful — it feels clinical. The absence of music removes a key tool for signaling to a client’s nervous system that it is safe to relax. Research consistently shows that customers prefer music to silence in service environments, and that music congruent with the space’s brand identity increases satisfaction and return visit intent.
Sources:
- Salon Today (2025). Your Brand Has a Soundtrack: Why Spas Can’t Afford Silence. Read the article →
- Irish Music Rights Organisation. Music Users: Stats. Read the stats →
- Stanford University music research, referenced in: One Music Australia →
How Background Music Affects Spas & Wellness
What the Research Means for Your Business
The evidence points in one direction. Background music is not a nice-to-have. It is an active, manageable lever that affects how long customers stay, how much they spend, and whether they return.
But there is a catch.
The music has to be legal. Every study above was conducted using properly licensed music. Playing a personal Spotify or Apple Music account in a commercial space is a violation of copyright law — and performing rights organizations like ASCAP and BMI actively enforce it. Fines can start at $750 per song.
The good news: getting compliant is straightforward. Licensed music providers handle all the royalty payments for you. For as little as $19–$29 per month, you get a fully legal, ad-free music service built specifically for businesses.
Ready to find the right provider? Use our comparison tool to see which licensed music service fits your business type, budget, and setup.
Frequently Asked Questions About Music and Business Performance
Q: How much can background music actually increase my sales?
A: The numbers vary by business type and how well the music fits your brand. The largest study ever conducted — tracking 1.8 million transactions — found a 9.1% revenue increase when restaurants played brand-matched music versus random popular music. In retail, slow-tempo music has been shown to increase per-customer spending by up to 40% compared to fast-tempo music. These are not small effects. Over a full year, even a 5% lift in average transaction value compounds significantly.
Q: Does it matter what genre I play, or just that I play something?
A: Genre matters a great deal. The research is consistent on this point. Music that fits your brand and the expectations of your customers outperforms both random music and silence. Classical music increases willingness to pay for premium products. Slow tempos increase dwell time and drink orders. Fast tempos increase table turnover and tips. Playing the wrong genre — music that clashes with your brand — can actually decrease sales compared to no music at all.
Q: What does “brand-fit music” mean?
A: Brand-fit music is music that matches the personality, energy, and values of your business. A fine dining restaurant playing fast-paced pop hits is a mismatch. A yoga studio playing hard rock is a mismatch. The HUI Research study found that the difference between brand-fit music and random popular music was worth 9.1% in revenue. The music doesn’t have to be obscure or unusual — it just has to feel right for your space and your customers.
Q: Is there research on music in offices, not just customer-facing businesses?
A: Yes. Studies show that background music improves staff accuracy and speed in task-based work environments. One study found 81% of employees worked faster and 88% worked more accurately when appropriate background music was playing. The key word is “appropriate” — music that is too loud, too distracting, or mismatched to the work type can have the opposite effect.
Q: Can I just use Spotify or Apple Music to get these benefits?
A: No. Personal streaming accounts are licensed for private, non-commercial use only. There is no Spotify for Business or Apple Music for Business. Playing them in a business setting — even a small one — violates copyright law and the platform’s own terms of service. Performing rights organizations like ASCAP and BMI actively monitor and enforce commercial use. Fines start at $750 per song and can reach much higher for repeat violations. A licensed commercial music provider gives you the same access to great music, legally, for around $19–$29 per month. That’s a small price compared to the revenue upside the research shows — and the legal downside of getting caught.
Q: Does the volume of music matter as much as the tempo or genre?
A: Yes, volume is a significant factor. A 1966 study in the Journal of Applied Psychology found that loud music caused shoppers to leave stores more quickly — directly correlated with lower sales. Softer music kept shoppers in the store longer. Interestingly, shoppers exposed to soft music were often surprised to learn it had influenced their behavior at all — they hadn’t consciously noticed it. That’s the sweet spot: music that shapes the experience without calling attention to itself.
Q: How often should I update my playlist?
A: Research on spa and wellness environments specifically flags playlist fatigue as a real issue for repeat customers. Staff, who hear the music all day every day, experience it even faster. There is no universal rule, but the practical guidance from wellness industry research is to refresh playlists seasonally at minimum — and more frequently in high-traffic environments where the same songs cycle quickly. A licensed commercial music service typically handles this automatically through curated, regularly updated stations.
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By John Boyle
John is a music for business expert and the founder of MusicforBusinessFinder.com which has been featured on BigIdeasforSmallBusiness.com, Noobpreneur and YFS Magazine. He focuses on helping small business owners navigate the confusing world of commercial music licensing, improve sales, and protect their businesses. By providing clear, independent analysis of top audio platforms, he ensures owners can make informed choices with confidence. He also loves rooting for the Mariners and his daughter’s soccer team.