Background music for a pop-up restaurant - What do I need? 📻

A long hot summer, beer, and some small bites. 

The equipment for background music in a pop-up restaurant

Audio equipment

Where does the music play? To create an atmosphere with music, you naturally need speakers. When choosing audio equipment, the most crucial factor is the size and location of the restaurant/area. If the pop-up restaurant is outdoors, the speakers should be weather-resistant, or if the commercial space is very large, the speakers need to deliver more.

There is a wide range of audio equipment available, with prices ranging from a few tens of euros to tens of thousands. In a restaurant, the significance of background music is to serve as an audio backdrop and landscape, which is why it's advisable to invest in the quality of speakers. The problem with the cheapest speakers is often a tinny, echoing, and unclear sound quality, which is not beneficial for creating the desired atmosphere.

Speakers for mobile use

1. HK Onyx Studio
This small speaker, designed for home use, is high-quality and is perfectly suitable for smaller spaces. By purchasing multiple speakers, they can be paired with each other and placed strategically to cover the customer area as extensively as possible. These speakers are easy to lift and stand on their own, eliminating the need for a permanent installation. Additionally, the HK Onyx comes with a battery, promising a duration of 6-8 hours.

2. Bose S1 Pro
"Bose's compact, portable speaker covers even larger spaces. The speaker also includes 2 microphone/instrument inputs, allowing it to be used for hosting events or even as part of a troubadour's PA system.

Speakers for fixed installation

If your pop-up restaurant is indoors or you want to install the speakers permanently inside the boutique,

1. JBL Control -series
JBL's Control series speakers are highly common and popular general-purpose speakers for both indoor and outdoor restaurant use. From this series, we would recommend the Control 23 and 25 speakers. These speakers are easy to install and aim, thanks to the included bracket.

2. Bose DesignMax DM3SE
If you want to invest in sound quality, we recommend checking out Bose's small, stylish DesignMax series, known for its excellent audio quality. If your pop-up restaurant has large spaces, consider pairing it with a subwoofer. Generally, for a restaurant of around 100m2, we recommend at least 6 speakers

The same model series also offers a slightly larger pair of speakers.

Both speakers are passive, meaning they require a separate amplifier as a companion.

Background music service for a pop-up restaurant

How does the music play? First and foremost, you need a proper background music service, and we could write a whole booklet about that, couldn't we? 😉

Important notes

1.Licensed for public use

In addition to the background music license, it's often overlooked that the background music service itself needs to be licensed for public performance. This means that home services (like Spotify, Youtube, Apple Music, etc.) cannot be used for playing background music in commercial settings.

By choosing Feelment, you can be sure that the licenses are in order. But if you opt for another service, make sure it can be used commercially.

2. Business-supporting music

All background music services include ready-made playlists, but to support business (sales), it's important to find the right kind of music. Some services generate playlists using artificial intelligence, while others are curated manually by professionals. Feelment represents the latter, and playlists are always crafted to be as precise and extensive as possible. You can play multiple different playlists simultaneously to create just the right atmosphere.

Always remember that music is not played for oneself but should serve the business objectives.

What is Feelment?

We are a 100% Finnish family business from the northern side of the Arctic Circle. Feelment® is the most widely used background music service in the market, and our purpose is to bring atmosphere to your establishment by helping your business grow with a thoughtfully designed background music solution. You can download the app on any platform and try it for free for a month with no commitments (no need to enter credit card information).