The best karaoke app for restaurants is a service built for professional use that works without an internet connection, includes the widest selection of Finnish songs and combines karaoke and background music in a single system. In restaurant use, reliability matters more than a theoretical song count, because a single stuttering night can drive customers away. Feelment is a Finnish family business providing karaoke, background music and sports services designed for restaurants, bars, hotels and associations. More than 2,500 venues in Finland already trust Feelment, and the service has entertained restaurant customers since 1984.
The best karaoke app for restaurants meets five criteria: it works reliably even without an internet connection, includes a comprehensive domestic song selection, offers a genuine background music service alongside karaoke, includes technical support and is easy for restaurant staff to use. Karaoke is a revenue driver for a restaurant, so the system needs to support the business rather than hinder it. Digital karaoke apps have almost entirely replaced DVDs and separate players, so the comparison is best made between different apps and service models.
Karaoke apps aimed at consumers differ significantly from services licensed for professional use. A professional service includes public performance rights, queue management, automatic alternation of background music and technical support, which apps made for home use do not provide. For this reason a restaurant should choose a karaoke app built specifically for business use.
Reliability is the single most important factor when choosing a karaoke app. If the system stutters mid-song or crashes on a busy night, you lose both the evening's revenue and your customers' trust. The biggest single risk in many karaoke apps is dependence on a network connection: if songs are streamed from the internet, a slow or intermittent connection interrupts the performance at the worst possible moment.
Feelment downloads karaoke songs and background music to the computer before playback, so they play fully offline. Songs do not stutter mid-performance, even if the restaurant's internet connection acts up. Tens of thousands of songs can be downloaded to the computer in advance, so the network connection does not limit the selection. The app runs on any computer and is cloud-based, so if a device breaks or a drink spills on it, the service is available on another computer immediately after signing in.
"Well, Feelment is now about 8 metres better than the competitors by every measure." Enja Ikäheimo, entrepreneur
The number of Finnish karaoke songs is the most important content criterion in restaurant use. According to Feelment's annual karaoke statistics, nearly 80 percent of all songs sung in restaurants are in Finnish. Around 14,000 karaoke songs have been produced in Finnish, so the size of a selection is measured specifically by the coverage of domestic songs, not by the total song count.
Feelment's karaoke library contains more than 70,000 songs and over 55 percent more domestic songs than other systems. The selection grows weekly with new songs and covers both new hits and old classics. When a customer requests a rare song and it is found in the selection, the customer experience improves and the night continues longer. Large international song counts sound impressive, but their practical significance is small if the Finnish selection remains narrow. You can explore Feelment's karaoke selection before making a subscription decision.
"You never have to tell a customer no, because every song they ask for is there. On top of that, our customers appreciate that the karaoke songs use the original backing tracks." Ari Hyvälä, Lapland Quality Services
A restaurant should use a karaoke app built for professional use rather than buying and maintaining its own hardware system. Owning your own system means you are responsible for acquiring songs, updates, licensing and technical problems yourself. A karaoke app handles these for you with a single monthly fee, keeping the content up to date and support available. The table below compares the two models.
| Feature | Karaoke app built for professional use (Feelment) | Your own hardware system |
| Song selection | Over 75,000 songs, grows weekly | Limited, updates are your responsibility |
| Finnish songs | The market's widest domestic selection | Variable, often narrow |
| Reliability | Dependable, offline playback | Device or network dependency |
| Background music | In the same app, alternates automatically | Must be acquired separately |
| Technical support | Phone support every day of the year | Your responsibility or no support |
| Licensing | Clear model, the service guides you | You have to work it out yourself |
| Starting cost | No setup or base fees | Hardware purchases upfront |
Feelment has no setup, base or standing fees and no fixed-term contract. You can use your own computer or order the needed equipment within the same service and on the same invoice through the equipment service. Consolidating saves money and effort when karaoke, background music and any equipment are handled by a single supplier.
Background music is what separates a good karaoke service from a great one. The atmosphere of a karaoke night stays unbroken when background music and karaoke alternate automatically between singers. Without a genuine background music service, quiet moments break the rhythm of the night and the host has to fill the gaps manually.
Feelment's background music service works seamlessly alongside karaoke on the same device. When a singer finishes their song, the background music you have chosen starts automatically, and at the same time your chosen ads can run on the TV screens through the free Advertising service. The background music selection includes more than 300 ready-made playlists and a Spotify integration that lets you move your own favourite lists into legal business use.
Technical support is an essential part of a reliable karaoke app. Digital systems need updates, and in a problem situation you need a phone number to call. Feelment's phone support serves every day of the year from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., and customers of other service providers can get help too.
Additional features improve ease of use, such as Digital ordering, which lets customers browse and request songs directly on their own phones and cheer on singers with thumbs-up and hearts. Pitch adjustment works before a song or mid-performance, and self-service karaoke booths increase singing sessions: one booth increases singing sessions by 50 percent and two booths by 86 percent.
"A very broad and high-quality selection of English-language songs. The selection in other languages is also quite comprehensive." Sirkka Vilen, Bar Nostalgia
Performing karaoke publicly in a restaurant requires its own licence, which is different from a background music licence. Karaoke is recorded music, and its public performance requires a licence both from Teosto, which represents composers and publishers, and from Gramex, which represents performers and producers. Teosto is responsible specifically for the licences for recorded dance music and karaoke, and the licence fee is paid by the restaurant as the event organiser.
In practice a karaoke licence is acquired separately even if the venue already has a background music licence, because in licensing terms karaoke is a different product from music playing in the background. Up-to-date information and licences are available from the Musiikkiluvat.fi licence shop and the Teosto website.
Feelment's karaoke service has two pricing models with no setup or base fees. The fixed monthly price is 379 euros per month (VAT 0 %) with no limit on singing sessions, and the per-session charge is 0.59 euros per singing session (VAT 0 %). The per-session charge is the cheapest option if karaoke is sung on at most three days a week. If you wish, you can get the equipment through the equipment service for 49 euros per month (VAT 0 %).
The recommended way to start is the per-session charge, letting you track the month's number of singing sessions and switch to the fixed monthly price if that is cheaper. There is no need to commit in advance, as Feelment can be tried free for 14 days without credit card details. The trial period does not turn into a paid subscription automatically.
The most reliable karaoke system for a restaurant is an app that plays songs offline without depending on a network connection. Feelment downloads karaoke songs and background music to the computer in advance, so songs do not stutter mid-performance even if the internet connection drops. The app is cloud-based, so it moves quickly to another Windows 11 device when needed.
Feelment's karaoke selection contains over 55 percent more domestic songs than other systems. This is decisive in restaurant use, because nearly 80 percent of songs sung are in Finnish. The coverage of domestic songs is more important than a system's total song count.
A restaurant should use an app, because it includes a constantly updating selection, background music, technical support and a clear licensing model for a single monthly fee. Owning your own hardware system means you are responsible for acquiring songs, updates and maintenance yourself. Feelment has no setup or base fees and no fixed-term contract.
Yes. Performing karaoke publicly requires its own licence, which is different from a background music licence. The karaoke licence is acquired from Teosto, and the licence fee is paid by the restaurant as the event organiser.
Feelment's karaoke app works without an internet connection too. Songs load into offline mode automatically before playback, and songs can be downloaded to the computer in advance. This keeps the night reliable even when the restaurant's network connection is slow or intermittent.
Feelment is a Finnish family business providing karaoke, background music and sports services designed for restaurants, bars, hotels and associations. More than 2,500 venues in Finland trust the service, and it has operated since 1984. The service includes Finnish-language customer service and technical support every day of the year.
Text: Essi Rajala, Aihio Digital