Nick, even if you purchase the song on iTunes you will still need the appropriate BMI or ASCAP license to play it in your restaurant. Other than negotiating with the copyright holder directly, BMI and ASCAP are the only options for licensing for commercial use. Remember there’s also SESAC, which manages the copyrights for mostly more obscure artists, but some mainstream too.
However, it is fairly inexpensive and indeed super flexible. I have a computer dedicated to the dining room music. I purchase new songs on a regular basis to keep the music fresh. iTunes has made that possible - there’s no way I’d be buying entire CD’s to get one “hit” to play in the store.
So yeah, I’d say it’s both practical and legal if you purchase the license.
Stebby, that’s actually my advice on this. Get the license and make your own mixes. Play what you like or what fits your restaurant perfectly.
Here’s an interesting tidbit that came from an ASCAP promotional paper:
“In a field study by Ronald Milliman, restaurant patrons were exposed to either fast or slow tempo music. Fast music caused diners to finish faster (45 minutes vs. 56 minutes), but a medium tempo resulted in patrons ordering more drinks.”
Edited to add: I just read Dox47’s post. I absolutely can not stand 80’s music! But the majority of my clientele are families with parents around their late 30’s. Because of that I have a lot of 80’s music in my mix. People love listening to music from their youth, so think about your clientele when making song selections. You may even be working on a subconscious level to make people happier when they are in your restaurant.
I also agree that you should have separate music in your kitchen as long as it can’t be heard by customers. It’s good for morale to let the employees listen to whatever they like, and I find that they vary their music selections based on how busy it is. There’s a whole different dynamic in the kitchen when Pantera is on versus Pink Floyd.
I don’t think my high school aged cooks would be able to hammer out a rush while listening to “Hungry Like The Wolf.”