Coffee Shop Music, Licensed for Your Café

Not from a personal account. Spotify's support page on public and commercial use says its consumer app cannot be played publicly from a business, and it names bars, restaurants, stores and salons as examples. Apple Music, YouTube and Pandora limit their consumer plans to personal, non-commercial use in the same way. Then there are the songs themselves: most mainstream music is represented by ASCAP, BMI, SESAC or GMR, and playing it for customers is a public performance those organizations license, whatever app it comes from.

WeavyAudio is a catalog of original recordings licensed for public playback. Once your subscription is active, you download a license certificate for your location, and there are no PRO royalties due on the WeavyAudio music you play. Keep the house speakers to that one source: a radio at the counter or a barista's phone playlist is a separate use with its own licensing. More in can I play Spotify in my store or restaurant?

The grinder, the steam wand and knocking out the portafilter all create sharp spikes of noise. Music with even dynamics holds a sensible level more easily than tracks that swing between quiet and loud. Point the speakers at the seating, not at the counter where baristas call out orders, and judge the level from a chair rather than from behind the bar. In a small room, a small turn of the knob makes a big difference.

Look after the team as well: baristas hear the playlist for the whole shift. A shared skip list and a fresh rotation every few weeks keep the music from wearing on the people making the coffee, and with more than 800 hours of music across dozens of genres there is plenty to rotate through. Our coffee shop music guide has three café playlist blueprints to start from.