Office music: sound strategies to improve your workplace culture
Elevate your professional environment with a curated audio strategy that fosters productivity and builds a stronger brand identity.
It's overlooked by many businesses, but background music can be the core of an office's brand. Music can help form an office's sensory branding, deepening employee engagement, all while boosting productivity and (most importantly) vibes.
An office with a unique sound profile that aligns with established brand pillars can foster a pleasant environment where people want to work. Soundtrack is a leader in the licensed business music space with a streaming service that's tailor-made for offices.
The benefits of music in the workplace
The science behind playing music at work goes well beyond just filling the silence. A better music strategy can be a massive plus for your employees' well-being, turning the office into an attractive and inspiring place to get work done.
The music we listen to at home isn't the same as what you listen to at work. Something that’s fast and energetic might be the perfect white noise for someone knocking out a few simple tasks, but distracting for others.
In both work and personal scenarios though, we listen to music and playlists to feel a certain way, to focus, tune in and get amped up.
Recent research by Dr. Anneli Haake into music's impact on health and the workplace found that a massive 79% of employees surveyed would benefit from listening to music at work. That's because listening to music has an emotional impact on people: when a song projects a specific energy into a room, everyone feels it.
And especially now with so many people working from home or in coworking spaces and non-traditional office environments, that design and curation is important to look at carefully to promote employee well-being. It's key to how to improve your office culture, making sure everyone's doing work they love, that there's healthy boundaries set around professional and private spaces.
Improving productivity through sound
There's a lot of research out there about the relationship between productivity and music. Well-chosen music can promote improved focus and even drive tangible business results.
But too often that kind of research comes from a time before efforts around employee duty of care were what they are today. Today's music streaming services aren't offering bland elevator music, but instead they're a way of playing real music by real artists, which limits repetition, protects staff performance and reduces turnover.
Dr. Haake uses a term called subjective well-being to refer to the "hedonic properties of music," and why we choose to listen to what we do. As it turns out, we've been using music throughout history to get through the most disruptive times.
The music that's around us or what we play during a specific daypart needs to be even more carefully curated in today's world. Getting it right, the science says, reinforces the external and internal strategies we use to self-regulate; that means keeping tempos upbeat during peak hours and calming during focus periods. A strategic approach means it's more likely we'll pick up on the cues, react to them and appreciate them more, too.
"I think we all long for the human element in everything nowadays," says Jenny Seth, Music Supervisor at Soundtrack. "Voices, storytelling and maybe even a shift back to a more organic feel with live instruments after decades of electronic sounds dominating the charts.
Modern work environments, modern solutions
Even the concept of how people get together has changed, and the definition of a working environment isn’t what it was. Coworking spaces, working from home and remote work opportunities are more mainstream than ever. Lots of traditional business locations are now more cross-functional, too. So how do you design for it?
It means factoring in how you combine the design of the space and encourage different types of interaction across all kinds of diverse demographics. How can you promote social cohesion, the human factor that brings real engagement between the people you work with, and the clients or customers who are there?
Music has long been a part of that. There’s loads of relevant research from mindfulness-based music listening to regulate emotions during COVID-19 to how music and sound can be a healthy player within healthcare settings.
Having a music policy where you work can be a way to capture and design an environment where people want to work, engage and return to. It's such a key part of how to improve your office culture. With the right tools and the right strategy, you can combine all this with brand-optimized music that boosts sales.
Choosing the best office music genres
There are so many music genres out there that it might be hard to know where to start. Thankfully, Soundtrack can help. With Soundtrack, your office has access to thousands of curated playlists drawing from over 125 million tracks.
For office environments, relaxing music genres (especially instrumental tracks) are best for reducing stress and boosting focus. Music genres worth considering include:
Classical music
Hip hop (of the instrumental variety)
House music (especially deep house)
Of course, not every song in these genres is going to be the right fit for your office. Try looking for playlists with lower energy levels that are more suitable to the workplace, like:
If you have a sense of the vibe that you want your office's background music to exude, try out the Soundtrack AI Playlist Creator. Just prompt the sound you're looking for and what your office's atmosphere is like and voilà: an instant playlist just for you. Or if you already have your own Spotify playlists, Soundtrack has a Spotify Import feature to bring familiar music into your office.
Securing a music license for the workplace
Playing music in your office isn't as simple as pressing play in your favorite music app, though, because the world of music licensing is a complex one. Many businesses aren't aware that using personal streaming apps violates their terms of service. Soundtrack makes things simpler by providing a music catalog that's licensed for business use (including offices).
Playing music in an office with the proper licensing in place makes sure that music creators receive the compensation that they're entitled to. Soundtrack handles the necessary recording rights and publishing rights for every country we're available in. Soundtrack also takes care of public performance licenses in Canada and the United States, which means our service is ready to play once you sign up.
Opting for a music streaming service that's purpose-built for business makes securing a music license for the workplace easier.
Soundtrack lets you customize control across multiple zones
We wanted to make sure anyone working for a company had access and control over what's being played, wherever they work. And we also needed to allow extra control for whoever’s responsible for the music policy, especially for larger offices with distinct areas like lobbies, workspaces and lunchrooms. That meant designing a music streaming service that integrates seamlessly with your existing commercial audio system.
That same study showed that, although four in five participants would benefit from listening to music, 38% of employees aren't even allowed to. When you think about generational differences and that younger people want more demanding music when they're working, we wanted Soundtrack to represent what your employees react well to, just as much as your customers, without restricting the choice of what or how you want to play.
We made sure you're not limited to who you invite to a Soundtrack account. Anyone you choose to invite, they can come in, see what's lined up and control the settings. Unlike other streaming services, there's no such thing as limiting someone's control if they want to skip a track, adjust the volume or activate the explicit lyric filter.
Other controls are more centralized. Whoever's responsible for your music policy, they're the ones with control over what’s playing where, and assigning access rights for office managers in different locations. It means there's some level of organization, but not so much micromanagement that it stops other people having a say.
For bigger companies, Soundtrack offers a more tailored service to get this right. There's assisted onboarding, priority support and a dedicated account manager, which can be perfect if you're looking at a music strategy to cover 20 or more zones.
Ready to improve your office culture?
A strategic music solution can transform your workspace for the better, so why not try a music streaming service built specifically for business needs? Master your brand sound in no time: try Soundtrack free for 14 days today.
Related FAQs
Why do I need a license for music in the workplace?
Any music played in a public setting (including in an office) for anything other than your own personal enjoyment requires a public performance license. Public performance licenses are sold by performing rights organizations, who also distribute royalty payments to music creators.
Does music in the workplace increase productivity?
Potentially. Research suggests that there might not be a direct link between hearing music and work productivity, but even just hearing music can trigger positive emotional responses from workers. If the staff in the open-plan office are in a better mood because the music puts them at ease, then that's a boost worth considering.
Can I use my personal Spotify account for office music?
No, you can't use Spotify to provide music for your office. Personal music streaming services aren't licensed for that and most of their terms of service explicitly state that you only use their service for your personal enjoyment.
What are the best music genres for a professional office environment?
The best music genres for an office are ones that inspire focus but aren't distracting. Everyone's tastes differ, but instrumental music with lower energy levels is the safer bet. Try classical music, instrumental hip hop or deep house (with minimal vocals) to set the right mood in the office.
How does multi-zone control benefit a large workplace?
Soundtrack lets offices separate different areas of your space into what we call zones. Think of each zone as all the different music streaming at the same time (for example, one zone is for the open-plan office, another is for the break room, another is for the reception). Soundtrack's zones scale with your business, whether you have one cosy coworking space or a portfolio of office buildings worldwide.
What is the explicit content filter for business music?
Soundtrack's explicit lyric filter blocks tracks marked as explicit from playing over your speakers and it's easy to activate. Just flip the switch and ditch the profanity.
