Puana for restaurants
Background music for restaurants, set by the hour.
Background music for restaurants works best in dayparts: bright and social at brunch, a steady pulse through lunch, slower and warmer at dinner, a groove late. Puana plays original music for each, switches on a schedule you set once, and runs from open to close. Hear all four stations below, free. Businesses subscribe from $19 a month per location.
$0 today. Card on file — cancel before day 14 and you’re never billed.
A restaurant’s day, in four stations
Press any of them · the hours are a starting point, not a rule
Why the hour matters
The research on this is older than most of the restaurants arguing about it. In 1986, Ronald Milliman compared music under 72 beats per minute with music over 94 in a real dining room. With the slower music, guests stayed longer and spent more at the bar; with the faster music, they moved through.
Style matters as well as speed. In a later study of one restaurant over eighteen evenings, diners spent more when classical music played than when pop or no music did.
Neither result says one kind of music is correct. They say the music is a lever on how long people stay and how the room feels — and a lunch service trying to turn tables wants the opposite of a Tuesday dinner trying to fill them. That is why the stations change by the hour, and why the schedule is the part that does the work.
Milliman, R. E. (1986). The influence of background music on the behavior of restaurant patrons. Journal of Consumer Research, 13(2), 286–289. · North, A. C., Shilcock, A., & Hargreaves, D. J. (2003). The effect of musical style on restaurant customers’ spending. Environment and Behavior, 35(5), 712–718.
How it runs in a restaurant
- Set the day once.Give each location its brunch, lunch, dinner and late — or your own hours. The music changes by itself, so nobody behind the bar is choosing songs.
- Play it on what you have.An iPhone, an iPad or any browser, plugged into your speakers. Up to three devices on one Wi-Fi play in sync.
- Keep it clean.An explicit-lyrics filter, no ads between tracks, and music that runs from open to close.
- Every track is original to Puana.Businesses subscribe to play it in their space.
How music licensing works for a business, in plain English: read the guide →
$19 a month per location
Or $190 a year — two months free. Every location after the first is 5% cheaper, up to 25% off; work out a group’s price. The first 100 businesses keep 25% off their first location for as long as they subscribe, applied at checkout.
Start my 14 days free →$0 today. Charged on day 14 unless you cancel — two clicks in settings.
Questions restaurant owners ask
What music should I play in my restaurant?
Match the hour, not the playlist you like. Bright, social music at brunch; something with a pulse but no strong vocal through lunch; slower and warmer at dinner; a groove once the kitchen closes. The four stations above are that day, and each plays on this page.
How loud should background music be in a restaurant?
Loud enough that a quiet room feels furnished, quiet enough that a table of four never raises their voices. Stand in the middle of the room during service: if people are leaning in to hear each other, come down. It is a better test than a decibel number, because a full room absorbs sound and an empty one throws it back.
How much does background music for a restaurant cost with Puana?
$19 a month per location, or $190 a year. The first 14 days are free: a card is taken at signup and charged on day 14 unless you cancel, which takes two clicks in settings. Every location after the first is 5% cheaper, up to 25% off.
Can the music change on its own through the day?
Yes. A Business account sets a schedule for each location — brunch, lunch, dinner and late, or your own hours — and the music switches by itself. Nobody on the floor has to touch it.
What do I need to play it?
An iPhone, an iPad or any web browser, connected to the speakers you already have. Up to three devices on the same Wi-Fi can play in sync, and an explicit-lyrics filter is one switch.
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