🎶 “Alexa, Play Better Vibes” – How Music and Atmosphere Can Make or Break Your Venue

Ben Maher
Jun 20
3 min read

You can have the best food in town. You can dial in your coffee to absolute perfection. But if your vibe’s off? Good luck getting people to stick around—or come back.

We’ve all been there. You walk into a café that looks like it should be cool. Industrial lights, terrazzo bench tops, a few strategically placed Monsteras… and then bam!—you’re hit with a painfully awkward playlist. The kind that swings between yoga-core and death metal with no warning. Or worse, silence.

In hospo, your vibe is your invisible handshake. It sets the tone before a word is spoken. So let’s talk about how to actually get it right—and why music should be your secret weapon.

The shift report playlist, vibe of a cafe — The Shift Report Playlist

Step 1: Let the People Speak (aka Steal Their Spotify Likes)

If you’re struggling to figure out what to play, here’s a wild idea:

Ask your customers.

Pop a little sign up on the counter:👉 “What’s your go-to song for a good mood?”You’ll get answers. Trust me. People love to share their music taste—especially if you frame it like you’re building a community playlist (because you are).

Use their suggestions to build a Spotify playlist for your venue. Name it something cheeky or on-brand. Then let it run. Not only will you end up with a banging playlist, you’ll also make your regulars feel seen—and heard.

And imagine this: that customer walks in the next morning, orders their usual, and hears their song playing through the speakers.It’s a small gesture, but it creates a massive emotional connection. It tells them, “Hey, we see you. You matter here.”That’s the kind of thing people tell their friends about.

Step 2: Create a Mood Map

Think about your venue’s flow.Do mornings feel different to afternoons? Do you want a different vibe on Sundays than you do on Friday nights?

Try mapping your playlist to the time of day:

Morning: Uplifting acoustic or mellow beats. Think Ben Howard meets Khruangbin.
Lunch Rush: Something with tempo but not chaos. Think Anderson .Paak, Jungle, or Tame Impala.
Afternoon Lull: Chill-hop or groovy funk. Keep the energy up without overwhelming the room.
Evenings (if you’re open late): Soul, lo-fi, or even a bit of jazz depending on your crowd.

Pro tip: Avoid the temptation to just loop the “Coffeehouse Essentials” playlist forever. People notice—especially your staff.

Step 3: Don’t Stop at Music

Music is just one part of the puzzle. Vibe also comes from:

Lighting: Warm light = comfort. Fluoro tubes = prison cafeteria.
Scent: Smells like fresh toast? Great. Smells like burnt oil? Not so much.
Space flow: Is there a place to sit, linger, or escape with a laptop? Or is everyone dodging chair legs and mop buckets?
Staff energy: Are they vibing or just surviving?

If the music is banging but your team looks like they’re held hostage… it’s still going to feel off. The vibe has to start behind the counter.

Step 4: Borrow Ours

To make life easier, I’ve put together a starter playlist you can use in your own venue. It’s called:

🎧 The Shift Report Playlist It’s an evolving mix of tunes that won’t scare off the boomers or the cool kids. No royalty-free café jazz here—just real music with heart and groove.

👉 Click here to listen and follow on Spotify

If you’ve got a banger to suggest, shoot me a DM or email. Let’s build this out together. Hospitality is a team sport, after all.