Music for Waiting Rooms: Legal, Customized Playlists

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Why Play Music in Your Waiting Room?

Waiting rooms are often the first impression that customers have of your business. Whether in a doctor’s office or a financial investment firm, the waiting room can be one of the most important spaces associated with your brand.

Playing the right type of music could do more than make the wait pleasant. In some cases, it could help people to feel better.

For example, in a study published in 2013, researchers asked 60 healthy volunteers to participate in a stress test. Some were exposed to music, and others were not. Those who heard the music recovered from the stress test quicker than those who did not. Studies like this demonstrate how playing music could help people to feel better while they wait.

If your waiting room is part of a hospital or health clinic, the music you play could be even more important and useful. For example, in an overview study published in 2013, researchers examined the link between music and a reduction in stress and anxiety in people with heart disease. They found that music was helpful in reducing psychological distress across all studies. Studies like this suggest that playing music here could actually help to make your patients healthier while they wait.

Experts say waiting is easier when we’re distracted by something pleasant or potentially enjoyable. If we can enter a meditative state and let go of the fact that we’re waiting, we’re more likely to feel the time pass pleasantly. Music can make this possible.

Several studies have been performed on the impact of music in medical waiting rooms. In 2021, researchers summarized this research. Their findings include the following:

Background music containing nature sounds decreases anxiety.
Classical music with tempos ranging from 60 to 70 beats per minute reduced anxiety in pediatric waiting rooms.
When given a choice, children wanted songs with words.
Live music, performed with a guitar, resulted in greater visit satisfaction.

Studies like this demonstrate that music can be helpful in waiting rooms, but people will have somewhat different ideas about which tunes are best.

A study on music in medical practice waiting rooms found that some music could improve the mood of patients and staff members, but this depended on the type of music and volume. General music was not associated with improvement in anxiety or other health factors, but songs played at a lower volume were rated favorably. Classical music was ranked the highest.

Researchers say that music with a tempo of 60 to 72 bpm is typically described as relaxing, while songs with a tempo of 100 to 120 bpm are typically described as stimulating. If you want people to feel calm while they wait, choose slower songs. If you want them to feel energized, keep things upbeat.

How to Choose the Right Waiting Room Music

While music might be a good option for almost any waiting room, it’s critical to find the right tunes for your environment. Following a few basic steps can make this easier.

Here’s what to do to choose the right music:

Start with the location. How big is your space? How many speakers will you need to fill it? Will you have separate zones for music, or will everyone listen to the same thing all the time?
Consider your services. Do you offer Eastern medicine? Do you provide a high-stress type of care (like oncology)? Do you provide legal help for stressed people? Your industry can guide you into the kind of music that seems appropriate.
Think about your patients. Your customers will feel most comfortable with music they like. Are they older? Younger? What language do they speak?
Dig into your brand. What are the sorts of words you use to describe your company and your services? Are you hip or traditional? Are you luxurious or value-based?

With the right words and phrases in mind, you can search for music associated with those terms. YouTube and Google can be good sources for this early research.

Once you have a potential music playlist, ask your patients and staff for feedback. Be ready to pivot based on their suggestions and ideas.

Music & Patient Privacy

Music isn’t just pleasant in a healthcare setting. It can also be an important compliance feature.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requires healthcare providers to keep private information about patients protected and confidential. Waiting rooms are subject to HIPAA regulations. For example, providers can call out a patient’s name in a waiting room, but providers can’t discuss things like the reason for the exam or test results.

HIPAA rules mean patients might move into and out of your waiting room several times. They might wait for the appointment to start, head to the waiting room as tests are assessed by doctors, and then go back to exam rooms for the results. If the right music is playing, the return to the waiting room might be pleasant.

Louder music can also be useful for patients who wish to discuss their exams or test results with their friends while they wait. Patient disclosure like this isn’t a HIPAA violation, but it can be embarrassing. Louder music could cover up these conversations.

Architects use rules from the American National Standard Criteria for Evaluating Room Noise to help you understand how loud a room should be. Per those regulations, places like offices and private work rooms shouldn’t be louder than 40 to 45 dBA.

Free phone apps like this one allow you to measure how loud the room is. Take a measurement when the room is at the loudest (people are talking, phones are ringing, typing is happening) and ensure you’re not reaching this level.

Music or Playlists for the Waiting Room

When you use a business-focused music streaming service like PCC, you have the power to make unique playlists so you can set the literal tone for your waiting room. If you know a general mood you want your customers to experience but are unsure what songs might fit that mood (or your tastes do not suit that mood), you can always use one of the pre-designed playlists.

Many new genres of music, including ambient or instrumental, have music without lyrics. These are some examples of great waiting room music.

Smooth Jazz

Smooth jazz is characterized by saxophone solos and low beats. Typical artists in this genre include Spyro Gyra, Euge Groove, and Fourplay. This smooth jazz station from Pandora could be right for you.

Acoustic Covers

Looking for a way to share music that your patrons might recognize, but hoping to avoid lyrics and other distractions? Acoustic covers could be right for you. This acoustic pop covers station from Pandora could be right for your waiting room.

Family-Friendly Pop

Many parents come to waiting rooms with their children in tow. A family-friendly station could make the wait a little easier for everyone, while ensuring that you’re not offending anyone. This collection of kid-appropriate pop songs from Pandora might be right.

Classical

Classical music could infuse your waiting room with soothing sounds and plenty of sophistication. Some stations sprinkle in opera for a little variety, while others focus solely on the strings. This classical station from Pandora could help you in your waiting room.

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Legal Aspects of Music for Waiting Rooms

Know that you can't just plug in your phone and fill your space with sound. You must choose a partner to help you share songs legally.

Songs are protected by U.S. Copyright law. When a song is preserved in a recording medium (such as a CD, podcast, or record), it’s protected. The person who owns the copyright has the right to ask for a fee before it’s performed in a public place, such as a waiting room.

Musicians and other copyright holders hire performance rights organizations (PROs) to design contracts and accept fees. Examples of PROs include BMI, ASCAP, and SESAC. Before you play music, you must contact a PRO, develop a contract, and pay a fee. For full protection, you’ll need contracts with every PRO. Otherwise, you’re limited to playing only the songs within that PRO’s library.

Pandora CloudCover’s Waiting Room Music

If you’re hoping to play a wide library of music without connecting with every PRO, Pandora CloudCover can help. Whether you have one location or hundreds, Pandora CloudCover can help you find and share the right waiting room music with your customers.

Choose from more than 200 stations preprogrammed with music. Stick with a genre like smooth jazz, or blend two stations for a mix just right for your brand. We offer 99.99% uptime, so the songs keep playing no matter what.

Create dayparting schedules, so the songs change based on time of day or customer density. Grant local permissions and enable your staff to change the sound, or keep tight control over multiple locations through any connected device.

All music you’ll find on Pandora CloudCover is licensed for commercial use. You won’t have to worry about negotiating contracts with major copyright holders, as we’ll do the work for you.

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Partner with Waiting Room Experts

When you need music to set the ambiance for your business, consider using a music streaming service that understands how to legally license music for businesses, so you do not have to navigate multiple contracts with copyright holders. Pandora CloudCover offers access to a catalog of thousands of songs and curated playlists for any business need.

Like personal music streaming services, you can use Pandora CloudCover to find songs you love and create playlists without interrupting ads — all with one predictable, affordable monthly fee. Contact us to get started.