How much does a hotel background music system cost?

A hotel background music system costs £1,500 to £4,000 per zone installed, and a typical hotel runs 4 to 8 zones (lobby, bar, restaurant, spa, WCs, terrace and function room), so most properties land between £6,000 and £32,000 before licensing. The per-zone figure covers speakers, amplification, a share of the DSP, cabling and commissioning; ceiling type, zone size and whether the zone also carries paging move it within the range.

From the floor. The zones that get cut from the budget are the WCs and the corridor to the function room, and they are the ones guests notice. Walking out of a lively bar into a silent corridor feels like the music has stopped. Two small zones at the bottom of the range fix that for less than one bar speaker upgrade. (Derek Pyle, Operations Director)

What is in each zone

• Distribution. Lobby, corridors, WCs and terraces run on 100V line, so one amplifier drives many ceiling speakers over long cable runs. Bars and restaurants where the music is part of the experience often run low-impedance zones with heavier speakers and more amplifier headroom.
• Speakers. Ceiling speakers for suspended ceilings, pendants where the ceiling is exposed or high, surface-mount cabinets for hard walls, IP-rated speakers for terraces.
• Control. A DSP or zone mixer (Q-SYS, Symetrix, Cloud or Biamp) with per-zone volume, source selection and scheduling, so the restaurant moves from breakfast to dinner levels on its own, plus a wall panel or tablet for the duty manager.
• Sources. A licensed business streaming service (Soundtrack Your Brand, Mood Media, Ambie). Consumer Spotify or Apple Music accounts are not licensed for commercial use and are a common trigger for enforcement visits.

Licensing sits on top of the hardware: recorded music in public areas needs PRS for Music and PPL, bought together as TheMusicLicence, at £100 to £400 a year for a small site and more for multi-zone hotels with events.

Hotel lobby music is usually the first zone a property commissions, because it sets the tone for arrival, but the audio system design should cover every public zone at once so the DSP, amplifier rack and cabling are sized for the final count rather than extended piecemeal. The hotel AV page shows how music fits against signage, meeting rooms and function spaces.

Quick reference: £1.5k-£4k per zone installed, 4-8 zones for a typical hotel (£6k-£32k), 100V line for lobby and corridors, low impedance for bar and restaurant, DSP with scheduling, licensed business streaming, plus PRS for Music and PPL (TheMusicLicence) £100-£400 a year for a small site.