Hair Salon Music: Creating the Perfect Atmosphere With Legal and Professional Sound

A great salon soundtrack does more than fill silence. It smooths out the awkward bits (waiting, mirror time, the whirr of the dryers), lifts energy when the shop is flat, and helps clients feel like they’ve stepped into a place with taste and intention.

Choosing the right music for salon environments is not just a matter of taste. It is a strategic decision that must balance atmosphere, customer psychology, brand positioning, and legal compliance.

In the UK, the “right vibe” and the “right to play it” are two separate problems. Here’s how to handle both.

Why music matters in salons (beyond “nice background noise”)

Salons are unusual environments: clients sit still for long stretches, conversations come and go, and the soundscape changes all day (door chimes, hairdryers, clippers, laughter, phone calls). Music helps you:

• Reduce perceived waiting time (a queue feels shorter when the room has flow)
• Mask uncomfortable silence (especially for new clients)
• Create a “memory” (people remember how a place felt, not just how it looked)
• Support staff rhythm (tempo can lift pace; calm tracks can lower stress)

The goal isn’t to make clients notice the playlist. It’s to make them notice the atmosphere.

The legal bit, in plain English

In the UK, playing music in a business for customers or staff is usually treated as a public performance. Government guidance is blunt: you’re infringing copyright if you play live or recorded music in public without a licence, and hairdressers/beauty salons are explicitly listed.

PPL PRS’ own guidance for the hair and beauty sector says you may need a licence to play music legally in your salon, and points to TheMusicLicence as the route that covers PRS for Music and PPL repertoire.

Why personal playlists (Spotify/Apple Music) are a problem

A lot of salons default to “someone’s phone + a Bluetooth speaker”. It feels harmless — but it’s also the fastest way to accidentally get non-compliant.

• Spotify states it is only for personal, non-commercial use and specifically says you can’t play it publicly in a business such as salons.
• Apple’s UK media terms say the services and content are for personal, noncommercial purposes.

Even if you have TheMusicLicence, you still need to ensure the service you’re using allows commercial use. Consumer subscriptions generally don’t.

Your three compliant routes (choose one)

Route 1: TheMusicLicence + a compliant playback source

For most salons using mainstream music, TheMusicLicence is the normal baseline. PPL PRS positions it as the licence that lets businesses play music legally.

Government guidance also notes the UK moved to a single licence from PPL PRS rather than separate PRS/PPL licences.

Then: use a music source that is actually allowed for business use (not personal streaming accounts).

Route 2: A business music service (licensed for commercial environments)

Spotify itself points businesses to Soundtrack as a commercial option, but frankly ethically you shouldn’t avoid Spotify at all costs. Other direct-licensed background music services like MoosBox, provide in-store background music for tracks covered by its direct licence (which you do not need to pay PRS for Music or PPL again). It also says it provides a licence certificate you can keep on file.

The important bit is scope. They give you a licence certificate to cover the music supplied by that service. If you also play the radio, TV, staff playlists, YouTube, or other mainstream sources alongside it, you are still not covered.

Whether you choose Soundtrack or another provider, judge them on:

• UK coverage and what rights are included
• Proof of licensing / documentation you can keep on file
• Scheduling (dayparting), offline mode, explicit-content controls
• Simple staff controls (so nobody hijacks the vibe)

Route 3: Royalty-free / direct-licensed music

If you use truly royalty-free music, UK government guidance says you do not need a licence.

This route can work well for salons that prefer an unobtrusive, spa-like sound, but you need to be organised:

• keep written proof of the licence terms
• store a list of the music catalogue/source you use
• ensure it covers public/commercial use in the UK (not “free for personal use”)

Designing a salon soundtrack that feels intentional

Think like a stylist: you’re not choosing “a song”, you’re choosing a finish.

1) Start with a sound brief (30 minutes, once)

Write down:

• 3–5 adjectives: e.g., “warm, modern, upbeat, clean”
• What you are not: e.g., “no aggressive EDM drops, no explicit lyrics, no talk radio”
• Your client profile: luxury, family-friendly, fashion-forward, gender-neutral barbershop, etc.

2) Use dayparting (the easiest pro trick)

• Opening / mornings: steady, welcoming, low-vocal (helps the room ease in)
• Peak hours: brighter, slightly higher energy (keeps pace up)
• Evening: calmer, softer edges (reduces sensory overload)

3) Plan for noise

Hairdryers and clippers sit in frequencies that can make certain music feel harsh. Two practical rules:

• Keep volume conversation-first (clients should never have to raise voices)
• Avoid playlists that rely on heavy bass and sharp hi-hats — they fight the room

4) Create “zones” if you can

If you have multiple speakers:

• Front desk/retail: welcoming, slightly brighter
• Cutting floor: consistent, neutral, easy to talk over
• Wash area: calmer (this is where people relax)

A simple “professional setup” checklist

Use this as a practical audit:

Compliance

• Confirm you have the right UK licence (start with GOV.UK and PPL PRS guidance)
• Confirm your music source is licensed for commercial use (not personal streaming)
• Keep documentation on file (licence confirmation, invoices, provider terms)

Experience

• One consistent soundtrack (avoid staff “takeovers”)
• Explicit lyrics policy
• Dayparting schedule
• Volume standard (set it once; don’t let it creep up)

Operations

• Staff know who can change music (one person per shift is enough)
• Backup plan if Wi-Fi drops (offline playlists or a fallback source)

The takeaway

Great salon music is a blend of taste and discipline: a clear sound identity, a repeatable system (dayparting + zones), and clean compliance so you can focus on clients instead of worrying about whether someone’s playlist choice has created a problem.