What is Music Curation, and How Does it Help Businesses?

Music curation is selecting music that matches a specific ambiance or mood.

Remember the music played in shopping malls, restaurants, pubs, and cafes? It’s all the result of careful music curation!

While vibing to a playlist, you don’t know the efforts music curators put into curating the music. It is a long and exhaustive process requiring lots of research and mix-and-match.

You are at the right place if you are considering collaboration with a music curator.

This article will cover music curation, what music curators do, and how music curation can impact your business. Stay tuned, as we will also cover how you can use AI music creation to scale your music curation initiatives.

What is Music Curation?

Music curation is a specialized service in which a music creator creates custom playlists for different purposes and situations. It involves creating music that matches clients’ needs and brand presence. The goal of music curation is to create a comfortable environment for customers and lift their moods.

For example, in a pub or taproom, customers would expect funky music they can groove on. Alternatively, in a fine-dining restaurant, customers will prefer a calm and lo-fi playlist that creates a soothing ambiance to enjoy food.

Music curation professionals like DJs or any music enthusiast can create custom playlists. You can also use an AI music generator to curate music. More on this.

What do Music Curators Do?

Music curators are music nerds who listen to a variety of music, possess deep knowledge of different genres of music, and are passionate about creating playlists that match a particular mood.

But this is just the gist of it. Let us explain in detail what music curators do:

They listen to music, a lot of it

Music curators are not only passionate about listening to music; their profession demands it. Be it new releases, old classics, music by new creators, or the latest tracks from major labels, music curators listen to everything.

Since they listen to such a large volume of music, they develop deep knowledge of different music genres, artists, instruments, and the relevant themes of these soundtracks. Therefore, when a music curator is challenged to create a playlist for an occasion or event, they already have the playlist ready in their minds.

They delve deeper into your brand identity

A music curator doesn’t just possess deep knowledge of music. They also keep in mind your brand identity and purpose.

For example, if you ask a music curator to create a playlist for a restaurant, they can come up with thousands of tracks. However, as you explain more about the restaurant, like what kind of food it serves, what kind of people usually come to eat, and what kind of vibe the restaurant prefers to maintain, the playlist changes.

Customers will expect jazz or classical music from a fine-dining restaurant.

For a cafe, the vibe is more casual, and so is the playlist.

The ideal playlist for a restaurant that typically serves seafood is tropical music.

Therefore, music curators must delve deeper into your brand identity to curate personalized playlists for your customers.

They curate custom playlists

Curating custom playlists might sound easy, but when you are supposed to consider factors like:

  • The popularity level of songs: How many new, trending, hit, and less-heard songs are there in the playlist
  • Artists: The proportion of known, unknown, male, and female artists in the playlists
  • Language: Number of English, Spanish, Hindi, and Korean songs in the playlist
  • The mix: The proportion of vocal songs and instrumentals in the playlist
  • It takes much more effort. The final playlist you listen to is curated by considering all these factors.

    They regularly update playlists

    Nobody likes to listen to the same songs over and over. One of the biggest challenges for music curators is engaging audiences with the music and creating a comfortable ambiance that customers don’t get bored of. For that, music curators need to regularly update their playlists.

    How Does Music Curation Help Businesses?

    Wondering why you should consider music curation for your business

    A signature playlist can create a long-term impact on customers’ minds. For example, if your cafe plays jazz every evening, customers will have two reasons to visit it: good food and beautiful jazz music that they don’t get to hear often.

    Music curation can become your brand’s competitive advantage. It will contribute to your impact on customers’ minds and force them to stick around for long.

    They might get good food elsewhere, but good music? Maybe not.

    Is Manual Music Curation Sustainable?

    Manual music creation is not always sustainable. Largely because:

  • Manual music curation limits the options for curators. They have to refer to the same old tracks for every occasion
  • Manual music curation can invite the risk of copyright strikes. You cannot mix and match your soundtracks without the consent of the musicians, and if you do
  • Manual music curation is not scalable. You need to spend a lot of time curating each playlist and refreshing the playlists occasionally. Performing all these tasks can be exhaustive when performed manually
  • So, what’s the alternative to manual music curation? Opting for an AI music curation platform like Beatoven.ai.

    How Does Beatoven.ai Help in Music Curation?

    Here’s how AI music curation platforms like Beatoven.ai can assist music curators:

  • Search API: Beatoven.ai has launched a search API that can assist music curators in finding appropriate music for various situations
  • Natural language search: Instead of searching by genre, curators can explain the situation or describe the vibe they’re looking for (e.g., “music for an Italian restaurant”)
  • Automated music selection: The API can generate a list of suitable music based on the description provided, saving time for curators
  • Library integration: The API can work with existing music libraries, helping curators search through their collection more efficiently
  • Streamlined workflow: Curators can type out their requirements, and Beatoven will show them music that can work, reducing the time spent manually searching for appropriate tracks
  • Versatility: The API can be used for different settings, such as restaurants, malls, and other public spaces
  • Royalty management: While not directly handled by Beatoven, the system can help curators find suitable music from various labels, after which royalties can be shared accordingly
  • Education use case: Although not fully explored, there’s a potential use case for educators who want to complement their virtual class presentations with relevant music