How do you play the same music across multiple locations?
For a chain or a franchise, music is part of the brand as much as the logo. But it needs to stay consistent from one venue to the next, without forcing a single feed that ignores local differences. Here is how to manage music across multiple locations.
The challenge: brand consistency and local breathing room
Across a network, music carries the brand identity: a customer should recognise the spirit of the place whether they walk into one location or another. But forcing the exact same feed everywhere ignores local realities: a different terrace, a different crowd, different hours. The right balance comes down to one idea: a shared framework, with local flexibility.
Set a sound guide
Everything starts with a shared direction: the styles that represent the brand, a set of reference playlists, scheduling rules (morning mood, service, evening), and the tone of any spoken messages. This sound guide works like a brand book, in audio form. It makes sure no location drifts into an inconsistent direction.
Manage everything from one place
The real difficulty with a network is the multiplication of settings. Configuring ten locations one by one, on ten separate accounts, is unmanageable and always ends up drifting apart. The solution is a single dashboard from which you manage every site: you apply the shared guide, push an update across the whole network, and still let each location adjust what needs adjusting.
Let each location adapt
A shared framework does not mean total uniformity. Every location should be able to:
- adjust the volume to its own acoustics,
- adapt the time-based scheduling to its own opening hours,
- manage its zones (terrace, dining room, bar) independently.
That combination is what makes a network sound consistent without sounding robotic.
Do not forget compliance, site by site
One important point: public performance royalties are declared per location. Each venue has its own size, capacity, and activity, so its own fee. The good news is that the process is identical from one site to the next and can be handled in a batch.
Horra is built exactly for this: multi-location management from a single app, a sound guide applied across the whole network, zone-by-zone autonomy, and human support for every location in your network. From the independent cafe to the franchise, you keep control of your sound identity.
Frequently asked questions
How do you keep the same musical atmosphere across several venues?
By managing every location from a single tool, with a shared direction (styles, reference playlists, scheduling rules) that each venue follows. You get brand consistency without having to configure each site manually and separately.
Can music still be adapted to each location despite a shared brand guide?
Yes, and it should be. A sound guide sets the overall direction, but each venue can adjust it to its own atmosphere, hours, or zones. A good multi-location solution combines a shared framework with local flexibility.
Does each location need its own public performance licence?
Yes. Public performance royalties are declared location by location, since each one has its own situation (size, capacity, activity). The process itself is identical from one site to the next, though, and can be handled in a batch. Horra supports you through those declarations, with a human contact.
Is one subscription enough for several venues?
Music is generally billed per location, but managed from a single dashboard. You run your whole network from one place, while each site keeps its own settings.
An atmosphere that works for you
Curated playlists, audio messages and human support, all from a single app.
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