Custom Channels has deployed its business music platform at Matt’s Hot Dogs, a long-running, single-location restaurant in Seattle, pairing bespoke playlist creation with the technical infrastructure required for reliable commercial audio.
Music has always played a role at Matt’s Hot Dogs. When the restaurant first opened in 1992, its soundtrack came from a portable radio tuned to a local jazz station, chosen as much for its lack of adverts as for its music. Over time, that informal approach evolved through early consumer streaming services, but the technical limitations of those platforms became increasingly apparent.
Custom Channels’ system is designed to address those gaps by combining music personalisation with backend tools built specifically for business use. At Matt’s Hot Dogs, the deployment includes professionally curated playlists built around the owner’s musical preferences, alongside track normalisation to avoid sudden volume changes, ongoing playlist maintenance and full music licensing compliance.
The platform is also designed to support day-to-day operational control, with features such as time-of-day scheduling, multi-zone playback and optional messaging. According to the company, this allows the soundtrack to shift subtly across service periods, supporting changes in pace and atmosphere without manual intervention.
Matt Jones, founder, said: “Music sets the tone the second someone walks through the door. It tells people what kind of place they’re in. I’ve always cared about that, but I didn’t want to be wrestling with the technology to make it happen.”
Jones’ musical tastes range widely, from rock and soul to jazz and film scores, and he was keen to avoid what he described as generic, one-size-fits-all playlists. While he initially explored managing every aspect of the music himself, he found that the technical demands quickly outweighed the appeal.
He added: “I realised it’s not just about choosing songs. It’s how they’re curated, how they’re balanced, how they’re maintained over time. That’s the stuff you really notice when it’s not done properly.”
Jeremy Bookman, director of sales, added: “A lot of independent operators initially think business music is just about playlists. What we offer is a commercial music platform designed for public spaces, handling normalisation, scheduling, licensing and support behind the scenes.”
Bookman said the system is designed to give operators creative input without adding operational complexity. “When an owner can focus on the sound they want, while the platform takes care of consistency and compliance, the whole experience becomes more intentional,” he added.
Custom Channels says the same underlying technology is used across single-site venues and large multi-location operators, with scalability built into the platform.
