A managed audio engagement for boutique hotels, design hotels and small luxury properties. We curate the lobby, the restaurant, the spa, the suites and the pool deck as one coherent sonic identity, and we update them weekly with a senior team. No streaming app. No generic playlist. PRO fees do not apply on the MCR catalogue.
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The defining quality of a boutique hotel is coherence. Every detail signals a positioning that the guest experiences as a single, considered whole. Music is part of that whole, but it is the part most operators leave to chance.
A 250-room international chain hotel uses background music as filler. A boutique property of 18 rooms cannot afford filler. The lobby of a boutique hotel is one of three or four shared spaces a guest will inhabit during their stay — and the soundtrack of that space, repeated across two, three, four nights, becomes part of how the guest will remember the property.
Most boutique hotels handle this in one of three ways, none of them ideal. They run a Spotify or Apple Music account on a personal subscription, which is technically prohibited by the consumer terms of service of those platforms and may also generate PRO obligations. They subscribe to a generic background music service, which delivers competent but personality-free curation of the kind you might also encounter in a regional shopping centre. Or they let the F&B manager play whatever they like, with the predictable result that the music in the lobby on a Tuesday afternoon is what that one team member happened to be in the mood for that morning.
None of these approaches reflect what the rest of the property is doing. The art on the walls was chosen. The fragrance in the corridors was chosen. The plates in the restaurant were chosen. The music is often the one element where coherence collapses, and it does so in the most public, most unavoidable, most repeated medium of the guest experience.
Each MCR Premium engagement begins with a discovery brief: positioning, season, guest profile, F&B identity, the specific zones to cover, the integration with existing AV. From the brief we build a custom selection of curated stations — typically four to seven — that map onto the property zones and the moments of the day.
The stations are not playlists. They are dynamic, weekly-updated programmes built and maintained by a senior team, with a curator who knows the property and adjusts the music in dialogue with the General Manager and the F&B Director. The catalogue is licensed directly under EU Directive 2014/26/EU, with full coverage: PRO fees do not apply on the MCR catalogue.
The result is an audio identity that becomes part of the property over the months — recognisable, specific, on-brand, and as carefully maintained as any other element of the guest experience.
A managed engagement covers the property as one ecosystem. Each zone has its own role, its own time of day, its own guest population, and a station curated for that role.
The first 30 seconds and the last 30 seconds of every guest stay. Refined, distinctive, never generic. Tempo medium-low, harmonies open, voice-driven only when carefully chosen. The lobby station signals the property positioning before the guest has spoken to a single member of staff.
Role: signal positioning, open the experience.Two distinct programmes: lunch service (lighter, more conversational) and dinner service (warmer, more textured). Tempo and density change through the meal, in coordination with the kitchen pace. Music never overrides the room — it accompanies the courses as the lighting does.
Role: support service pace, frame the meal.Aperitif, after-dinner, late evening. Three distinct sonic temperatures across the day, each curated to support the social density and the consumption pattern of that hour. The bar is where music carries the most weight in shaping dwell time.
Role: extend dwell time, support consumption rhythm.The most sound-sensitive environment of the property. Tempo low, frequencies warm and unobtrusive, vocal content minimal. The spa station is the most carefully curated of the engagement, because guests are most acutely aware of sound when they are most relaxed.
Role: support relaxation, deepen the wellness experience.Seasonal programmes, tailored to climate and guest profile. Daytime is luminous and relaxed, sunset is the most theatrical moment of the day in any pool environment. Curated specifically for outdoor acoustics and the very different listening posture of a sunbed.
Role: extend the property experience outdoors.Background music for hospitality has a long history of being delegated to algorithms, interns, or subscription apps. MCR Premium delivers something different.
Each MCR Premium engagement is supervised by a senior member of the team, with the curation philosophy set by Emanuele Carocci.
Emanuele Carocci is a radio broadcaster with over 20 years of professional on-air experience. He works as a host on national commercial radio and leads the music curation team at My Corporate Radio.
His background in the discipline of programmed music — the discipline of broadcasting, where every track and every transition is chosen for a precise audience and moment — is the foundation of how MCR builds its hospitality engagements.
The contrast with consumer streaming services is the contrast between programming and indexing. Spotify and Apple Music index 100 million tracks; they do not programme any of them for any specific purpose. A radio professional does the opposite: they take a small, carefully chosen selection and build a sequence that feels inevitable in a specific space and at a specific time.
This is the discipline that MCR Premium brings to a boutique hotel. Not more music, not bigger catalogues, not algorithmic personalisation — the right small selection, programmed for the property, supervised week by week.
Three approaches a boutique hotel can take to its audio. They differ in cost, in legal posture, and most of all in the level of curation they deliver into the room.
| Aspect | Consumer streaming | Generic background music service | MCR Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal posture | Breaches consumer terms of service in commercial use | Usually licensed via PRO blanket | Direct license under EU Directive 2014/26/EU. PRO fees do not apply on the MCR catalogue. |
| Curation | Algorithmic, generic playlists | Generic stations shared across many venues | Bespoke per property, supervised by senior team |
| Multi-zone management | Not designed for it | Available in some plans | Standard. Lobby, restaurant, bar, spa, pool |
| Updates | Static personal playlists | Library refresh on a fixed schedule | Weekly, in dialogue with property leadership |
| Voice announcements | Not available | Limited or chargeable | Included, multilingual, AI voice in 14 languages |
| Pricing model | Personal subscription | Per-zone monthly fee, fixed catalogue | Custom per property, scoped to the brief |
A bespoke sonic identity tailored to the hotel positioning, multi-zone audio management (lobby, restaurant, bar, spa, pool, fitness, suites), curated stations updated weekly by a human team, optional voice announcements in 14 languages, and direct license coverage under EU Directive 2014/26/EU. The service is delivered as a managed engagement, not a self-serve subscription.
Emanuele Carocci, a radio broadcaster with over 20 years of professional on-air experience, leads the music curation team at My Corporate Radio. Each luxury engagement is curated and supervised by a senior team member, with weekly updates aligned to the hotel's seasonal and operational calendar.
MCR Premium is custom per property, scoped to the number of zones, integration requirements, and level of bespoke curation. We share a detailed proposal after a private consultation.
The MCR catalogue is licensed directly from rights holders under the framework of EU Directive 2014/26/EU. The service is provided with a direct license certificate and no PRO fees apply to its catalogue, in any jurisdiction. Hotels remain free to use additional repertoire from PROs alongside MCR if they wish, with the relevant local fees attached.
Initial discovery and brief takes one to two weeks. The first curated stations and zone configuration are typically ready within three to four weeks from contract signature. The first month of operation includes weekly fine-tuning based on the GM and F&B feedback.
Yes. MCR operates worldwide. The direct license model is recognised internationally under bilateral conventions on copyright. The service has been deployed in Italy, the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States. Reference clients available under NDA.
Yes, in most cases without hardware changes. MCR streams from any browser-enabled device connected to the existing audio system. We integrate with most professional AV systems on the market. For specific integrations (Crestron, Savant, RTI, Q-SYS) we provide tailored deployment.
Public references include Albergo del Senato (Rome), Brezza Fish and Chill, Le Delizie, M Seventy. Federalberghi Roma is an institutional partner. Additional references for confidential or high-profile properties are available under NDA upon request during the consultation.
Related guides from the My Corporate Radio editorial catalogue.
A 30-minute discovery call to understand your positioning, your zones and your operational requirements. From the call we share a written proposal with scope, timeline and pricing within five business days. No commitment until the brief is signed.
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