Unfortunately different people have different levels of hearing ability, so you’re not setting the conversation size at the same level for all participants. If you set the volume too high, you may well be excluding some people from the space entirely.
I think that people mostly put music on in these settings as a way to avoid awkward silences and to create the impression that the room is more active than it is, whilst people are arriving. If this is true, then it serves no great purpose once people have arrived and are engaged in conversation.
Another important consideration is sound-damping. I’ve been in venues where there’s no music playing and the conversations are happening between 3 −5 people but everyone is shouting to be heard above the crowd, and it’s incredibly difficult for someone with hearing damage to participate at all. This is primarily a result of hard, echoey walls and very few soft furnishings.
I think there’s something to be said for having different areas with different noise levels, allowing people to choose what they’re comfortable with, and observing where they go.
Unfortunately different people have different levels of hearing ability, so you’re not setting the conversation size at the same level for all participants. If you set the volume too high, you may well be excluding some people from the space entirely.
I think that people mostly put music on in these settings as a way to avoid awkward silences and to create the impression that the room is more active than it is, whilst people are arriving. If this is true, then it serves no great purpose once people have arrived and are engaged in conversation.
Another important consideration is sound-damping. I’ve been in venues where there’s no music playing and the conversations are happening between 3 −5 people but everyone is shouting to be heard above the crowd, and it’s incredibly difficult for someone with hearing damage to participate at all. This is primarily a result of hard, echoey walls and very few soft furnishings.
I think there’s something to be said for having different areas with different noise levels, allowing people to choose what they’re comfortable with, and observing where they go.