How does Soniqo actually run in the venue?

We stream a curated, dayparted programme to your venue's existing audio setup — Sonos, AirPlay, PA, or any standard mixer. No hardware to install, no new accounts for your staff. Staff can adjust volume; everything else is automated and scheduled.

How fast can you go live?

Forty-eight hours from the first call. Day one we do a 30-minute onboarding call. Day one–two we build your sound profile. Day three you're live. Most multi-zone venues are running within the same window.

Standard from Pro tier onwards. Different floors, lobbies, terraces, spas, private rooms all get their own programme, each on its own schedule. All controlled from one dashboard.

What if our internet is unreliable — or goes down completely?

Two answers. Our cloud player already buffers through short drops. For properties where music simply cannot stop — malls, casinos, hotels, live venues — we offer offline playback: a dedicated on-site player with the entire programme stored locally, so the audio path never touches the internet. The connection is only used to sync new tracks and schedules when you're online. Hardware can be supplied and managed by us, or we send the spec and configure yours. Quoted per property.

Our DJ team. Not an algorithm, not a generic playlist library. Every track is handpicked, brand-aligned, and tested against your concept. No explicit tracks, no off-brand surprises.

How often does the music change?

Quarterly refresh on Core, monthly on Pro, custom on Signature. Seasonal modes, event modes, and brand-specific signature evolutions are part of the Pro and Signature tiers. Nothing ever loops the same week twice.

What about the same music across all our locations?

Yes — central group profile with optional local adjustments. The brand sounds consistent across every venue while still respecting venue-specific factors like crowd, hour, season.

Do you handle the new UAE music licence (from 1 December 2026)?

Yes. Under Ministerial Resolution No. 136 of 2026, every UAE restaurant, café, hotel, gym and mall needs an annual music licence from 1 December 2026 — fees from AED 1,500 a year for a small restaurant, fines of up to AED 500,000 without one. For our venues we determine the tariff category, prepare and file the application with the authorised organisation (EMRA or Music Nation), track the renewal, and keep the certificate and track-level documentation inspection-ready — bundled with the music itself. Full breakdown and a fee calculator: soniqo.io/uae-music-licensing/.

What about music licensing?

Handled on our side. PRO and PPL royalties are paid through our system. You stay legally clear without managing any separate accounts or licenses for the music we provide.

Thirty days written notice, any month. No exit fees. We hand back the calendar so you can continue with your previous setup if you want to. First month is treated as a trial — cancel within 30 days, no kill fee, no questions.

Why not just use Spotify Business?

Spotify Business gives you a music library; it does not give you direction. It plays algorithm-based recommendations, includes podcast and sponsor breaks, has no daypart or brand intelligence, and is not insurable as a business audio source. Soniqo is the programme around the music — designed, curated, scheduled, supported.

Riyadh · Expanding

Riyadh's new dining era
needs a sound system to match.

Riyadh is opening more premium hospitality concepts per quarter than any city in the region. Diriyah Gate, Boulevard City, KAFD, U Walk, JAX district — entire ecosystems being built from scratch, with international F&B operators arriving every month. The music side has not caught up. Most new venues launch with the same Spotify Business setup their consultants always recommended. We are programming the alternative.

ServingDistricts in Riyadh

Diriyah·KAFD (King Abdullah Financial District)·Boulevard City·U Walk·JAX District·Al Olaya·Al Malqa·Al Nakheel·King Salman Road

The Riyadh dayProgramming context

Riyadh dining sits later than Dubai. The dinner service window is from 9pm well past midnight, with the most important table-turn happening between 10pm and 1am. The room needs to hold energy at that hour without falling into nightclub territory — a programming nuance Spotify cannot handle.

Signature daypartsTuned for Riyadh

Daytime calm

13:00 — 18:00

Lighter side of the programme — instrumental, modern Arabic-jazz fusion, downtempo soul.

Pre-dinner lift

18:00 — 21:00

Warming the room without committing. Tasteful instrumentals, low BPM house edits.

Late dinner peak

21:00 — 00:30

Riyadh's main service window. Soulful, danceable-but-not-club, brand-aligned. The hardest hour to programme well.

After-midnight lounge

00:30 — 02:30

DJ-mixed, energy still climbing. Where the room either holds or empties — we make it hold.

Venue formatsIn Riyadh

●Boulevard City restaurants and lounges

●Diriyah cultural-district hospitality

●KAFD corporate-adjacent dining

●Hotel F&B (luxury openings throughout 2025–2026)

●Members-only and majlis-format concepts

●Concept restaurants from international groups

Why us in RiyadhOur position

We are not the cheapest option for Riyadh — and we are not trying to be. Our work is for operators who understand that what plays in the room is part of the brand, not a back-of-house setting. Most of our incoming Riyadh enquiries come from operators who have already opened in Dubai and want the same standard transplanted.

Deployment

Fully cloud-deployed. No on-site visit required. We work with the venue's local AV team for setup; everything else is remote from Dubai. Same 48-hour turnaround.

Pricing

Riyadh venues typically engage at Pro or Signature tier given multi-zone formats and longer service hours. Group dashboards available for operators running across multiple Riyadh properties.

Music in Riyadh venues now answers to a new law.

The Kingdom’s new Copyright Law gives SAIP inspection powers over establishments, raises fines to SAR 1,000,000 and introduces collective music licensing — the venue tariff is still being written. Live music already needs a GEA permit. We run Riyadh venues on a licensed, documented programme now and handle the licence the day the tariff is published.

What changed & what to do now

Ready in Riyadh

Tell us about your Riyadh room.
We'll listen first.

A 10-minute call. We'll learn the concept, the crowd, the service hours, the brand. If Soniqo is right for the room, we'll be live in 48 hours.

Schedule a call +971 58 582 0397 WhatsApp

contactsoniqo.io ↗

Other cities we programExplore more

United Arab Emirates · activeDubai — venue musicOpen →United Arab Emirates · activeAbu Dhabi — venue musicOpen →Saudi Arabia · expandingJeddah — venue musicOpen →Venue typeRestaurants — programmingOpen →Venue typeHotels — programmingOpen →Venue typeBeach clubs — programmingOpen →

Riyadh's new dining eraneeds a sound system to match.