The playing of music in a commercial establishment is considered the equivalent of a performance for profit, no matter how it is sourced. You don't have to hire a live dance band, music from the radio or playing a CD will do just fine, and ASCAP/BMI will be around to collect the royalty. The courts have exempted small establishments that just use a portable radio or boom box, but this is of little benefit to restaurants and larger stores that need multiple speakers and PA systems to distribute adequate sound to keep shoppers soothed. While hardware stores might not have previously considered themselves as being in the entertainment industry, times have changed. As an example BMI charges $354/ year for a 2500 to 5000 square foot retail establishment. Restaurants get hit $2.25 per occupant-year, and that is Fire Marshall rated occupancy, not your normal seating load. If you let your patrons dance, its an extra $1.50 per occupant-year. And that's just for BMI music, ASCAP also charges stores for performance of their music.
Most radio stations play ASCAP/BMI music so they are not suitable for "music on hold" without royalty payment. BMI will charge about $200/year for music on hold. Again, public domain music is the right choice. One customer of our PastMasters music service in prior years has been the Federal Courts, so you gotta figure nobody is getting music for free these days.
PastMasters offers special made CDs targeted for retail shoppers and telephone service.