A good while ago I was having my first flat white, extra hot, in Caffè Nero in Chislehurst, just up the road from Sainsbury’s – you can’t miss it – and I really took to the place.
Its coffee, its toasties and its apricot croissants. But most of all, I soon realised, its music. The loop. Cool jazzy stuff. Beautiful piano pieces. Classical. Songs with a difference.
Just wonderful, but who was the brains behind it? All they could tell me was that it came from head office in Covent Garden.
So, I investigated and found it was someone called Paul Ettinger, better known by some as ‘Pablo.’ His Caffè Nero ‘journey’ has been extraordinary, and…well, let Paul tell you himself:
‘My path to helping build Caffè Nero was anything but conventional. After studying Physics at Southampton University, I took on a series of unexpected challenges – from working as a ski instructor to mine clearing in Libya.
‘An MBA at INSEAD in France led me into the chemical industry, where I spent 13 years eventually helping to run a German chemical business. Nothing in that trajectory suggested I'd end up in the hospitality world, let alone championing unsigned musicians across the globe.’
In 1997, Paul’s friend from INSEAD bought five coffee bars in London and asked him to join as a non-executive director. ‘When he heard I was returning to the UK the following year, he asked me to help turn the business around, running all the food, beverage and commercial operations.
‘As a food lover and keen amateur chef, I agreed to help for what I thought would be 12 weeks. I fell in love with the challenge and the hospitality industry so completely that I'm still here today, more than 25 years later.
‘Music was always part of Caffè Nero, even when we only had those five coffee bars. As the only musician on the board, I naturally took responsibility for it. Early in our history, we decided to feature live music in our Soho location during the Soho Jazz Festival.
‘That's when I met Tony Moore, a brilliant musician and promoter who ran The Kashmir Club. He invited me along, and I started going every week, meeting singer-songwriters who would share their CDs with me. I began playing their music in Caffè Nero.
‘Then something magical happened. A young musician asked if he could do a "Caffè Nero Tour" and ended up playing live in 30 of our stores. That was Jack Savoretti, who has since become a global superstar.
‘From that moment, unsigned musicians started sending me their music and asking to perform. The programme grew organically – we built a Caffè Nero at a major music festival with our own stage, and everything accelerated from there.
‘What started as an instinct to create the right atmosphere in our coffee bars evolved into a genuine commitment to supporting emerging talent. We realized that Caffè Nero had something unique to offer musicians – not just a stage, but a daily presence in the lives of millions of customers worldwide.
‘Every song we play reaches people during their morning coffee, their afternoon break, their evening wind-down. For an unsigned artist, that kind of exposure is invaluable.
‘Today, I curate our playlist alongside Rob Clark from Imagesound, who has access to a library of four million songs. We can distribute our carefully crafted playlist to all 1,200 Caffè Neros worldwide. There's a core playlist, with about 20% of songs unique to each country, allowing us to celebrate local music and musicians.
‘We update monthly, adding 20-30 songs each time. The playlist flows from classical music in the morning to jazz at lunchtime, then Americana, country, pop, and soul in the afternoon and evening. Every choice is deliberate, designed to enhance the customer experience while giving talented artists a platform they might not otherwise have.
‘The scale of what we've built still amazes me. Over the years, I estimate we've supported around 400 unsigned artists. The royalties Caffè Nero pays – now a very substantial sum – go directly to musicians through PRS and PPL, the collection agencies.
‘This isn't symbolic support; it's real income for working musicians trying to build sustainable careers. For many artists, being featured on our playlist represents their first meaningful streaming revenue, their first proof that their music can reach beyond their immediate circle of fans and supporters.
‘Our commitment extends far beyond the playlist. We run one major festival annually, several showcases throughout the year, and now sponsor and help run the New Talent Music Competition, which recently concluded with a fantastic final concert in York where the winner was chosen.
‘Next year, we're supporting Country Calling Festival in August, where we'll build a large Caffè Nero and stage, hosting around 130 musicians over three days. These aren't small undertakings – they're significant investments in live music and emerging talent.
‘Watching artists grow through our programme has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my career. Some musicians who played in a single Caffè Nero location years ago now headline festivals. Others have built loyal followings through the exposure our playlist provided.
‘Jack Savoretti's trajectory from that first "Caffè Nero Tour" to international success isn't unique – it's become a template that dozens of artists have followed. We've created pathways, opened doors, and most importantly, paid musicians fairly for their work.
‘My commitment to supporting musicians extends beyond Caffè Nero. I'm a jazz keyboard player and perform with my own band, Ivory Pablo & the Blue Notes. We recently played a major gig at The Crypt in Covent Garden alongside well-known country singer Savannah Gardner, who joined us for some jazz numbers.
‘Being a working musician myself gives me insight into the challenges unsigned artists face – the struggle for venues, for audiences, for fair compensation. It keeps me grounded in the reality of what we're trying to achieve at Caffè Nero.’
Eight years ago, Paul co-founded TALENTBANQ, a live music agency where he serves as Chairman. ‘It was created to discover, nurture and promote outstanding unsigned artists – essentially extending the work I do at Caffè Nero and taking it to another level.
‘TALENTBANQ now puts on 20-30 gigs per week across London and has a roster of over 100 artists. It's everything I hoped it would become – a thriving ecosystem where talented musicians can develop their craft, build their audiences, and make their living through music.
‘The connection between my work at Caffè Nero and TALENTBANQ is natural and symbiotic. Artists who perform at TALENTBANQ venues often end up on our Caffè Nero playlist. Musicians we discover through submissions to Caffè Nero find performance opportunities through TALENTBANQ.
‘We've created a comprehensive support system – recording opportunities, live performance venues, radio play through our stores, festival stages, and competition platforms. For an unsigned artist trying to break through, these resources can make the difference between giving up and persevering.
‘Looking back on my journey from physics to chemicals to coffee bars to music promotion, I see a thread running through it all – a love of challenge, of building something meaningful, of creating opportunities.
‘That 12-week commitment in 1998 turned into a quarter-century passion project. What started as simply choosing good music for our coffee bars has become something far more meaningful – a platform that genuinely helps emerging artists build their careers, reach new audiences, and earn from their craft.
‘Every time I hear a musician we supported on the radio, or see them headlining a festival, or simply making a living from their art, I'm reminded why I stayed in this industry. The hospitality business gave me an unexpected gift – the chance to champion talent, support dreams, and prove that commerce and creativity can not only coexist but enhance each other.’
Hear, hear – in more ways than one!
DoubleSpeak 