Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

Music (muzak!) in shops. Worst offenders!


Recommended Posts

After a trip last week we've stopped doing any shopping at ASDA, which IMO is by far the worst when it comes to playing really sh1tty pop and loud too!  Their playlist is almost solely current pop/urban for the under 25s., utter synthetic, tune-free pap with not a single redeeming tune. Other supermarkets generally play a wider selection and the volumes are lower too. Personally I'd rather not hear music in any shop, other music stores, but if the selection is varied played at a low volume that'll do. Anyone else agree with me re ASDA?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've done most of the playlist at our garden centre; while compiling it I thought about what would be most suitable for an ageing, quite well-off clientele...

So we've got Jacques Loussier playing Bach, Miles Davis "Kind of Blue" and "Biatches Brew". Plus most of Kraftwerk's live "Minimum-Maximum", PiL "Flowers of Romance", Elvis Costello "Good Year for the (David Austin) Roses", Parliament and Bootsy and Fatback (plenty); then there's some Monochrome Set, Ivan "Boogaloo" Jones, Muddy Waters, Scientist, Ini Kamoze, Yellowman, Mad Professor, Schubert, Mozart, Beethoven and about 300 more. Only thing we haven't got is metal as 2 of our staff members go a bit funny.

Edited by Leonard Smalls
Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 minutes ago, owen said:

Morrissons seem to be very clued up and play a lot of stuff which appeals to 53 year old miserable gits. 

I was going to cite Morrison as being quite good, I often find myself nodding with approval when I go in.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My local Co Op plays music at a level that's barely audible unless you're standing in a particular spot in the queue, directly in front of the speaker.

Take a couple of steps forwards or backwards and the volume fades  to almost subliminal levels again.

I'm not really sure what the point is.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Unbelievably,  when i was in Morrisons a couple of mumfs back, they played some led Zepp. Ok, probably only liked by the old farts among us ( guilty as charged ) but as Spider said, i;m quick sick of the mindless girl/boy pop pap that permeates most supermarkets.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think a lot of it is governed by PRS.  I used to work in a shop about 25 years ago where all of the musak was supplied by Rediffusion and was really poor cover versions of middle of the road pop.  I'm assuming they had a set list of songs that they paid PRS for and imagine they got discounted because it was poor copies and not the originals.  With only a 60min max cassette, it used to wear thin after several 8hr shifts.

That's how I'm surprised @Leonard Smalls could just pick and choose (albeit Mozart stuff is so old it is probably licence exempt) unless the Garden Centre has a blanket PRS licence?

I seem to remember @cetera had something to do with PRS - I'm sure he could advise how it all works - he'd certainly be a lot more up to date than me!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

27 minutes ago, Huge Hands said:

blanket PRS licence?

It costs us lots - between the PPL and PRS licences (!) it's around £500pa.

I remember asking them where the money goes; they said it gets distributed among the artists. I asked how they knew which artists we'd played, and how many times each song had been played - they referred me to their website. I offered to send a list of artists on our playlist and they didn't want to know even though I pointed out that it wasn't fair on the more niche artists we play. Their website says:

Our music researchers collect performance details directly from a statistically valid sample of UK venues. We match this against similar broadcast data that contains many of the same songs. It’s this broadcast data that we can then use to calculate how much we pay our members.

and also:

After our business costs, music licence fees are distributed to all those involved in making music via our parent companies PPL and PRS for Music. This means that those people who write, perform, compose, record or publish music are fairly paid for their work.

So presumably it all goes to the Michael Jackson estate and Simon Cowell!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

27 minutes ago, Barking Spiders said:

No, the main reason I dont go to our local branch is cos it's chocka with unemployable scrotes who go shopping in their dressing gowns and slippers

Oh, I never realised you lived 'round our way! 😂

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Beavertown Brewery, of Tottenham.

Now, I'm already well aware of a tendency for some "craft" breweries to be a bit up their own posteriors, but Beavertown just extracted the micturate a bit too much, I felt. I understand how chaotic a busy bar can be (I've spent enough time on both sides of one), but we were a bit miffed off at being made to stand in a long queue to enter a tiny room, where you don't even get to see what's available until you're close enough to squint at a messily chalked-up blackboard just outside the bar.

The long wait might have been slightly more bearable if they hadn't bookended the route with a couple of big PA speakers blasting out some generic w**ky indie-rock at a volume that made conversation all but impossible. Thanks guys, great way to welcome your customers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 26/04/2019 at 18:05, Dan Dare said:

Beavertown? They should open a branch or two across the pond. Potential for some hilarity (guess what "beaver" is slang for in the 'States).

I have often wondered whether they chose their name with a view specifically to raising some eyebrows when they tried to break into the American market...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...