How many of you just walk out of shops because of the incessant music? Is there anywhere, shops, restaurants, pubs, foyers, lifts, etc., etc., where you can get away from it?

When you complain they ask you what sort of music you want instead. Shop managers cannot seem to grasp that you cannot hope to please everyone at the same time, particularly when the music is piped through 3 inch speakers 15 feet off the ground.

Is it an age thing? Do others not even notice the noise?

Yes the piped music is really annoying but what bugs me more is the music you have to listen to over the phone when you are on hold. AAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH

Music creates an atmosphere. The reason you hear it in a supermarket is that you'll hear a song that's popular that you'll recognise and sing along to it, making you feel happier and more relaxed and therefore more likely to buy more goods. Certain clothes shops choose music to match the style of the clothes so the shopper can relate the music to their mood when choosing an item.

I run a rock pub, so play rock music. You choose to come to my pub to listen to rock music and it plays all the time that the pub is open.

If you don't like music when you are out an about I suggest you get a catalogue and buy your clothes from there, order your food online from a supermarket, and if you want a pub then pick one that has a no music policy.

What a boring life.

Long live music.

Originally posted by "Classic Rock"

Long live music.

Here here
especially live music.
especially in pubs
especially at the Classic Rock Bar
or its new home

doing a good sellin job here eh

Keep on rockin in the free world (neil young)

I think that deserves a round of applause!

Originally posted by "Classic Rock"


I run a rock pub, so play rock music. You choose to come to my pub to listen to rock music and it plays all the time that the pub is open.

Long live music.

We seem to be at odds here. I like music and I will come to your pub to hear it. (I hope you find new premises soon, there's an empty one at Stannington)

I don't like muzac played in inappropriate places. Loud pulsing music in clothes shops puts me off going in and I have money to spend. Shops should get it through their heads that not everybody likes the same music. I'm sure that if you started playing Barry Manilow in your pub your clientele would leave. You see, they CHOOSE to hear your choice in music.

The operative word is choose. I choose my music at home, in my car, at concerts and in places of entertainment. Not B&Q, not Next and certainly not in bookshops.

Long live music.

:D :D

Bookshops, no, not so good. But music is psychologically comforting and supposed to cheer you up and make you at ease - a familiar old friend being heard in an unfamiliar environment will make you more likely to purchase (I studied this as part of my degree) - theoretical but I think it's true.

Loud banging music obviously attracts the teenage crowd who would buy the style of clothes that the shop aims at them. Some people are attracted by this - but I think these shops are a minority.

Quiet background music is acceptable.

The next topic to expand on is the quality of the system installed. If you are listening to poor shoddy speakers and a weak system, the sound can often come through as tinny and annoying or all bass and no treble. A good system offering depth and clarity to the music can be much more pleasing.

Shop's own radio stations blatantly advertising their products along with music is more annoying I think.

Stannington is a bit far out of town - I'm still looking for somewhere central (1-2 mile radius) for a pub to take on. (Sorry to the people who don't understand this - read my post in Sheffield Chat about 'help me find a pub'.

Originally posted by "Classic Rock"


Quiet background music is acceptable.



You're still missing the point here.

Someone else's choice of music is most unlikely to find favour with everyone. While I may enjoy classical music, or rock, I do not enjoy every possible artist or composer.

Quiet background music is never acceptable. The de-sensitised may not notice it but, bring it to their attention and they'll likely agree that it's not their choice.

Please don't preach about having studied it as part of your degree. I studied computers but I don't tell people what systems they should buy.

Go here if you want to see some facts about piped music and its near universal dislike:

http://www.pipedown.info/welcome.html

I still like Rock music and may pop in some day.

:D

I was in Staples at the weekend and was aware of their music playing in the background - mainly cos when it started it was too loud and someone turned it down instantly. It filled in a certain level of sound that seemed to be missing in a big echoing warehouse, it offered some base and range of sound that seemed more comfortable for the mind - without it the place seems hollow and tinny.

Choosing a type of music for a shop with family appeal isn't done off the cuff. Marketing and PR leaders will carefully choose familiar and friendly tracks. Of course not everyone will like their choice but a good percentage of the population entering the premises will find some familiarity with it and it shouldn't cause offence....after all music may well serve the funtion I mentioned earlier - filling in the sound in a certain range to make the store more appealing and friendly, hence you buy more.

I hope I've not offended you too much by stating that I've studied this subject - this subject just triggered off memories of a marketing lecture and I had the urge to pass on my memories of it and thought I'd give you a bit of my background. Your last post came across as very abrupt and touchy. I have an opinion and I'm sorry that it conflicts with yours, but I'd appreciate a more friendly and less abrasive response.

I'm glad you like rock, and my dream would be to walk into Staples and hear Black Sabbath or Journey playing, but this music isn't mainstream and wouldn't appeal to everyone, hence you hear big hits from the charts which more people recognise.

i dont know if its been mentioned but shops play different music to make you buy things!

in the mornings they play slow music to make you take your time and relax more, so you shop more, and in the afternoons faster music so it feels more frantic and you see offers and what-not

It is due to the ignorance of people to not learn of other cultures of the why people live their life. Because people do not realize why they are asking for different type of music to be played wether it be rap, rock punk, or country it is all iteresting and should be played within the confine for people to engage how other go about living, because no one lives a life with out ignorance.

Nope, that was way over my head. Is it Eastern philosophy stuff?

Me too, is background music really this complex?

Not in my book

Muzak is an increasingly unavoidable part of modern life, in pubs, cafes, GP surgeries and other public places. Those who argue in favour of it would, I think, be the first to complain if they were bombarded with the operas of Wagner or the complete choral works of Bach wherever they went, and would feel that they were excluded from pubs, restaurants, etc. because they did not like the music. They might even want to avoid a visit to the dentist or to their local hospital.
I had a conversation recently with someone who accused me of being "totalitarian" for wanting to complain about piped music and his view was that, just because he found pop music relaxing, it should be played in all public venues. He is right of course, just as I am right to insist, because I find it frustrating that traffic lights, pedestrian crossings, road markings, and other vehicles on the road all make my car journeys longer and more tedious, that I be free to ignore these impediments and not be bound by social conventions that supposedly have a social benefit but, in relaity, are totalitarian rules that I should not be bound by.
Such musings make me understand more about the impllicit authoritarianism and selfishness of the pro-muzak brigade.

I agree with you Maxt, not everyone wants to listen to a hideous shreak that these days passes for music, one can hear this kind of noise coming from a lunatic asylum.

Why don't the establishments that provide it supply headphones, so that the general public can choose whether to listen or not. We have so many annoying things forced on us and if we have the gall to complain, then it is us who get all the flak.

Personally, I have got to the time of my life when I need some peace and quiet, and therefore we frequently drive out in to derbyshire to get it, as even at home we are subjected to this onslaut on the ears, even in our own garden in the summer.

I hate the music played by some supermarkets. I have to say Morrisons seems to be the worst for this. It is mostly 70's stuff. Now I have nothing against the 70's as I am a seventies gal but come on. It sounds so dated now and mostly it's some copy artists doing a take off. If we are to have background music make it worth listening to.

I believe that some dentists now play music in the treatment rooms to de-stress patients. Apparently, the less tense you are the less pain you feel. Makes sense I suppose, as a drunken fall is not as painful as a sober one. :lol:

Can't say that I am bothered whether music is played or not. If I didn't like it and felt that strongly about it I would simply take my business elsewhere.

When I lived in France it was strange in some shops cos they'd be playing really violent offensive horrible misogynist homophobic racist rap music in English so noone realised how horrible it was.

And some of the most unlikely people were singing along oblivious.

listening to music no matter how crap it is has gotta be better than listening to people pulling stuff of shelves, knocking stuff on the floor, coughing, choking etc. :)

Its so exciting when im at work in hell on earth and they decide to put a nice CD on. They usually reserve this type of exciting event for christmas when they will put some nice christmassy songs on to create an atmosphere. Oh the excitement! It brings cheer to my dull, lifeless, depressing day as a shop assistant.

Oh the customers will moan - but they dont have to stand there for hours on end where the only bit of excitement is trying to memorise the 8 track CD and correctly guess the next song to come up.

Please put up with it for the sake of the workers or else all we would hear all day would be complaining, babies crying, the incessant murmour of dull conversation concerning which item one should buy, the noise of the tills and the annoying cheesy tannoy messages about what 'offers' we have on today

I quite like the music they play when you're on hold on the phone. It's better than waiting in silence and I usually get caught singing along when they come back on the line. You're going to have to wait regardless. Once the music was so good I asked them to put me back on hold. I was joking of course! To sit in silence makes me feel like the wait is even longer. I sometimes feel that like they have hung up on me.

Dear all

I'm not in Sheffield, but was delighted to find people discussing this subject, and to see Pipedown mentioned.

I must disagree with Funke88's view that telephone muzak is OK. I once held for almost an hour to speak to Telewest's customer service department. I was subjected to loud (and unpleasant) "music". I was using a speakerphone, and trying to work at the same time...an impossible task. I was seriously stressed by the end of that call! :loopy:

I do not need this noise to feel reassured that I have not been cut off - a simple "Thank you for holding" every minute would suffice. We could be given the choice, of course: "Press 8 for silence" - the technology exists, but it seems that few are willing to use it. Abbey (formerly Abbey National) do not play music down the line.

Best quiet wishes,
Angie

Originally posted by Lickszz
Can't say that I am bothered whether music is played or not. If I didn't like it and felt that strongly about it I would simply take my business elsewhere.

Unfortunately, we usually don't have the choice...most shops and restaurants play muzak, and few are willing to turn it down (let alone off).

I am lucky to have the muzak-free John Lewis department store, and Waitrose and Sainsbury's supermarkets nearby, but you can't buy everything there!

It's not just about disliking the choice of music, though. Those who are hard of hearing suffer because most hearing aids cannot discriminate about which sounds they amplify. The blind also have a difficult time, as they lose the sounds (voices and footfalls) that help them orientate themselves. Most muzak-players are unaware of these things.

I left Holmes Place ("health" club) because of the music. It was everywhere - including in the shower!!!

It's important to let those in control know that you don't like the stuff, rather than just leaving. Otherwise the situation is not likely to change.

Best quiet wishes,
Angie