# Why do most businesses play background music? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 14, 2008, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-businesses-play-background-music/456458 "2008-07-14T17:03:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![scrambledeggs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@scrambledeggs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scrambledeggs)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-businesses-play-background-music/456458/1 "2008-07-14T17:03:02Z")
Went to a local restaurant – loud background music. Not a live band, but piped in pre-recorded music playing fairly loudly on the speaker system. At starbucks they always play, but usually a generic ‘jazz’ tape that suppedly appeals to the oldies as well as the young ‘hipsters’. At Guitar Center, a large retail store, they had rock music blaring. Is this constant background use of prerecorded music based on marketing? The employees? Just imitation? Do restaurants outside the US have the same background music? ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-businesses-play-background-music/456458/2 "2008-07-14T19:23:29Z")
Studies show that people buy more, and work more productively, if there’s soft music playing in the background. This applies to both the customers in the restaurant, the Starbucks, and the guitar center, and to the employees working there. [http://music.muzak.com/assets/pdf/The-Positive-Impact.pdf](http://music.muzak.com/assets/pdf/The-Positive-Impact.pdf) > **[History of Muzak, Inc. – FundingUniverse](https://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/muzak-inc-history/)** > > Explore the history, profile and timeline of Muzak, Inc. > [@](#): > > In 1937, the theory that music increased efficiency and reduced absenteeism in the workplace was substantiated by a team of industrial psychologists in Britain. On the heels of this disclosure, a study conducted at the Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey showed that “functional music” in the workplace reduced absenteeism by 88 percent and early departures by 53 percent. Additional studies demonstrated equally impressive results, convincing many that there was a direct correlation between the sound of music and higher productivity. At a dairy in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, a recording of “The Blue Danube” was played, inducing the cows to produce more milk. Elsewhere, recordings reportedly inspired chickens to lay more eggs. In retail businesses, IME, the employees have very little to zero input into what’s played over the speakers; the Marketing wonks spend considerable time talking to the Muzak wonks, deciding what tape loops will fit their business profile the best. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-businesses-play-background-music/456458/3 "2008-07-14T20:20:42Z")
I like the ones they play at Chipotle. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-businesses-play-background-music/456458/4 "2008-07-14T22:47:14Z")
One important but often overlooked reason is that the majority of people can hear sound. ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-businesses-play-background-music/456458/5 "2008-07-14T22:56:02Z")
There are other reasons. Urban Outfitters, a clothing and accessory store for the 18-30 crowd (my guess) plays LOUD music, and it’s not Bach. It’s probably Nine Inch Nails or some such - at least in that general genre. I’m sure that they are convinced that such music provides a comforting or familiar environment for their targeted shopper, who may just stay a little longer wandering the aisles. It may even be an attempt to draw in folks who wander by when the door is open. Actually, the door doesn’t even have to be open to hear what’s happening inside. Now, it may be that some marketing guy has done some sort of survey that says that that’s the way to go, but I’m here to tell _someone_ that I won’t ever stop in there again, even when I’m just out kicking tires and thinking I might buy something for one of my grown kids - or even see if there’s something in there that might interest me. It’s waaaay too loud. They may have “proven” that even if they lose me, they’ll gain two more customers. But in my view, no one should open a store being willing to sacrifice even one customer by alienation. Just sayin’ xo, C. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-businesses-play-background-music/456458/6 "2008-07-14T22:57:05Z")
[QUOTE=Harmonious Discord] One important but often overlooked reason is that the majority of people can hear sound. [/QUOTE] Not sure if you just intended this facetiously or not, but it’s true. I’ve been in restaurants when I suddenly noticed that the music had stopped playing, and the din of utensils on dishes, spoons stirring beverages, and other normally-well-masked sounds was unreal. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-businesses-play-background-music/456458/7 "2008-07-14T23:21:43Z")
[QUOTE=KneadToKnow] Not sure if you just intended this facetiously or not, but it’s true. I’ve been in restaurants when I suddenly noticed that the music had stopped playing, and the din of utensils on dishes, spoons stirring beverages, and other normally-well-masked sounds was unreal. [/QUOTE] I was not trying to be a smart ass. 🙂 You explained it a bit so I don’t have to. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-businesses-play-background-music/456458/8 "2008-07-15T00:14:06Z")
Slight hijack - when I worked at McDonald’s as one of the three overnight janitors during college, I tried a sound experiment. As my shift began (and the restaurant closed), I talked all of the cooks and staff going off work into hitting all the timers on all the equipment, and trying to keep it going for as long as they could stand it. The noise of all of those buzzers and beepers going off was horrific, and aggravating. After about 5 - 10 minutes, they were begging to make it stop. We then turned on the boom box, and they all got ready to leave, but as they were leaving, I pointed out that that was what they heard every lunch hour and supper rush. So the point of muzak, there at least, is to mitigate the negative effect of the sound environment in the kitchen. To me, Muzak is sort of like a septic tank cleaner using industrial-strength perfume to cover the effects of his work. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-businesses-play-background-music/456458/9 "2008-07-15T00:18:10Z")
I wonder what the situation is with Panera, which plays the same jazz set over and over again _really loud_. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-businesses-play-background-music/456458/10 "2008-07-15T00:23:37Z")
My understanding was that Starbucks plays whatever CD it’s trying to sell. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Shroud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/439d5e/32.png) [@The\_Shroud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Shroud)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-businesses-play-background-music/456458/11 "2008-07-15T02:24:29Z")
The other day I was shopping at Macy’s; the flagship store has 3 floors worth of men’s stuff. Four, actually; floor 1½ has all the young men’s stuff, and when I arrived there, they were absolutely blasting, from every corner, that song that goes “burn muthafucka let the muthafucka burn!” And even though I might occasionally listen to that sort of music at home, while browsing through jeans it made me feel very edgy. And, consequently, old. I didn’t spend much time on that floor. But, I think the incongruity of that particular floor illustrates that retail music is a very calculated thing. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-businesses-play-background-music/456458/12 "2008-07-15T02:56:49Z")
[QUOTE=acsenray] I wonder what the situation is with Panera, which plays the same jazz set over and over again _really loud_. [/QUOTE] Customer turnover in a given time period. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-businesses-play-background-music/456458/13 "2008-07-15T16:07:09Z")
In my veterinary practice I have a CD player that we all share. We play what we like to listen to, since we are here \>8 hours a day. It works out well, until somebody accidentally plays the mix CD with["Who the fuck is Alice?"](http://www.stlyrics.com/songs/h/happyhardcore19425/whothefuckisalice524649.html) or [“Why Don’t We Get Drunk and Screw?”](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/j/jimmy+buffett/why+dont+we+get+drunk_20071810.html). ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-businesses-play-background-music/456458/14 "2008-07-15T16:20:09Z")
[QUOTE=Harmonious Discord] Customer turnover in a given time period. [/QUOTE] Yes, but people have mentioned _soft_ music as a facilitation for purchasing. Why the loud music? And people do tend to hang around for long periods at Panera, because of the free wi-fi. ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-businesses-play-background-music/456458/15 "2008-07-15T16:37:52Z")
I also have a theory about the loud music in some stores. Sometimes, these are stores where the acting manager is either young, someplace in the 20’s or young 30’s, or is absent. The people working there want to hear their music all cranked up, and so they turn it on and turn it up. When their friends come in, everyone’s happy. The folks working in those stores don’t really care about the company’s bottom line, they care only about their working conditions. If someone complains, maybe the’ll turn it down a bit. If a company suit comes in, they might tell them to turn it down a bit. But the decision on what to play and how loud to play it doesn’t come from the guys in marketing, it comes from the kids working in the stores. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-businesses-play-background-music/456458/16 "2008-07-15T16:48:06Z")
[QUOTE=acsenray] Yes, but people have mentioned _soft_ music as a facilitation for purchasing. Why the loud music? And people do tend to hang around for long periods at Panera, because of the free wi-fi. [/QUOTE] There is more than one person in this world that can choose what to play and why. The reason for one store to do it won’t match every store’s reason. The part you just quoted from me was in reference to why the same thing over and over. Play the same thing over and over to encourage people to be going. Like damn that thing’s been on three times, how long have I been here. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-businesses-play-background-music/456458/17 "2008-07-15T16:49:09Z")
> [@](#): > > it comes from the kids working in the stores. Only if the kids have access to it. At Walgreens, the tape loop is controlled by Management, in the office, on the computer, and they can only play selections from the official Walgreens Muzak, all of which is EZ Listening, in some way or another. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-businesses-play-background-music/456458/18 "2008-07-15T18:19:05Z")
[QUOTE=KneadToKnow] Not sure if you just intended this facetiously or not, but it’s true. I’ve been in restaurants when I suddenly noticed that the music had stopped playing, and the din of utensils on dishes, spoons stirring beverages, and other normally-well-masked sounds was unreal. [/QUOTE] I’ve wondered whether restaurants, bars, etc. try to keep the background music loud enough to allow for private conversation: so that you can hear the people at your own table but not the people at other tables. (Since the Cone of Silence[sup]TM[/sup] hasn’t been perfected yet.) ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-businesses-play-background-music/456458/19 "2008-07-15T18:35:55Z")
In my office we have background jazz in the common areas/bathroom, and a pink noise system in the cubicle farm. I am endlessly thankful for both of them, as it hides every cough, rustle, sneeze, fart, and _ahem_ that my co-workers generate. Sound masking is critical. In other places like stores and whatnot, it helps contribute to the kind of image you want to associate with your product. Like, people who would buy this attractively weathered bookcase listen to Thelonious Monk. Aren’t you a Monk fan too? Buy it. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-businesses-play-background-music/456458/20 "2008-07-15T21:11:28Z")
[QUOTE=CC] But the decision on what to play and how loud to play it doesn’t come from the guys in marketing, it comes from the kids working in the stores. [/QUOTE] If a store is letting random employees choose what music to play, this could be expensive in the end. My understanding is that playing background music that can be heard by the general public is considered a public performance subject to licensing fees. One of the advantages of Muzak and similar companies is that the fee you pay to them includes the licensing fees owed to the artists. They can also customize the selection of music to fit the desired environment. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-businesses-play-background-music/456458.md?page=2)