I usually don't mind it. Actually it's one of the most common places that I will discover new tunes, seeing as I don't listen to the radio that much these days. Sometimes it's really annoying though, especially if they are playing loud club music or other dubstep in the early morning for example.
I don't notice the music sometimes. Like other people said, I think it's because we're so used to hearing it. When I do hear it, it doesn't really bother me. I am a music addict and I am more tolerant of the music I don't care for nowadays. As long as they're not playing Taylor Swift, opera or bluegrass I am fine with it. That's what annoys me about Pizza Hut. It seems like they play Taylor Swift a lot. I realize other people like her and that's fine so if that happens I pull out my Iphone.
I usually don't notice the music in stores. Instead, the music they play in two local malls really annoys me. In the common areas of both they play classical music. I've heard that it helps deter the teenage mall rats but I disagree with that one. They still loiter in the same places and just put on their headphones.
It really depends on the music being played. I think good music helps lifts people's moods. I was in a thrift store a few years back and they were playing the Beatles 1 cd. As I was walking around the store browsing, I noticed that 95% of the shoppers were singing along. It was so cool that they found something to play that made everyone happy. I have a feeling the thrift store made a lot of sales that day.
Music in stores do not faze me too much. A lot will depend on the type of music, the type of store and the volume. There are certain times in the year when it can get a bit much. When every store you enter plays the same 3 christmas songs for a full month, frustration sets in.
That bothers you? I am very surprised you feel that way. Because music playing in retail stores is nothing new. It has always been that way. Since i was a kid. It is very shocking that you are just now noticing that trend. It does not bother e. To be honest. I could not care less about it. I only go in retail stores when i know exactly what i want. I get i, and out in less than 5 minutes. Depending on how long their checkout lines are that day.
When they play really depressing music in a store, it makes me want to get out of there. My local Goodwill was playing a really sad alternative rock song and I couldn't wait to pay for my coffee mugs and get the heck out of there as fast as possible. Songs about heartbreak and longing don't create a good shopping experience.
Why does it bother you so much? It seems like something that is extremely unimportant. If you do not like it. Don't pay any attention to it. You shouldn't be in the stores long enough for the music to get on your nerves. If you are maybe you try some ear plugs next time. Or some headphones, and listen to your own music.
I find it funny myself compared to how things used to be which was elevator or no music. In my area, I think Trader Joe's started the trend of playing lively music which seemed to start with 50's rockabilly. Then they moved on to 70's r&b, which I love, but some songs are very...romantic, so to speak. One morning I was in Bed, Bath & Beyond where "Pull Up to the Bumper" by Grace Jones was blasting. Anyone who knows that song realizes that its definitely an after-hours message. A few years before that, my Kroger store played Smashing Pumpkins "Zero" and "1984". Now the real change was Nordstroms, which has always had someone decked out in tails or a formal playing a baby grand in the middle of the store. Last year, "New Pollution" by Beck blared out of the speakers.
I don't really mind music playing in stores. The music isn't only for the customers benefit, it's also for the employees. They did a study somewhere, and found that people worked better and were more efficient when working while listening to music. So music is a good thing! Also, music is usually ambient and helps to "set the tone" of the store. A lot of stores use music to better the image of the brand! (And, can you imagine working in dead silence for 8 hours or more? You'd probably go slowly insane.) I DO mind however, when the music is extremely loud. I have had to walk out a store because the music was so loud that it started to give me a headache. It's like, the music should not be so loud that when I walk out of your store I feel like I've walked out of a rock concert, not a shop. (I'm looking at you, Best Buy and Hollister.)
It's not up to you to decide how long I should spend in stores. When I'm in Goodwill, I'm usually selecting items to resell on eBay. If something has hidden damage, I won't be able to get a good price for it on eBay, so I take as long as I need to in order to inspect items. It doesn't actually take me that long to be annoyed by the music in Goodwill because they blast the crappy radio stations too loud through their donated surround sound department store speakers. I actually did start bringing my own portable music player a week ago. Yes it is unimportant, but many unimportant things in life are still inconvenient and annoying.
Try shopping in Mexico. They play their music so loud you can't think. Today, we were in a Sally's Beauty Supply and not only was the music loud, it was inappropriate. It was some rap artist who's every second word was F***. Perhaps, because the song was in English they didn't know what was being said but man, it was uncomfortable being in there with my 65 year old mother. The only place that has their music at a reasonable level is Starbucks. Since, I'm not there for that long the music doesn't annoy me; however, I couldn't imagine listening to it all day. It's terrible! However, even, the grocery stores blare their music here. Sometimes, they have promotions going on inside the store with music blaring. It's usually competing with the other music and drives you mad.
In some situations I prefer loud music, such as when I am using the restroom. I have a shy bladder and cannot go if it's dead quiet in there. Then I end up just standing there at the urinal not doing anything, and it starts to look like I'm just there for cruising or something like that - and I end up creeping out the other guys. I also don't mind louder music in restaurants, since it helps drown out the conversations and gives me a little more privacy. I also think to some extent, it discourages people from yapping on their cell phones so much - to the point where they will just go outside to make their call. I believe the stores actually have to pay licensing fees to be able to play that music in their stores. When I shop at Save-A-Lot I noticed they are always playing all this weird music from people I had never heard of before, they must be getting some sort of discount music subscription service from second-rate artists or something, lol. When I was working as a server at TGI Fridays, I would say about half if not 2/3 of the servers there were all doing coke regularly - and some genius that worked at corporate decided to include Duran Duran's cover of "White Lines" in their store "music", so it was coming on like every 40 minutes or so, and driving the servers nuts, lol.
Yes, there's the Harry Fox Agency that collects royalties for music played in businesses. I worked at a Jewish deli on Miami Beach that played public domain 1940's music all day in a continuous loop so they wouldn't have to pay royalties. Speaking of being annoyed by music, there's a guy in the apartment downstairs from me blasting booty music, so I'm blasting whale sounds so that I can annoy him equally.
I tend to notice music when shopping because they have chosen odd or inappropriate music for the venue. While it may have been cleaned up for the store, I often hear something and thing - I recall this song had a lot of swearing in it or some other issue. Music in the stores needs to be subtle and in the background and should not be something that the customers notice. It is a way to make the experience more pleasant and hopefully you will shop longer and spend more, but if I am noticing the attempt, it isn't working.
It depends on the store mostly. Like in sears I don't mind the music, as it goes well with the surroundings and it isn't too loud or gets in the way. In most other stories though, it does get annoying. It doesn't really affect me though...
I only dislike it if the music is too prominent like if they constantly keep playing annoying pop songs, but I have been to some stores and restaurants that had nice mid-tone music that weren't too annoying and I even found myself feeling a bit more relaxed. I think it just has to do with the type of crowd that a certain place caters to. For example, Starbucks would most likely have some jazz tunes playing while a shopping mall might feel required to play more upbeat and current songs to cater to the masses.
I think the biggest issue for me is frequency- how often is the store going to play the same song(s) again and again over a certain period of time. If it's something I don't particularly like I can usually ignore it and continue shopping, but if it gets to be about the fifth time I've heard it in an hour it's going to get on my nerves. Very rarely will I be in a store and find a song I love and not just tolerate. Just this past week I was in a gas station/convenience store and I heard "Age of Consent" by New Order. That was a nice surprise. So was being in Michael's about a year or two ago and hearing early Belle and Sebastian and all the songs from Fleetwood Mac's Rumours that haven't been played to death.
I tend to agree, I've been places and almost never known that there was music on because it was all subconscious. I have also been in stores that, like you said, play a small playlist of songs and once I start hearing them on repeat I get slightly irritated. How hard can it be to make a bigger playlist of songs?
I'm not bothered by it at all. I enjoy walking into a store and hearing music coming from the speakers, especially grocery stores. It tends to make grocery shopping relaxing. However, I do find it a little weird for a bookstore to be playing music. Book stores are usually calm and quite. That's like walking into a library and they're playing music.
