Music/ Muzak in stores- Good, bad, notice it at all?

I love the music in my grocery store. They have my demographic nailed. Freak Out, C'est Chic in the cereal aisle!! Lots of disco era. Late 70's ? Watch out when they do Brick House, uh oh. I could embarrass my self.
On the other hand, I am gritting my teeth when DD wants us to go in Aeropostale. Too LOUD and Annoying!! and she has to examine every article in the store, while I can barely keep from rolling my eyes over the thong underwear and overpriced, tissue thin tee shirts. that will go on clearance a week after she buys one. And American Eagle music is pretty weird.

Do you notice store music? or tune it out?

I notice.
Not sure why we need noise when shopping.
When I was working, it was quiet. It would drive my employees crazy, they would have to have a radio on. Its ok if it is not country music.

Gotta say, our local Save a Lot store has the best music. It is a good variety. I have heard Seal, Santana, oldies and ugh a country song or two. But it is a nice mix. Light but ok.

Not sure about shopping to Brick House...I would be singing and dancing around the store. Don't they want people to slow down and shop. LOL. It would be like playing Footloose, everyong would footloose to the checkouts and not buy enough stuff.

Even the WAWA gas/convenience place has music by the pumps. In between telling you what you need to come in the store and buy-coffee, sandwich.

Gas pumps should not talk to you. I hate that.

I live out here in the sticks with no tv and only nature singing to me. Don't even turn on the radio unless I am in the car.

I kind of think it is a problem that people need to listen to ipods all the time, watch movies in your car, be entertained constantly.

I am sounding my age now.

I'm afraid listening to 'something' is just as pervasive a habit for some, as having the TV on

"Gas pumps should not talk to you. I hate that." LOL I agree.

Ugh. The gas pumps talking to me.

In the middle of a blizzard (well, okay, it was just cold) the
pump would not function until I answered the following question:

'Would you like a car wash?'

Just when I thought this was the most ignorant thing I'd ever
seen, I realized the computer doesn't know it is cold outside,
so I let it pass. A few weeks ago what did I see, but a guy getting
a car wash in 20° weather.

The Goodwill store plays nice, soothing favorites from the 70's,
but the stores with loud rock, I won't even spend time or a dime in
them. (Ha! Coming from someone who listened to AC/DC as a kid)

:-)

I hate the Loud music at Best Buy. I have enough trouble trying to figure out what I'm looking for, and then I can't think.
We had a grocery store that had talking scanners, so it would say; Fosters farm Milk; $2.50...or Maxi Pads 2.45 or femmine douche...ect ect. all loud enough so everyone in line knew everything about you by the time you were finished checking out. They shut'm down in only a short amount of time after they were installed!

SacValley~so glad that speaking scanner was shut down; wonder whose bright idea it was in the first place.
For the most part, music in stores annoys me.
sister of sacvalley:
kiska

Maybe that is why I don't shop very much. I go out once a week to get some food and back to the woods. I am such a hermit.

I feel sorry for the people who have to work in such places. On the floor in a retail store or in the gas station that talks all day.

Me too. I love music, don't get me wrong, but I also like quiet. I wonder about all this "input" pushed at us all the time. No wonder people have a hard time relaxing.

When I worked in a store, I completely ignored the music.. It was on all day, but I didn't even notice. Except at Christmastime... There was one song that was in their mix that set my teeth on edge every time it played. I don't remember what it was right now - and I'm very happy not remembering!

I remember in college (went back at 40) there was this guy in class during lab time that would whistle the limbo song. It would get stuck in my head for days, until we would have the class again. I wanted to strangle him.
I have a real problem with songs looping in my head. Maybe that is why alot of people like listening to something all the time, it turns the "ipod" in your head off.
Or maybe I am the only crazy person that this happens to. There are many songs that get stuck in there and won't turn off. At least they play one at a time. lol

Oooo... I HATE when that happens! It's always the stupid songs that seem to get stuck, too.

Happens to me, as well. I hate it. Songs like, "Over The Rainbow", sung by Ray Charles. Or "Secret Agent Man". Once, in high school, I got the theme to "The Sting" stuck for two weeks. I sometime wish I could give the record player in my head a shove and be done with it.

The only way to get rid of a song is to replace it with another that you find not as annoying.
Do not watch Fiddler on the Roof. I had that soundtrack in my head for a month.
Secret agent man and the sting, are good head stickers for me too. I wonder if it is just certian songs.
Oh no, secret agent man is stuck now, thank you.

Not only do I find constant music or t.v. annoying in stores, it also bothers me when I go to some friend's houses. Some people Must have something going all the time. My D.H. is kind of like that but he has taken to wearing headphones so I don't have to listen to it. Or maybe it's ear phones now. I forget what they call them.

Do you notice store music? or tune it out?

Sally, this is one of my pet peeves. I've been into music for as long as I can remember (have sung in choirs forever) so I really HEAR music - rhythm, tone, meter, lyrics - the whole enchilada. I don't know how to not hear it.

Also, I'm aware that stores and restaurants use music to manipulate behavior - to get people to move faster or stay longer - and I resent that. I would prefer that stores not play music at all. With the vast array of media players, people can bring their own if they want to rock out. As it is, I leave stores, restaurants, etc., that play music I can't deal with - no product or meal is worth the irritation. I also always carry earplugs for unavoidable music-blasting situations.

I usually am so intent on my shopping that I don't even hear it in stores. Where it really bugs me is when I'm on hold and have some obnoxious noise coming from the phone while I wait. I would prefer silence so I can continue to work on whatever I was doing before being put on hold.

After reading this thread, I started paying a little closer attention to who's playing what. Last night, at Applebee's, they were playing all 80's hits. Puh-leese! Can we at least play something from THIS century? Madonna's "Like A Virgin" is not what I call 'digestive' music. And the grocery store had oldies on, too. If I hear "Freebird" while searching for just the right apples, one more time, I'll scream.

Sorry to laugh. But I did.
Funny how music from the 60's that Grandma said was horrible zombie music, is now easy listening. Well, not so funny, guess we are the grandmas now.
So will rap music be played in elevators 30 years from now?

HA - Freebird and groceries, that seems like a real mismatch. Well, so do the ones I 'enjoy' in my store, come to think of it. It is funny/or a reality check, to hear 'your' par-tay-ing music in the store!!
hmm, 50 Cent in the elevator? eeegh.

Too late. I've already heard it. My DD and I were in a store and Tupac was coming out of the speakers and then another she recognized. NOT Hollister or Aeropostale, either.

I just found this thread and to be honest I never really thought about the music in stores...............untill now. And I agree with most that it is obnoxious. I think electronics stores like future shop and best buy, by far have the worst blaring music. I DO NOT want to hear the latest horrible remix of some pop/rap song while trying to shop. I love music, but so much music today is overprocessed! I heard part of a Brittany Spears song and it sounded like that automated voice was singing, the one thats on answering machines worldwide and tells you phone numbers have been disconnected. It sounded like that, except it was singing. UGH!

SW, the only noise thing that I find more irritating than stores blaring music at me is those drivers who think it is their right to share their musical taste (or lack thereof) - extremely loudly - with all the other drivers at a stoplight. Many of them put speakers in the trunks of their cars to perfect that thumping, booming sound.

Maybe the cameras-at-stoplights government types could include recording devices and send these drivers tickets for disturbing the peace!

It was funny. I was listening to the Musak in the store today and I heard FOUR different kinds of music. Something for everyone, I guess.

I SO agree about the thumping cars!!!!!!!!!!!!! Makes me want to blare out classsical.

I found my self having ignored the store music for a good 20 or 30 minutes and when I thought about it, they were playing Pink Floyd..."so, so you think you can tell, heaven from he++, blue skies from pain. " Way too,.....existential...for my contemplation of brands of toilet paper. (Doesn't any human think about these playlists at all? I guess it is about entertaining different tastes. ) But then they perked me up with 'Could it be I'm falling in love, with you baby?"

I too must agree with those THUMPING cars, they drive me crazying in the summer with their 'music", if you can call it that.
When I was out the other day, I made sure to pay attention to the music in stores and some isn't bad, it's just oldies mostly.

What I hate more than loud store music is when I call a business and they play music while I am on hold. That means I can't listen to whatever music or tv show that I had on at the time or carry on a conversation with someone else unless I put the receiver down on the table. It's always really bad music. I wish they'd offer an option to push a button if you want to listen while you wait.

sometimes I play 'sing my own on hold music' when waiting for one of my kids to come talk to his friend. interspersed with "your call is important to us !!" ~~~~etc. Yeah I am so hilarious, in my own mind.
~ raindrops keep falling on my head~~
Not saying its a bad song, but got that perky factor!

I used to work in a call center and had to put a customer on hold once and he asked me if I could possibly play anything better then that horrible elevator music, possibly some Led Zeppelin while he waited!
I apologized and told him sorry but I couldn't. poor guy!

You're hilarious SallyG! I'm going to do that someday!

One place I used to call had a little ad and then some "interesting facts" some were really good. Then they would come on the line, just when they were going to tell you the answer. Ha.

Thye do that in movie theaters, too. At least, they used to. They'd have movie trivia and just when they're about to give the answer...BOOOM! We've got movie sign! (please tell me someone will get this reference)

You're in the grocery store (supermarket, for you young'uns) hunting for something among the hundreds of related items but NOT your brand evidently and up comes the latest announcement of the specials and the prices, etc etc and that is followed by some music you never heard of before then the kid in the next isle just screams that he has to have the two-bit toy and screams at the top of his lungs and then the terrible twos and old-enough-to-know better(s) come racing around the corner knocking your cart down the way and into very breakable whatever. You feel like slinking away and vow never to enter that hallowed place again. I appreciate quiet when quiet is due such as when driving, writing, reading, thinking or sleeping. The birds outside I enjoy all the time they are there and those various doves are up before dawn. When you feel a car coming before you actually see it, you know what to expect. I love music but like everything else it has its place.

Ann