Music

A grocery store is only playing unsigned artists over its PA

by Mark Teo

As those who study (or have worked in) retail know, music is an incredibly important part of the shopping experience. Accordingly, marketers have studied music intently: They’ve broken down which musical patterns create environments conducive to browsing, shopping, and return customers. Sites like Moodmixes.ca claim that sales can increase more than 30 per cent when music is playing; shopping times increased when customers were listening to unfamiliar music; and that slower music resulted in slower shopping, eventually leading to a 38 per cent increase in sales. Marketers, dude.

It all seems a tad insidious, but there’s no denying that these tactics work. Grocery stores, in particular, induce a trance-like environment conducive to shopping. (NPR’s Planet Money recently hypothesized that milk is placed at the back of stores because it forces customers to browse before buying their dairy.) But one U.K. grocery store seems to by flying in face of all the data: The Co-Op has decided to play only unsigned artists.

At first glance, it seems like a wonderful idea: They’re trying to give struggling musicians a little exposure.

“The in-store radio is a fantastic vehicle for bringing to life our clear proposition of really engaging with and supporting our local communities,” a grocery-store spokesperson said, in a comically scripted statement to the Telegraph. “In order to profile new talent and give emerging artists a national platform for their music, alongside our existing mix of DJs, shout-outs and in-store offers, The Co-operative Radio now only features unsigned bands and artists.

“This will be the first time that emerging artists will be able to access such wide-spread national coverage on the radio, helping them to get a foot in the door of the music industry.”

Sounds great, right? Well, not so fast. Employees have been complaining about the quality of the music, and many have claimed there’s an ulterior motive to playing unsigned bands: It’s Co-Op’s way of avoiding paying royalties to musicians.

“The reason the co-op is playing unsigned artists is that they fall outside this remit, and therefore royalties do not have to be paid,” one employee wrote on the group’s Facebook page.

“Or co-op could just pay the licence fee and get the radio back to what it used to be,” wrote another, “ive [sic] even got customers now complaining about the radio instore its so bad.”

“There’s a reason these bands are unsigned,” chimed in another.

Ouch. So, what do you think—should grocery stores gamble on unsigned musicians? Or should they get back to playing the slow, unfamiliar, repetitive muzak we’re all accustomed to?