Ah Muzak. There is an element of our society that makes us feel pretty isolated if we don't have SOMETHING going on audibly. But in can't just be the dull hum of the computer sitting next to me, it's got to be something structured. Someone sat around and said "Why not simply cover existing music so it's a little less harsh around the edges and so the licensing fees will be smaller" and presto, Muzak was born.
Of course no one really liked Muzak, and when you would hear it you would just try to figure out what the actual song was which, often, would be an exercise in madness. However, it turns out that Muzak has re-invented itself into a company that doesn't do covers any more, they put together play lists that get users in the mood... in the mood to what, I suppose, depends on the environment. I absolutely love this idea.
In "The Soundtrack of Your Life" by David Owen (New Yorker, April 10, 2006), they cover a lot of the different areas that are currently using this technology. Most of them are retail based. But why stop there? Just about every place has a need to get users in a certain mood. Maybe one type of mood at work, another in the car ride on the way home. We're already bombarded with music all the time, it might as well be more coherent.
I'm surprised radio stations haven't picked up on this as well. It's not like I want to get rid of the local DJ or anything, but if you have some central stream that provides a consistent way to get people in the mood you're looking for, why not? I know, I know, this is a slow path to mediocrity, where the resultant product is neither good nor bad but just slightly better than ok. But since casinos have figured out how to engineer every element down to the color and pattern of the carpeting to encourage more gambling, I'd expect other industries to start doing the same.
Which of course, reminds me of another idea recently out. The review for the excellent book Why We Buy sums it up nicely. It's all about sweating the small stuff. For example:
Female shoppers get agitated when they are bumped from behind (a term he calls the butt-brush), so wider aisles ease the tension and encourage them to linger.
This is a great insight, but it surprises me that the sales environment is still so incomplete. Reading a book like this should be required to own a store. Actually, check that. It should be required for anyone doing anything involving customers at all.
Oo, even better, it looks like he has another book out as well. Time to queue that up...
