I find piped music played over the PA at my local supermarket depressing. There's only so much easy listening adult contemporary I can take.

So I propose that supermarkets extend the network they use for their on-the-floor handheld computers to customers with specially modified personal music devices. Customers can upload a song or list of songs in MP3 format or whatever happens to be the flavour then, the music is pooled and played at random while those customers are in the store.

OK, so the idea is a little redundant. Why not just listen to your own MP3 player over the store music and shut out the rest of the world. Well, here are some advantages of pooled music:

1- notices by staff such as "XYZ-123, you left your car lights on", and can be heard.

2- presumably a more diverse range of music. This is because of the larger group of people taking their music to the market.

3- up-to-the-minute demographic pandering... People who like the same types of music seem to be largely grouped together for socioeconomic reasons. They would presumably all choose music from a similar style or genre, and that would be the music which is predominantly played.

4- self-serving bias... I once watched a problem gambler fritter away $600 on a poker machine. He asked me if I could spare a buck or two because he beleived the next hit would redeem his lost fortune. I beleive this logic would not be lost on shoppers who, while they dont like the other shoppers' choosing to pool Celine Dion into the mix, beleive that their Asian Dub Foundation mix will be next and shop with a giddy sense of excitement waiting for their song to be played.

5- you can have conversations with people with the pooled music in the background.... If you simply donned headphones and listened to your own music, this would be difficult barring some kind of sign language.
-- sdm, Aug 09 2001

Muzak on demand http://www.halfbake...Muzak_20on_20demand
This was an idea which came to me in my sleep. I promptly forgot it, but "Muzak on demand" was the idea which jogged my memory. [sdm, Aug 09 2001, last modified Oct 04 2004]

[obligatory 'ban muzak' post]
-- angel, Aug 09 2001


[non-obligatory 'at least you can filter out muzak, which is something you can't do with loud pop music' post]
-- -alx, Aug 09 2001


I suppose you know that the music is not there for your (or any other shopper's) enjoyment. It's there because it makes most people spend more money in the store. Aesthetic judgements are irrelevant.

Maybe what you need to do is to conduct a study that will persuade marketers that the music you like best is more effective at motivating shoppers.
-- beauxeault, Aug 09 2001


beauxeault: /* [the muzak's] there because it makes most people spend more money in the store */ --my theory is that the self-serving bias will kick in and people will stay longer because they're waiting to hear their song. while they are there, they will probably shop...
-- sdm, Aug 09 2001


Yes, a music service for grocery stores only. Plays Meat Loaf, Bread, A Taste of Honey, The Cranberries, and the Wild Strawberries.

http://www.strawberries.com/

http://www.meatloaf-oifc.com/

http://www.super70s.com/Super70s/Music/GreatestHits/A%20Taste%20of%20Honey-Anthology.asp

http://www.mid-tn.com/bread/
-- count_chocula, Aug 21 2001


[admin: To add links to a halfbakery idea, use the [link] below the idea's main text. Don't put them into the text of an annotation, they throw off the layout.]
-- jutta, Aug 27 2001


I can just see the little old ladies wandering around the shop, smiling sweetly as an old Bing Crosbie number fades away... only to be followed by "1... 2... F*ck you, bitch!" as Iggy Pop launches into a classic Stooges track like, say, "Cock in My Pocket.". It would certainly enliven my shopping experience.
-- Guy Fox, Aug 27 2001



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