Music for restaurants (and other shared/public spaces)

[Guermantes]

Ryuichi Sakamoto was so turned off by the BGM at his favourite restaurant that he asked the chef if he could create a new playlist to improve the dining experience.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/23/dining/restaurant-music-playlists-ryuichi-sakamoto.html

I know that this is all a matter of taste and context, but it made me interested in the process of curating music for shared spaces. Is there (and should there be) as much thought given to it as for the decor in a restaurant, which is usually a major focus? Supermarkets and other commodity-driven establishments have long exploited BGM as a psychological influence but I'm interested in the idea of the aesthetic of musical environments.

I see there are agencies like this:
https://www.openearmusic.com/

And I see Starbucks uses playlist curators:
https://www.fastcompany.com/3067250/meet-the-music-nerds-behind-the-tunes-you-hear-at-starbucks

A music curator talks about what they do:
https://www.thevibeproject.co/blog/2017/10/15/whatisamusiccurator

"A music curator isn’t just curating music; their curating an experience, an atmosphere, a culture."

 

[Ceburaska]

It’s weird how everybody now is a “curator”, except for actual curators in museums who have decided they don’t like being called that.

 

[NorthSky]

I think if you go to specialised restaurants; Greek, Italian, French cuisine, Indian, Chinese, Thai food, etc., it's nice they play background music from their culture, their traditional music.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

If I take any notice of the music in a public place, I don't like it. It should be like the wallpaper if it is there at all.

 

[andreasmaaan]

Unfortunately I can't find any info in English, but my local train station in Berlin will today begin playing "stressful" atonal music in a bid to end a perceived problem with the "drinker scene" (code for homeless people): S-Bahn will Trinker mit "atonaler Musik" vergraulen

EDIT: there's already a facebook event in mock celebration:

Atonal Music For All

This September, the operators of the S-Bahn Berlin are rolling out a pilot program at the Hermannstrasse station, in which they aim to disperse away with the homeless by playing atonal music in the entrance to the station.

Atonal music in everyday life? Sounds great!

We would like to extend our gratitude to the operators of the S-Bahn Berlin for this stroke of genius and cordially invite you to our event on the 24th of August at 1900, in the entrance to the Hermanstrasse station. We will be serving food and drink for everybody so that we can celebrate and listen, together, atonal music or indeed even, to play it.

This Friday evening we would like to represent and portray atonal music, as something that stands for the liberation of (tonal) hierarchies and of the equivalence of all sounds as a metaphor for social equality, for participation and to counteract social discords with our own musical dissonances.

 

[SIY]

Related: My pet peeve is "hold" music in phone systems. I got to choose the hold music at a company I used to work for. That lasted less than a week: "People are complaining about it. They think it's noise."

It was Charlie Mingus and Oliver Nelson, selections from "Mingus Ah Um" and "Blues and the Abstract Truth."

 

[RayDunzl]

My pet peeve is "hold" music in phone systems.

I tested and put the new Phone system for Grand Isle, Louisiana into service one midnight (the cutover party started at 6pm, so it was "interesting").

Customers complained they couldn't connect calls "up the bayou".

Retest was fine.

Finally figured out that the old (analog) system would click and clack in their ear as the voice path made successive connections through the waypoints up river. The new system was silent until the final leg of the connection was completed. They wouldn't hear anything happening and hang up. The wait time was the same old/new, just no comforting noise that something was happening.

 

[JP]

I used to work in the space. Customer dependent, of course, it ranged from the CEO approving every single track and the playlist overall (multiple turns) to most who didn't much care. The "music designers" took it all rather seriously.

 

[Guermantes]

Unfortunately I can't find any info in English, but my local train station in Berlin will today begin playing "stressful" atonal music in a bid to end a perceived problem with the "drinker scene" (code for homeless people): S-Bahn will Trinker mit "atonaler Musik" vergraulen

EDIT: there's already a facebook event in mock celebration:

Similarly, there is a McDonald's in the centre of Canberra (Australian political capital) which pipes loud classical music onto the footpath outside to deter the drug dealers from doing business there. It's the usual suspects though: Mozart, Beethoven, Vivaldi, et al. It would be interesting to hear some Schoenberg or Boulez.

 

[Ceburaska]

Schoenberg and Boulez? They’re only trying to deter some people, not everyone!

 

[Guermantes]

Schoenberg and Boulez? They’re only trying to deter some people, not everyone!

Hell is another person's taste in music . . .

 

[Guermantes]

I used to work in the space. Customer dependent, of course, it ranged from the CEO approving every single track and the playlist overall (multiple turns) to most who didn't much care. The "music designers" took it all rather seriously.

So how much research went into the music design? Did you use university studies or did you find most of the approach to be heuristic?

From the "what is a music curator" link:

A music curator fits the music to a brand by mixing science-backed research, market research, brand research, client interviews, understanding of lifestyle and music trends, music knowledge and knowing how music will sound in a specific environment with specific people. Oh, and having a great filter for what music works and what doesn’t. ​

​

The Ryuichi Sakamoto article indicates that the original BGM was supplied by the parent company of the restaurant. I wonder that Sakamoto felt that his own preferences were superior to those of whoever organised the original playlists -- perhaps another music curator who had been contracted by the company. I think that there is a lot of weight placed on the final sentence of the above quote: "having a great filter for what music works and what doesn't."

 

[Kal Rubinson]

The Ryuichi Sakamoto article indicates that the original BGM was supplied by the parent company of the restaurant. I wonder that Sakamoto felt that his own preferences were superior to those of whoever organised the original playlists -- perhaps another music curator who had been contracted by the company. I think that there is a lot of weight placed on the final sentence of the above quote: "having a great filter for what music works and what doesn't."

I read the original NY Times report which included details of the playlists and, frankly, I recognized few of the choice and those which I did recognize were selections that would find inappropriate if I noticed them while attending to my dining and conversation.

 

[Grave]

I worked at two grocery stores recently and they both had similar ****** pop music playing over and over again. I am sure I could make a much better playlist. I would just use my music library but remove anything which might be too angry or might be offensive.

 

[Guermantes]

I read the original NY Times report which included details of the playlists and, frankly, I recognized few of the choice and those which I did recognize were selections that would find inappropriate if I noticed them while attending to my dining and conversation.

Yes, some of the selections are idiosyncratic and I wonder how they are received by the other patrons. This is even more intriguing when we remember that Sakamoto has a successful career as a film composer.

So what is music meant to do in this case? Should it disappear into the background like wallpaper, as Kal has said? Should it entertain, as it does in live music venues? Should it delight us, like the food or decor? Or should it be carefully selected by experts in order to subconsciously motivate us to spend/eat/drink more?

On inappropriateness, when I visited the city of Akita in northern Japan I was surprised to hear expletive-ridden hip hop (in English) piped into the main shopping strip. I wondered if it was an innocent attempt at appealing to younger shoppers or if it was some bored public servant's idea of a joke. Most Japanese youngsters are acquainted with English swear words though they don't have much shock value. Perhaps it was just considered colourful.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

So what is music meant to do in this case? Should it disappear into the background like wallpaper, as Kal has said? Should it entertain, as it does in live music venues? Should it delight us, like the food or decor? Or should it be carefully selected by experts in order to subconsciously motivate us to spend/eat/drink more?

Let me magnify the issue on a slight tangent. I detest live music at restaurants because it distracts me more than does reproduced music. Moreover, I am bothered by having to insult the musicians by ignoring them. All this has nothing to do with what are my intended activities, eating, drinking and conversation.

 

[JJB70]

Reminds me of all those hotel lobby pianists and crooners around the world who peddle their performances whilst being ignored by everybody in the room.

 

[Fitzcaraldo215]

What I hate most about many restaurants, bars, etc. is the absence of any informed, even simple acoustic control over reflected sound. Ceilings and other surfaces are usually all hard, amplifying not only music, but also the escalating noise from the crowd as they all try to be heard in conversation, eventually all shouting at each other in a cacaphonous din. This seems especially prevalent in places that cater to young adults. They seem to like it, but I almost invariably walk out.

I am not troubled by tasteful music just soft enough to allow you either to ignore it, to have a conversation at normal volume or to focus on if you wish to hear it. But, I don't think it takes some alleged genius curator to do a playback list well that has wide appeal without being boring elevator music. I personally like some sophisticated places that just put a CD of some Sinatra, Ella, Mel, Carmen, etc. without cranking up the volume.

It's not really background music, but when I go to college football games, increasingly they insist on playing pop music over the stadium PA pregame, at halftime and during other pauses in the action. I am fine with the live band on the field, love it. That's part of the game, but I did not go to the game to listen to piped in pop. People can bring their earbuds if they want that.

 

[NorthSky]

Best food, best wine, best music...Classic.

 

[SIY]

Reminds me of all those hotel lobby pianists and crooners around the world who peddle their performances whilst being ignored by everybody in the room.

One of the grocery store chains here in Illinois has live pianists doing "mood" music during shopping hours on weekends. A few weeks ago, while I was standing in line at checkout, the guy at the piano was playing a soft and slow piece, very unobtrusive. As I listened, I realized that it was a Pink Floyd song. I shot him a look, he noticed, and we exchanged grins. He then moved on to an Emerson, Lake, and Palmer piece, played in a similar elevator music style, and smiled and nodded at me.

That really put me in a great mood.