Is music a modern plague?

In workplaces, garments outlets, hair salons, fast food chains and restaurants, there is no escape from music. Music creates an ambiance and adds to the artistic quality of shops and restaurants. Shops with no music and just a weird silence really annoy many but for some this is a very irritating phenomenon.

“I have seen ice cream vendors playing music. ‘Pateesa’ vendors attract children by playing recorded sound: “Pateesa hai mera mazedaar /Jo khayay mangay baar baar,” says Murad Ali from Gulzar-e-Quaid. “It may attract kids but disturbs the patients and students,” adds Murad.

“We listen to the background music every time we visit fashion wear shops. Their music is more background rather than in-our-face as is the case with public transport,” says Najmul Hasan, a government employee.

Music is the neurobiological tool the retailers’ community in Rawalpindi is using to change customers’ mood, mindset, and behaviour. “Playing music lifts our brand perception. Our music selection is the leading way to deliver an effective point of difference to our competitors and an instrument to influence our customers in a positive way,” says Rafiq Hussain, a fashion house owner.

Rajab Ali, a fast food outlet owner says: “Music increases customers and resultantly sales. Playing music makes customers stay longer, shop.

Moreover, letting employees play the music they select themselves makes for happier employees.”

Mateen Haider, an office worker says, “When I listen to music in my office I feel in a more positive mood and less distracted. I also feel inspired, better able to concentrate, relieved of stress and better able to manage my job. I also listen to music to relax.”

“When we listen to music, the pleasure chemical dopamine is released in a key part of the brain’s reward system. Music is just like other rewarding stimuli like food. I don’t say every customer likes it, but almost two in three brand store shoppers like to hear music while they shop. I admit to staying

just a little longer to hear the end of a favourite track,” says Alamdar Naqvi.

Nazim Hussain, a hairdresser from Saddar says: “Playing music makes the salon’s atmosphere more welcoming and it also increases the likelihood of customers returning.”

“Playing music has a direct influence on me. I perceive the atmosphere of this type as dynamic, inspirational or fun. It develops the store image and brand loyalty, response to promotions and reduced sensitivity to price,” says Hussain Karbalai a varsity student.

Johar Hussain, a restaurant owner says: “When people dine music has great significance. There is clearly a link between diners’ perceptions of the restaurant and their perception of the music. The more they perceive the music as being high-class, the more the restaurant is perceived as up-market.”

“Hearing music makes people enjoy their food and drink as well as stay in a restaurant longer, therefore, I turn off the music after a certain period to make way for new customers,” adds Johar.

 “The atmosphere created by music affects our decision to return to or recommend a restaurant to others. “I will have a negative reaction to being in a restaurant without music at all: feeling awkward and unlikely to return,” says Shireen Abbas, working in an international NGO.

Pervaiz Mehdi, a teacher, says: “Forcing loud music on neighbours as happens at wedding ceremonies is really anti-social. It seems like a modern plague spreading fast.”