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Do You Know?: People associate the music in restaurants they choose to visit with their own sense of identity. They constantly ask themselves "Is this place for me?"

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7 in 10 shops not paying up: Study

2 years ago, there was a news article report that states 7 in 10 shops not paying music royalties. What can the consequences be?

1. Fined. Based on the copyrights law, although you may have paid for your music downloads or streaming on Spotify, they are actually for personal use only (*you didn't read the fine prints right?). In a commercial setting like Retail or F&B, the organisation actually needs to pay Performing Rights fees. Why take such a risk when one keep telling oneself, "never mind, I had been doing it for years and didn't get caught"?

2. Corporate Citizen. It is just a mere hundreds of dollars annually to pay for a commercial music license. Most of the time, the license is a blanket. What is it like when compared to stealing music blatantly? The younger generation and through Intellectual Property education, more consumers recognize the support for a good corporate citizen. How would you as a consumer feel when you know the organisation and brand is actually avoiding the $1-$5 bucks a day just to stream these music illegally? The music curators too need to have their rights respected and the appropriate monetary remuneration for their works.

It is not about getting caught. It is about doing the right thing. If people were to shoplift in your retail outlet, walk out after dining without paying for their food - would you do the same for music copyrights fees that are just a couple of dollars (a day)?

AMPLIFY Messages!

Amplify Messages. Have you been to retail shops or supermarkets that constantly have Voiceover messages in-store and wonder if it actually did influence your buying behaviour (*not neccesary buying...it could be a turnoff too if not planned correctly, resulting in a loss of sale for the retailer instead of gain in revenue)? Voiceover messages that let you know of their latest promotions etc. Do you eventually get these items or is it a seedling they plant within you to make a purchase the next time...?

Why is it that some jingles get stuck in our head after hearing it for a few times? In a supermarket and retail setting with a range of Fast-Moving-Consumer-Goods (FMCG), we do ocassionally hear of such jingles and voiceovers. It is the expression of a connection in the form of an anthem. Sending signals to shoppers. It is not about the lyrics, but how the jingle or anthem is portrayed musically. The language of music can convey the emotion.

When done strategically, it does more than just to amplify an intangible feel-good. It gets results. Sonic identity syncs with visual identity (*on the shelves or points-of-sales), the impact is exponential. Visuals can't set a mood as quickly as sound can.

You score the experience. It can be part of classical conditioning, when you relay the jingle/voiceover/anthem with a buying behaviour.

Do You Know? In June 2013, a study by Japanese researchers found that "Sad music induces pleasant emotions". Sad music induces people to feel more romantic, less tragic than they actually are perceived. Quote by Maya Angelou, "I've learned that people will forget what you said, forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." Retailers and F&B managers, how will you apply this knowledge in your sound strategy?

Maya Angelou

Shades of Sounds.

Shades of Sounds. "55-38-7". It is often noted in the art of communication that 55% of the perceived message sent across is through your facial and body language expression. 38% comes from your vocals (i.e. pitch and tone) while the remaining 7% is in what you actually say (your words).

How many times have we thought that it was actually the words we said that matter the most? When in fact...it's the other elements in communication like our pitch, tone and body language expression that brings out the perception of how the other person sees us.

In F&B, many times it would be the pride of the owner that the taste of the food is THE most important. Sometimes, the focus is simply just solely on the food. Have you came across food places that have great yummilicious spread but you just didn't patronize it again until a few months later or a year...then found out that the place no longer exist?

Dining is not simply about the food solely. It is an experience. Several touchpoints from the service crew to the entire ambience. It is the experience that anchors down people's desire to return because it has a "feel-good" effect.

As part of a sound experience, it shapes up the diner's personal environment and his/her interactivity. You can't see it, weigh it nor touch it. Background music is just energy in space.

The soundscape can bring a whole new meaning to what the dining experience is like.

Harness the power of sound - put in place the right tune that can complement the foods served. Stream suitable music right for the atmosphere and cater it to the customers - popular music might be an easy choice you say as it is "Top 40s", but are you really sure this is how you want your restaurant to sound like? ...like the other restaurants? too?

A Sound Above the Rest

A sound above the rest. Met a prospect (hotel operator) in Batam. He has a colourful resume operating as the GM of different Starwood Hotel brands internationally and all were 5-stars hotels. In the past 2 years, he took charge of a 4-star hotel. A new challenge - he said.

Besides an overhaul of service personnel, ops and marketing strategy, he is very particular about the entire sensory experience.

He wants to give a 5-star experience to his guests. Every touch point and interaction...he will ask himself and guests feedback, is this how I want to feel when I check-in, when I dine in the restaurant, when I go for a spa treatment.

Soundscape, background music is a sensitive sensory experience to him. An important element currently a mis-match at the hotel.

When I was at the lobby, there was a mix of classical beethoven music, karaoke minus-one tracks of modern pop songs, instrumental piano and vocal tracks of the 90s to 2000s. A mess, he said. I couldn't agree less.

Shall be working on an audio branding proposal to streamline better music to welcome the guests and bring about a 'State-of-Comfy' at different times of the day. The morning, afternoon and evening crowd are certainly different, and the music will serve different feel for varied purposes.

In the afternoon, I went for a massage in their spa. At the counter, when the frontline sales personnel was upselling me 120min package, I was rather relunctant. Ended up with a 60min massage instead. There wasn't any spa music switched on until my massage began. Imagine how they could create that conducive environment and upsell me their 120min package instead when I was set in the RIGHT mood initially?

Had drinks with the GM at the F&B outlets (there were 3 present and we went to all 3). CDs were played. All randomly picked by staffs.

Presented to him our cloud solution platform in which the system automatically streams the chosen playlist. Refreshed daily. And ultimately, full control access (UserID/Password) given only to the GM and Asst Manager.

Really appreciated this opportunity to present our solution to him. Well...it would probably be our first flag planted in Indonesia. Many more to come!

Lifting the mood

Lifting the mood - read a study published last year (scientists from Missouri University) that under certain conditions, music can lift a listener's mood and increase general happiness.

Part of the research, participants listen to either upbeat or neutral music: they were told to feel happier during the process.

At the end of the experiment, listeners of upbeat tunes had greater overall sense of happiness - not only as a final result, but also the sense of cheer throughout the listening process.

Studies had established that human response to music is an instinctive one. Our human body is rhythmic, from beats of our hearts to patterns of breathing. Rhythm and tones are the two underlying factors affecting moods.

As for music keys, generally speaking, music played in major keys is translated by the brain as cheerfulness while songs in minor keys signals sighs or sad emotions.

The point is that music is certainly a sensory element affecting one's mood.

How is it possible to complement the F&B and Retail atmosphere catering to one's audience? Is it neccesary that the background environmental music must evoke happiness all the time throughout the day across retail and F&B points? Or can there be an optimal audio branding strategy to bring the best of experience to the shoppers and diners.

What your food 'sounds' like affects how good it tastes, a new study says

What your food 'sounds' like affects how good it tastes, a new study says. In a new report published in the journal Flavour, researcher Charles Spence, a professor of experimental psychology at Oxford University reviews a wide variety of research related to sound and flavor perception, and comes to the conclusion that what a food sounds like is incredibly important to the experience of eating it.

Science has also shown that changing the sounds a food makes can influence a person’s perception of it.

But why is the way food sounds important to us? For one, it could be that sound is an indicator for texture and therefore quality. Texture can reveal how fresh food is. If an apple cracks crisply when it’s bitten into, instead of yielding without a snap, you know that’s a good sign.

Outside sound can also influence perception, and it doesn’t require much effort. “If I’m having Italian food and I’m hearing music of that region, it may make me perceive the food as more authentic.”

But as research continues to emerge and the industry continues to experiment, we may be listening to our food more often.

Why do we react FIRST to sound?

Walking down the renowned Orchard Shopping Strip after a music event, I started to observe the retail & F&B outlets out of curiosity. And I thought of "Sonic Sauce" - which are soundscapes, jingles, music touchpoints that consumers constantly listen to. People crave for patterns and some of us crave the exceptions to patterns.

Patterns seize attention without you consciously realizing. Feelings of anxiety, excitement, hope, joy and thrill can be triggered when the right sonic sauce is applied.

You perceive only about 25 visual events per second VS 200 auditory events per second. That is why we react FIRST to sound.

For brands, if you OWN the sound, you OWN the experience. This is from your online presence to physical stores.

Repeated tunes can reinforce strong representations, musical patterns. It is through this that earworms are formed.

And so as I came across a few retailers and F&B outlets that incorporate "Sonic Sauce" receipe as part of their branding, it is a clever way to lure the huge crowd of potential customers and promote their brand through sound.

Background environmental music (BGM) is key to bringing the consumers' experience to a whole new level.

Sense of hearing - something most of us take for granted. Appreciate the sounds around you and the ability to hear.

Retailers put focus on visual merchandising and F&B owners emphasizing on the taste of their food. Yes both these senses are important.

Part of the experience is also the soundscape and how it actually affects us in liking the brand, the place, the entire feeling.

How can we better integrate and appreciate sounds around us? Something seemingly "unimportant or normal" when taken away from you, you will note the difference. Imagine a eatery or shopping environment without the background music. The food tastes more blend and the shopper does more of a quick "window shopping" without buying.

We know how background environmental music (BGM) is key to bringing the consumers' experience to a whole new level.

It is not simply playing any music or songs that are top of the radio charts now. This is more than just playing any tracks that one likes. It is specific for background environmental music purpose, unlike "karaoke" songs.

How is it possible for these ambience music to serve a purpose at different time of the day and to different targeted market persona? The fusion of technology and customization of music. Bringing about better sales, productivity and cost effectiveness - these are the main concerns of retailers and F&B owners.

A hotpot restaurant where a sudden fire left five diners burnt is now in trouble for illegally storing more than 200kg of petroleum and flammable materials on its premises.

"OUCH!" In F&B businesses, there are so many regulations and legalities that we may not even be aware of.

From food licenses to music licenses that businesses need to apply for.

Music licenses that cover commercial performing rights and of the composers' royalties collection are needed in order to stream in the background ambient legally.

Here are the top 3 common myths: 1. I buy original music CDs or pay for downloads, therefore I didn't infringe on piracy. Yes the arts community appreciates it but to stream music in a commercial environment still warrants a license. The music you paid for is only for personal listening pleasure as a consumer.

2. Nobody monitors nor fines me anyway. It is the same for the Hotpot eatery scenario, the business will only feel the pinch when things 'blow out of proportion'. Referencing back to the latest "Dallas Buyers Club" copyright incident which none of the downloaders expected to be sued with a letter.

3. It is expensive to license music. Actually it ranges a couple of hundreds for an annual license only, a fraction of the price especially when it is compared to the potential fines and negative image a food business may eventually incurr.

Be right when it comes to music copyrights.

'Music can make your food taste better' - Today Soundscape can alter your perception to whether the food is more intense in flavour or blend.

It can add pleasure to the entire dining experience when you apply the right type of music that matches the food and customer mix.

Don't we notice that some restaurants and F&B outlets' menus are pricier and that their foods are largely normal...but the crowds just keep piling up. Why do we choose to go to "Restaurant A" than "Restaurant B"? Besides the word-of-mouth recommendations and reviews, we often perceive from outside the outlet to determine whether this is THE food place you want to enter. Different type of ambience attract the different crowd dynamics.

In this article, you can see that some restaurants experience a 15% increase more pleasure in their customers when the music matches their wine.

Do you also know that academic research found pitch levels and the type of music and the pace of it can alter your taste buds?

Quote: "That's some food for thought - but perhaps with appropriate background music."

I have a dream. Some weeks ago I went to Universal Studios Singapore. There's different segments and a variety of themes. From Jurassic Park to Transformers to American Oldies feel. One important part of the entire experience was the isolated soundscape specific to a particular theme. Some background music gives you a dreamy state, some delivers you a mystic feel while another gave you adrenaline rush. What's my dream? To design specific soundscape for different segments of a grocery or supermarket store. Imagine getting a different feeling and experience when you pick up vegetables VS going down the aisle to select the diary produce like milk. Do you know that there are certain sound that makes one perceive foods to be fresher?

Jerry (Express Melody)

We know our eyes are easily deceived, but what about our ears? Can we be fooled into hearing something that isn't there? Take a look at this ASAPScience video explaining auditory illusions and phenomena such as the 'Shepard Tone Illusion'

Can You Trust Your Ears? Research shows an increase of up to 30% profit margins in F&B when you sound right!

We have seen many optical illusions before & know how some of these influence our thought behaviours. How about sound illusions?

Sound around us can also bring about a dynamic change in perception. When commercial businesses apply sound knowledge as part of their branding (be it jingle, background environmental music, soundscape, etc.), it can powerfully alter consumers' views on its products and services.

Majority of us have 5 senses. In the past, most retailers and F&B used to focus mainly on how visuals (e.g. eye catchy designs that says BUY NOW) can attract consumers to make a purchase. Now, there's an increasing trend of commercial businesses that see the value of encompassing more of sensory marketing.

Audio branding is an aspect which can create a perceived value and bring about a "Magic Moment" as consumers think about 'hey should I buy this or not?'.

Most of the time, shopping is irrational buying.

In an F&B setting, with the right notes in play, you can even see an increase buying pattern (be it an extra dessert or drink) not because the environment makes one comfortable enough to do so but because there are auditory triggers that makes one want to.

That connection can make a difference to "I-want-to-come-back-here-again". No one says I come back to this food place because the music is great. But it does enhance the experience and can bring back the decision to revisit again.

The restaurant is like a theatre. You please the audience by unlocking the door for service when the curtain goes up. And music is a key player in this performance.

CAN YOU HEAR ME?

"Can you hear me?" - It has been a long time since I went for a 'general-mass' business networking session. I was there actually just to say "hi" to the organiser whom I haven't met for a year and to also specifically meet a New Yorker who used to work in an international retail fashion chain HQ.

As I waited for the 2 intended contacts to arrive, I was largely people-watching while enjoying my sandwich dinner. The turnout was huge. People trying to sell one another their products and services. "Hi, this is what I do, I sell this & I hope you can buy or probably refer customers to me."

In this crowded marketplace of people networking and trying to push for sales, how do one stand out from all the noise & clutter? How is one being perceived as original and more engaging as compared to the others? I liken this to my experience in sound branding. Many times, marketers and retail directors tell us that they prefer popular mainstream songs (e.g. Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber & the likes). Why? Because other retailers and food outlets are playing them and they are popular among the general public. I'll often like to take this chance to let share with them how a customised sound experience can be targeted specifically to your audience instead of following the general masses. If your competitors shop A, shop B, shop C are also playing the same popular songs as part of their ambient music, how do you then differentiate your brand experience in-store? This is also one reason why we advocate for original and independent songs. You can sound different and also better than the rest. #BeOriginal

#BeOriginal

Spa...facial... You would expect tranquility, peace and a much slower tempo.

The soundscape of this place certainly didn't match the supposed identity of a typical spa and facial outlet. The pace of the water flow is heavy and fast (considered high "BPM"). It makes u want to get in and out fast ..hasty...sounds bad to u?

In fact it may not be that case because it could well work for them in this environment when the sales team close packages in the "main hall".

The somewhat loud-heavy-fast pace water in the background can create that impulse in signing up and this resulting in closing sales packages.

I believe the other parts of the spa should have a more suitable soundscape.

A believer and action-taker in retail psychology

An impromptu breakfast meeting with a Japanese retailer in Singapore: he is the rare few firm believer (& one who takes action besides believing) of retail psychology.

From the angle/height/colour of his shelves to the shirt and gestures of frontline service crew...he measures the statistics and psychological impact which brings back certain % in sales.

He himself told us that he tested out several different soundscape and found one that brings out a 10% sales increase. Furthermore, he installed visuals that complemented with the right sounds to boost traffic flow by 20%.

This guy sure does know about sound & overall retail psychology. Competitors may copy the concept but their music won't be the precise mix, their shelves won't be of the exact angle and height and spacing, the pantone colour won't be the one they are using too, as well as mannerism of frontline crew, etc.

Although at the end of this meeting I know that he won't be getting our music streaming service, we are still very happy to have met him. It is an honour to have a like-minded associate like him.

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