By streaming background music via a personal music service, you may be breaking the law.
Yes, it’s true.
The global music industry loses out on a whopping $2.65 billion per year as small businesses misuse personal music streaming services, according to a recent study by Nielsen Music featured in a
Rolling Stone article from October 2018
. Under existing copyright law in many countries, places of business require a license to stream music. Yet, according to the study, only 17% of surveyed businesses have those licenses, which, by my math, means a staggering 83% illicitly use a personal music service like Spotify or Pandora.
What’s even more disconcerting is that the large majority of these business owners are totally oblivious to the fact that they’re breaking the law. According to the study, 64% of small business owners surveyed across seven countries believe that having a personal music account gives them the right to use it for background music at their business, including 71% of business owners in the U.S.
But let's face it: If you are one of the millions of business owners out there that doesn’t have a license and is simply pushing the “shuffle” button on the iPhone every day when you open for business, I think it’s safe to say the "Music Police" aren’t going to barge in someday, put you in handcuffs and drag you away to jail. This so-called “violation” is probably more akin to speeding or jaywalking, and most likely isn’t going to put your name in the local police log.
However, that doesn’t mean it’s not costing you money. Besides breaking the letter of the law, by using “background” music at your business you are doing yourself, your customers and your employees a disservice. Every one of your customers has a keen sense of sound and, whether they realize it or not, their mood, spending habits and overall awareness of your products and services are affected by what they hear and it hits them as soon as they take their first step in the door.
For a classic example of this, I always love to remind people of a study done by a pair of doctors for the Journal of Applied Psychology in England back in 1999 about the
influence of in-store music on wine selections
. Over a two-week period, French and German music was played on alternate days in front of an in-store display of French and German wines.
The result?
Nearly 8 out of 10 customers bought French wine when French music was playing and more than 7 out of 10 chose German wine when German music was played. And guess what? When the customers were asked about the wine they ended up buying product, the large majority said that the music didn’t affect their purchase.
In essence, this is precisely why we launched New Level Radio over a decade ago. So, instead of wearing out that personal playlist you mashed together for your business, entice your customers to stay longer and spend more by hitting them with timely and targeted music and messaging, created by industry experts.
Under the guidance and vision of Nathan Green and his partner Sam Ambrose, New Level Radio launched in 2007, creating a new niche in the radio and music industry. Today, the Denver-based company delivers customizable radio networks for hundreds of businesses all over the U.S., particularly the casino industry. When he's not on an airplane or creating a new playlist for a property, Nathan is typically at home in Denver with his wife and kids, working on new ventures, running a road race, or listening to music with the volume turned up to 10.
