If a radio is played in a workplace, then that workplace would need a license from PRS/MCPS for the playing of music as it would be a breach of copyright to play the material. The fine for breaches is rather large!
I am in the music making world and I am very interested in what has been said regarding what should be played to encourage productivity, while not increasing stress. The problem I have encountered myself years ago in an office is you can't always hear what someone on a phone is saying if music is playing.
This can be addressed by everyone using headphones, though a company would have an expensive route to pipe music to peoples desks. I have been very interested in music psychology too as the sounds that we hear can have a direct effect on our stress levels and our motivation.
In some cases soundtrack style music works well for both in this case as it is not truly new age or relaxation music, but is sparse and funky at the same time. Music like this would be great for a work place as it is a type blank canvass, if you like, but you would need hours of it to make it bearable to all those that work in the environment in which it is played.
Companies that have pop or mainstream music are certainly missing a trick here especially if it is a call centre taking complaints calls etc.
Hold music is generally a really poor choice in my opinion and I have looked into supplying music for this purpose without much luck, if anyone knows or is interested please give me a shout...
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