Music in Wine Shops

Inspired by a conversation with someone who thinks that the best music for a wine store is classical or piano-based jazz (as well as by an interview with Sid Mashburn, who plays a variety of stuff at his men’s clothing stores), I wanted to know how the Berserker community feels about music in wine shops—what do you want to hear in an ideal world? Is there music that you find so awful that you won’t shop in a given store?

I’m not going to do this as a poll, because I’ve seen how well that goes, but I’m curious to know what everyone thinks.

I like both. Country and western.

I can do without the music, but agree that classical or jazz would be best.

What I don’t want is loud, abrasive rock or electronic music like I heard in the Eataly wine shop in NYC recently. It was so relieved when I walked out (without purchasing anything).

Advice to wine shop owners: Don’t let your 20-something staff pick the music for their pleasure if your clientele is mostly 50-plus.

While I think heavy metal or hard core rap may be a problem, Volume is my main issue. I don’t want to be distracted when I am trying to focus, but I also don’t want library-like stage-whispery silence either. Having visited a few of these, they give me the creeps.

Are you saying that most of the wine shops you frequent have music? Very few I go to do.

Music in retail stores is a very American thing. When I returned from two years in London some years back, I was struck by how we are assaulted by music in stores.

I listen to everything, even gangster rap. But I probably would hate that s@&t playing in my local wine shop. But I don’t remember a time when I can recall music when shopping. I guess it’s something I don’t pay attention to.

What would I want to hear in an ideal world? Some Stereolab would be pretty cool. Basically any soft/relaxing pop 60’s through 00’s that hasn’t been played to death. While Jazz works well for a predominately 40’s-50’s male demographic, it probably won’t catch a younger demographic, but, in the bigger picture, the music is a pretty small part of a retail wine shop. I feel bars that cater mostly to a particular demographic of their local nightlife are best suited to a particular style/genre of music in heavy rotation to help build an identity/niche.

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Two things. Customers come and go but the employees have to listen to the music all day. There’s only so much of any one style of music you can listen to until you go to sleep or go postal.

I think a broad range of music genre is appropriate, to a degree. A variety of music works the best. Sometimes something with a beat lifts the customers. An oldie like big band era gets the nostalgia thing going for the customers my age. (older customers). I want mundane, pleasant noise when talking to a customer but will not interfere with a customer dancing and singing to what is playing, and it’s either a nostalgic song or something popular/recognizable and upbeat.

Are you more excited about buying wine to Mozart or Bob Marley? Do you think better hearing a lullaby or something that makes you tap your feet while reading the ABV listed on the bottle.

Customers come and go but the employees have to listen to the music all day.

And I think they should get extra pay for listening to Christmas carols for two months. I couldn’t take it.

In most stores, I’d prefer to hear no music.

So Dokken, Megadeath, and Anthrax are out?

What if the clientele is in their 50’s but not complete sticks in the mud?

Not sure I can ever remember music in a wine store. It may well have happened, but I have zero recollection. Maybe Christmas music during the season?

If there has to be some form of music, I`d think low volume light opera, classical and soft jazz would be most ideal and rap, heavy metal and disco would be out under any amount of volume.

Agree with John - by far I prefer NO music in (all) shops … I wanna LISTEN to music, not being overflooded …

However, softer Jazz (no Free Jazz) or classical music is tolerable … Rap or loud Heavy Metal would annoy me … and what I really hate is German “Schlager” and Christmas Music … (starting in September …!)

IMO not a good idea, especially if it gets in the way of a conversation between customer and staff

If you are going to play music (which is by no means required) then it should not be loud enough to draw attention to itself.

After how Mario described another industry, despite his siphoning off substantial tip monies from his hourly employees, I found that Eataly is a great place to use the washroom.

The solution, obviously, is Musak. They have the whole thing down to a science, with “songs” sequenced to create a crescendo of energy, theoretically leading to a purchasing urge. I’m sure if you tell them your customer demographic, they can come up with a “music” “program.”

I doubt they’ve research the occupational hazards of sustained exposure by employees, though.

At our store we play the radio station we advertise on, the thought being that the customers we are trying to reach also enjoy that music. And if a commercial of ours happens to come on while they’re here, all the more positive reinforcement. But volume is key, so that it doesn’t distract or make it difficult to interact.