Blog

Muzo Muzings

This is where we tell you about the music we’re adding to Muzo; what we’re listening to; what we think is really cool and other generally interesting stuff from the world of music and beyond. If you like what you read, join in! Share, Like, Follow, +1… spread the Muzo Musings…

Record Store Day 2012, our Head of Music reflects on his memories of these entrancing places

23 Apr 2012

Long before iTunes, Amazon and Spotify, there were Record Shops; magical places with rows and rows of records and CDs, waiting to be discovered. Then along came the supermarkets and the internet and everything changed, for some…

Saturday, April 21st saw the 5th UK Record Store Day. The event started in 2007 in America and is a day where all independently owned record stores come together with artists to celebrate the art of music. There are special releases by artists from around the world and in-store performances along with meet & greets with artists, DJ’s, in-store quizzes and many other events. Back in the eighties there were over 2,000 indie record shops in the UK. That number has now fallen to under 300, but the great news is it is actually on the increase, as are the sales of vinyl. All this got me going on a journey down memory lane….
When I was a kid, my musical tastes were a little bit different to most of my school friends. They were into the likes of Madness, Duran Duran and Culture Club. Under the influence of my eldest brother, I was into Heavy Rock and the likes of Ozzy Osbourne and Twisted Sister. To this day I remember the first time I saw The Twisted ones on Top of the Pops. The next day, I got on my bike and went to buy the single, yes from Woolies, but soon the big W were replaced by a new kid in town, Anagram Records. This was my kind of record shop. Run by long haired guys in denim who knew their music. It was heaven, but sadly only for a short time. They moved out of town and then closed. Then I went to college and spent many lunchtime and indeed teatime going through the latest releases in Jumbo Records and Crash Records. We have now reached 1990 and everything is about to change for me.

Down the road from where I worked, appeared a brand new record shop called Mix Music. Far too many Saturdays, weekday lunchtimes and money were spent in the company of owner Mick and the guys who worked in the shop over the years. Mick, who remains a friend to this day, knew what I would like and what I wouldn’t. So much so, that when I walked into the shop, whatever was playing would disappear and some new American band would explode from the speakers. Pleasantries out of the way, he would be very disappointed if I hadn’t asked ‘what’s this?’ by the end of the first song! That is what record shops are all about, the knowledge of the staff to bring new music to your attention. The interaction, the banter, the music!
Around the mid nineties, Mix had expanded to 4 stores. Now sadly, like so many others, they have all gone. The spirit and knowledge lives on though as Mick presents a weekly show on a community radio station (Dry Stone Radio). Telling the tale of the decline of record shops, ‘Last Shop Standing: Whatever Happened to Record Shops?’ is a brilliant book by Graham Jones. He is one of the founders of Proper Music Distribution and the book tells the story of his time spent working in and around the world of independent record retailing and is a must for any true music fan, and especially those who love Nick Hornby’s superb High Fidelity book and film. Talking of films, Last Shop Standing is being made in to a film, trailer below.

Radio legend and music fan Johnnie Walker said a couple of years ago that this generation is the first that will have music that is not worth anything to anyone else. Someone might be interested in an old piece of vinyl, an old CD or even a cassette, but what value does a second hand mp3 file have? Not much. So this Saturday, go back to the future and support your local record shop!

Something slightly different and…informative

13 Apr 2012

Imagine you’re watching your favourite film. A friend of yours has brought a copy round on DVD and you haven’t seen it in about 6 months so you’re really excited. You’re half way through it, the plots ‘hotting up’, you’re really enjoying yourself and suddenly it cuts to ‘Big Momma’s House 3: Like Father Like Son’…Understandably you’re a bit miffed and frustrated; you’re looking forward to one thing and end up getting another…That’s exactly what this month’s influx of cold weather feels like after our glorious mini March heatwave! Unexpected cold snaps are a minor annoyance in the grand scheme of things, but nevertheless when it’s gloomy it can dampen spirits in the workforce. So how do you keep your workforce’s morale up when it’s so ‘Big Momma-ry’ outside? Well, music is a good start.

We provide music to a veriaty of businesses around the world, so we know a thing or two about the importance of music and the effect it can have on sales. However, there are increasing amounts of literature highlighting music’s beneficial effect on productivity, meaning music can be equally important for the workforce as well. Stroll around the offices of Google and eBay (and Muzo!) and you’ll notice that music is constantly playing out. And for a good reason. A workplace ambience company did a study with a school in which music was piped into corridors prior to lessons, and teachers reported 20 minutes worth of extra concentration from pupils, as well as anecdotal evidence of improved academic performance. A different school also trialled music for post-16 learners; 98% of which said having music created an improved studying environment, whilst 80% of teachers said it improved the attitude of students and their commitment to tasks.

I know, I know, you just came to hear how our music meeting went, well it was great as usual thanks, but I thought it’d be useful for you to know WHY music is important to businesses.

Research conducted by the Institute of Leadership & Management recently argued that managers could cut ‘sickies’ by seven million days a year by playing music. Perhaps this is to do with the fact that music tends to make people feel happier, as found in a study by MusicWorks.

Of course music won’t be suitable in all working environments, but for retail jobs in particular, it’s important that staff don’t become bored as this will affect their productivity and interactions with consumers. Music is therefore an ideal companion. It’s important to note the music has to be the right type as inappropriate music can serve as a distraction, but you needn’t worry about that as us Muzo’s know the perfect music to create a good vibe and positive atmosphere for any customer facing business.

For example, here is a sample of songs covered in this week’s meeting (wahey we got there!):

Chris Brown – Turn Up The Music
Florence + The Machine – Never Let Me Go
Seeker Lover Keeper – Even Though I’m A Woman

Carly Rae Jepsen – Call Me Maybe
Conor Maynard – Cant Say No
Fun  – We Are Young
Lana Del Rey – Blue Jeans
Sub Focus – Out The Blue

Hope you found this post useful and as always keep your ears pricked for next week’s releases!

Muzo’s handy restaurant music infographic

16 Feb 2012

Following on from last week’s post we’ve also created a handy infographic to give you some ideas on how to manage the atmosphere in your restaurant at even the most stressful times.

The science of music for restaurants

08 Feb 2012

Ever on the lookout for new information to help inform our customers, Muzo has been back to school this week, revising the science of music for restaurants.  We decided to create a helpful doc to summarise our findings, how it applies to you and also what Muzo Guru recommends…

11 Hot Hits from 2011: Part 2

29 Dec 2011

Head of Music at Muzo continues his 2011 Hot Hits retrospective with The Guys and the Groups (Yes this blog has accidentally become structured a bit like X Factor, but it’s kind of relevant for this bit).

“Next up is an artist who has been making music for over a decade, but became an overnight success this year with a song that was everywhere, Aloe Blacc with ‘I Need a Dollar’. Usually a song will enter the chart at its highest position and then fall down. Not this song. It took seven weeks to climb to number two in June.

One Direction finished third on the seventh series of The X Factor in 2010 and proved to be more successful than the actual winner Matt Cardle. Everywhere they went they mobbed by 1D fans. The debut single ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ was the fastest selling single of the year when it was released in September.

Speaking of X Factor losers, Olly Murs had mixed fortunes with his first releases, two top 5 singles, then one that peaked at number 20, and one that didn’t make the top 40 at all. He enlisted the help of chaps from London called the Rizzle Kicks and released ‘Heart Skips A Beat’ in September and all seemed rosy in the Murs garden again.

Which brings us to one of the surprise hits of the year. ‘Moves Like Jagger’ saw Maroon 5 team up with Christina Aguilera.  Neither act could be described as consistent chart performers in recent years, but boy did this grab people’s attention! And it still is, 19 weeks after release and it’s still not dropped out of the top 20, although never topping the UK chart.

So while we’re on the subject of duets, let’s have pair of them. Superstar DJ and producer David Guetta teamed up with Usher for the rather splendid ‘Without You’ and went on an extended stay in the Top 10. Whilst never far from the headlines, Rihanna teamed up with the ‘never-really-near-the-headlines’, Calvin Harris for the massive dance floor filler ‘We Found Love’, a song that yo-yo’d around the top three for weeks spending a total of 6 weeks in two different spells.

So there you have it, 11 Hot Hits from 2011. See I told you it had been a good year. Can’t wait to see what 2012 brings.”

11 Hot Hits from 2011: Part 1

28 Dec 2011

“Ladies, all the ladies….”

At Muzo we’re always looking forward to the next big thing and we’re excited to see what 2012 will bring.  But before we get ahead of ourselves we asked our Head of Music to have a look at what has been happening in the Hot Hits music stream over the last 12 months for his 2011 music review.

“It’s been a good year for music if you ask me, plenty of really good stuff around.  17 years after the Spice Girls first introduced the concept, 2011 has been a year of Girl Power.

Without doubt the lady of the year has to be Adele. A huge second album,‘21’, a massive number one single with ‘Someone Like You’ but I’ve picked the first single off the album, ‘Rolling in the Deep’ as one of the tunes of the year. I remember hearing it for the first time; it was so powerful and different from anything on her first album. It still sounds fresh a year on.

Jessie J ended 2010 as a writer for other people, then she was announced as the BBC’s Sound of 2011 winner, she got the Critic’s Choice award at the Brits and topped the charts with her second single Price Tag, and the rest is as they say history. She was certainly ready!

Mrs Russell Brand had a pretty good year as well. Katy Perry became the first artist since Michael Jackson in the 80′s to top the Billboard chart in the US with six singles from the same album. ‘Last Friday Night’ featured a comedy video starring the YouTube hit of the year, Rebecca Black, who loves Fridays!

Ahh the summer: all those festivals for the blokes with guitars to dominate. Not this year. The glitz, the glamour, the dancers, the shaking of the bottom – it can only be Beyonce at Glastonbury! Yes that’s right – Glastonbury! After U2 and Coldplay held court on the first two nights, it was Beyonce’s turn. The single ‘Best Thing I Never Had’, from her album ‘4’, hung around the chart for four months.

Our ladies look-back ends with an artist who could have a massive 2012.  Emeli Sande is following the footsteps of Ellie Goulding, Florence and the Machine and Jessie J and is the Critic’s Choice at next year’s Brit awards. She has already had a taste of chart success when she joined Professor Green on his number one ‘Read all about it’, and just missed out on a number one with her debut single, ‘Heaven’.”

The dos and don’ts of Christmas music in retail

16 Nov 2011

Don’t

  • Just have one or two CDs – it will drive your staff insane.
  • Play Slade et al, if it wouldn’t suit your environment the rest of the year.
  • Start too early, 1st December is ideal, last couple of weeks of November if your trading periods demand it

Do

  • Play popular tracks, your customers will want to sing-a-long.
  • Also play some less well known songs, it’ll break the familiarity for your staff.
  • Choose something brand-appropriate.
  • Gradually increase the percentage of Christmas music week by week
  • Sign up to Muzo
    (sorry for the blatent plug but… a service from a professional company, who has already spent the time and money finding the largest most diverse selection of festive music out there will save you a massive headache this Christmas (as long as it’s not an eggnog induced one!)

We are family

16 Nov 2011

If Headland Media Retail is the tolerant and indulgent parent of elder siblings, Headland Studios and Headland Unsigned, (which it is) then – to further exploit the family analogy – Muzo is the new baby!

Like any new child, Muzo is about to absorb all of this musical family’s attention and focus for the foreseeable future.

We hope you all enjoy playing with Muzo, he’s loads of fun and will bring a smile to even the most frowny face.

We’re going to love Muzo unconditionally despite, or because of, all the little quirks, but we also want YOU to love Muzo; so if our child is misbehaving in anyway, please do let us know, so we can correct the errant behaviour and help mould our offspring into a model musical citizen.

Yours brimming with pride

Headland Media Retail (Muzo’s Mummy)