does anyone hear weird unsigned music in places like Poundland and Mcdonalds?

[willbo]

I go in my nearby Poundland and B&M every few days to shop, and they always have obscure unsigned music on. My local McDonalds does too.

Like there's 5/6 songs in the McDonalds that are kind of memorable but the lyrics don't show up on google or anything. There's one where the chorus goes "dream...lover" that sounds like indie glam rock, like a Placebo/Suede ish sound.

I heard 2 songs in Burger King a couple of years ago that I really liked, but I've never been able to track them down. One was the synth pop song I mentioned before and the other was an American sounding male soul pop song with an upbeat melody, similar to Express Yourself or a Gorillaz/Go Team sound.

I remember when Co-Op stopped playing unsiged music and got the rights to play famous music, a few years ago. There was a discussion on Radio 2 about it, the staff were all celebrating (and saying "finally we got some real music on!") and some of the bands were saying how sad they were to lose their audience. I'm not sure how being played in Co-Op helps them though, when there's no way for a shopper to know the artist's name. Maybe if there was some kind of monitor saying the current artist, where they're next playing live, etc.

[Pauline Walnuts]

I heard them play Avec Sans's Heartbreak Hi in Spa local when I was queuing up for the Post office once. Thought that was odd.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k993pVu1TY4

Banger, as I believe the young people say.

[Dead Soon]

Good fucking luck finding any.

With B & M, they only play unsigned artists on a specially created playlist, it's piped from head office. Nobody in my branch had any control over it, not least where you could obtain information. I worked there over last winter and it was all Christmas themed songs by these ultra obscure musicians. I literally only managed to track one down because it was distinctive enough to be remotely google-able. Meet The Seavers - Christmas 1984 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMkvomQBZa0. The very epitome of ''weird and unsigned''. And look how many views it's had. That's the scale of the task if you want to discover the people behind these tunes.

There were a few 'highlights' that you didn't mind hearing or humming, but my god if you listen to the shit on nine hours shifts all week you'd suck a washrag for some Jona Lewie or Wizzard.

And thanks for evoking those memories of that turgid fucking job.

[willbo]

I've heard that Seavers song! I live next to a BnM, so I go in there quite a lot. I also did a temp Christmas job there years ago, so I probably heard it then.

my fave obscure Christmas song is St Etienne I was born on.. which I'm sure influenced Common People

[Blinder Data]

think our band's music got played in Burberry and/or Burton stores but I never go there so I couldn't be sure. we received an email out of the blue offering us the chance.

the dream is to be one of the background songs on neighbours

[Bently Sheds]

I worked in a supermarket many years ago that used to have a weird tape machine that played this kind of shit over the in-store speakers. A new tape was delivered each quarter & the old one sent back. One glorious week we had a tape of current chart hit covers until head office demanded the tape back because they could get stung for PRS fees. We got sent a classical music tape that only got switched on if the Area Manager visited.

Most memorable "original" track was some James Brown style funky jam that featured grunting and the occasional "HUH! AAOW! C'mon baby!" which all the workers in the floor would join in.

These machines ran at super low speed, meaning a standard cassette would sound like earth moving equipment.

[Icehaven]

 

Good fucking luck finding any.

With B & M, they only play unsigned artists on a specially created playlist, it's piped from head office. Nobody in my branch had any control over it, not least where you could obtain information. I worked there over last winter and it was all Christmas themed songs by these ultra obscure musicians. I literally only managed to track one down because it was distinctive enough to be remotely google-able. Meet The Seavers - Christmas 1984 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMkvomQBZa0. The very epitome of ''weird and unsigned''. And look how many views it's had. That's the scale of the task if you want to discover the people behind these tunes.

I had no idea this was a thing, I just assumed music in shops was current chart/popular stuff I don't recognise because I'm out of touch. Why don't the shops have a bit on their website with the current playlist with links, or even just a list of the songs and artists if links are too much hassle. Seems silly to go to the effort of tracking the music down, making playlists, piping it into all your branches then not bother doing something as simple as sticking a page up to help the artists get something out of it.

[SteveDave]

I had a song played in a McDonalds in Japan. Someone (a fan, a true believer) filmed himself walking around as it was playing. The song features the word "Diarrhea" which is perfect for that establishment.

[Sebastian Cobb]

I worked in a supermarket many years ago that used to have a weird tape machine that played this kind of shit over the in-store speakers. A new tape was delivered each quarter & the old one sent back. One glorious week we had a tape of current chart hit covers until head office demanded the tape back because they could get stung for PRS fees. We got sent a classical music tape that only got switched on if the Area Manager visited.

Most memorable "original" track was some James Brown style funky jam that featured grunting and the occasional "HUH! AAOW! C'mon baby!" which all the workers in the floor would join in.

These machines ran at super low speed, meaning a standard cassette would sound like earth moving equipment.

Techmoan's covered a background music cassette machine like you describe:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OV2EhEd46BY

The modern day equivalent is a little box with a network connection that streams it.

Presumably it's a lot cheaper than paying PRS.

One thing I will say is Morrisons radio is surprisingly good with mostly good selections but one or two absolute bangers per shop. Some of the funk and disco choices aren't exactly obscure but they're not the most obvious picks either.

[thelittlemango]

The benefit to artists is that people will frequently Shazam songs they here when they're in supermarkets etc., that's the path to discovery. There are loads of in-store music companies who go and speak to the manager and look at the 'ambience' of the place and put together playlists which are remotely updated every week and where staff can press a button if they hate the song so that it gets removed from rotation. I used to work for on of these and the stress of trying to find 30 new 'electro swing' tracks every week did my head in, properly scraping the barrel by the end and waiting for the inevitable negative feedback.

[Dead Soon]

I had no idea this was a thing, I just assumed music in shops was current chart/popular stuff I don't recognise because I'm out of touch. Why don't the shops have a bit on their website with the current playlist with links, or even just a list of the songs and artists if links are too much hassle. Seems silly to go to the effort of tracking the music down, making playlists, piping it into all your branches then not bother doing something as simple as sticking a page up to help the artists get something out of it.

I thought something was off when I tried googling the lyrics of the REM song that was playing. I mean, it must be REM, it sounds like just Stipe and Buck on vocals. Bloody hell they've found a deep cut here, never heard of it. Anyway, "just one candy cane, that's just too lame".... absolutely nothing on Google. It was then that I discovered the truth about the playlist. What a weird sensation! Hundreds of recordings just out there in the ether somewhere.

That ''candy cane'' song has been stuck in my head ever since this thread was created. It was played several times per shift, every shift. Surely you guys heard it if you shopped for more than 10 minutes in B n M at literally any point at all in Nov/Dec last year. It also has the lyric ''Santa, what are you doing to me?''

[privatefriend]

Was considering starting a thread the other day for shop music moments after hearing Asda radio play Baltimora's Tarzan Boy into Lipps Inc's Funkytown which made me smile. Always remember hearing Burial being played in Gap years ago, not that Burial is obscure but it was weird.

[Captain Z]

Rarely go in Poundstretcher but on the last two occasions (2/3 years ago) they were playing some beautiful melodic techno/house/trance which on the second occasion I had to Shazam. Never heard of the artist before but I went and bought several of their records off the back of it.

PNFA - Feel It Rise

[A Hat Like That]

McDs used to be some mega CD in a special box. Player wouldn't take normal CDs.

When we did Reading fest, we always setup our own music. Not tha it mattered as it was super-busy.

At the other store I worked, Reef's I've Got Something to Say came on every 2-ish hours, the only vaguely non-pop song, followed by Electrasy. Remixed. Eclectic.

[willbo]

I wish I could track down the synth pop song I heard in Burger King late 2019. There's a whole "lost media" page on Reddit for stuff like this.

There's an un-googleable Alanis Morrisette type tough sounding female singer in my local BnM sometimes

I worked in a homewares store in the 90s that had in house tapes of covers of famous songs. It was a mixture of recent hits (Robbie Williams, Spice Girls, Eternal, Ronan Keating etc) and 70s/80s stuff everyone would know (Elton John, Eurythmics, Springsteen). They were played totally strait so you'd assume it was the original unless you listened carefully.

[dekko]

my fave obscure Christmas song is St Etienne I was born on.. which I'm sure influenced Common People

I was very excited to unexpectedly hear this in a hot Sydney McDonald's around Xmas 1998. Think I walked straight up George Street to Red Eye Records and bought Too Young To Die on videotape.

[Icehaven]

The benefit to artists is that people will frequently Shazam songs they here when they're in supermarkets etc., that's the path to discovery.

Does Shazamming work on stuff that obscure though? I've not really used it so maybe it does but I'd have thought if Googling the lyrics doesn't help then Shazam might not find it either.

[Petey Pate]

Back in my day, the music played in supermarkets all sounded like this.  Supposedly there were subliminal sounds on this release intended to increase purchase rates.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-WzMovyzUA

[willbo]

and then around ten years later it was all sounding like this - https://youtu.be/cCq0P509UL4?t=680