We have written previously about how playing music from your old iPod, a CD player, your mobile phone, or just any streaming service can land you in trouble with music producers and writers. When you sign up to download a song or an album, or even buy a CD, you are in fact licensing that art, not purchasing it outright. Business entities, therefore, need to license playing that music and let’s face it, most businesses never do.
Even paying for a non-commercial subscription to any of the streaming services does not absolve a business of potential liability. Like so many things in business, you need a business licensed version of streaming to be completely compliant in the United States and presumably in almost every country. We have mentioned both Spotify and Pandora previously as two choices for your practice. Pandora runs $26.95 a month which is roughly the same price as Spotify, though Spotify’s price drops to $22 a month when paid for annually.
Apple Music, the nation’s most popular music streaming service just announced they are starting a business music service. While Apple did not announce pricing, it is thought they will be competitively priced with the previously mentioned services at just under $30 a month.
One of the things Apple is promoting is the ability to control your playlist by daypart. If for example you want to start the morning with smooth jazz and evolve your music over the day to tailor it to your customers, say for example college ages patients in the afternoon, your choice of music can change automatically based on your programming input.
Just something else to consider as you make your in-store marketing plans for 2020.
