It’s that time of year again. The time of year when everywhere is decorated, the trees are lit, and sales are up. But this year, you’ve got a real chance to shine. Shopkeepers, customers, and guests all need a little Christmas cheer. A little Christmas music can give them the holiday spirit, whether in your restaurant or in your waiting room. Even though we say that music is intended for customers, it is primarily employees who listen to it all day. In addition to calming the soul and promoting conviviality, music can enhance the working environment.
Christmas music is as much a part of the holiday as eggnog and tamales. Many business owners are still looking for the perfect Christmas music with the holiday season fast approaching. But with so many options, finding just the right ones can take time and effort. The following checklist can help you pick this year’s Christmas music and create a Christmas playlist that you and your customers will love (and hopefully, your revenue will reflect it).
1. Play Christmas music that may appeal to your customers
What else you might not know about the music you hear in a shop: The music in a store can increase sales by 40%. So, a music experience leads to more time spent in the store and more sales. However, different songs evoke different emotions, and certain types of music may appeal to specific customers more than others.
But you need to answer some very important questions as the holidays approach. Are your target customers really expecting to listen to Christmas music during the holidays? Do you think you can make your target group happier if you don’t play Christmas music? Is it vital to play Dance, R&B, or Electro to appeal to your younger or more indie customers?
Of course, you can still play instrumental or pop genre Christmas music and appeal to the younger generation. Nowadays, it is much easier than it used to be. Young artists are releasing Christmas cover hits every year, and sometimes even full Christmas albums, which puts a new spin on classic Christmas songs.
2. You don’t have to play Xmas music only
You can easily calculate how long a customer is in your store or office and how many tracks they hear during that time. Even if it’s only 15-20 minutes, they would still hear at least 5-6 Christmas songs. Moreover, your colleagues could listen to at least 100 Christmas songs all day long. That’s certainly a lot. It would be best if you compiled your Christmas playlist so that, roughly speaking, at least half of the tracks are not specifically Christmas songs. For the rest, you should choose songs that have a positive, happy vibe but are not overly Christmassy.
3. Avoid starting too early or stopping too soon
Suppose you started decorating for Christmas right after Halloween; you should wait a little longer before playing Christmas music in your business. If you start playing Christmas music too early, it may cause awkwardness for your customers. Playing Christmas music soon after Black Friday is a good idea. Upon reaching this indicative date, employees and customers know that the Christmas season has begun.
Days between Christmas and New Year still play an important role in the holiday spirit. Every year, more customers visit shops and stores after December 24th to spend their Christmas gratuity and buy gifts for friends and family they haven’t seen on Christmas Eve.
It is safe to play Christmas music until New Year’s Eve and even the first few days of January. However, remember to change your playlists to the regular schedule starting in the second week of January (latest).
4. Adding other music genres and styles to Christmas songs
Mixing Christmas music with Pop, Jazz, Soul, and Lounge is ideal. This mix will work well in particular since the greatest Christmas songs are from genres alike. What is the secret recipe for the perfect playlist? Smooth, high-end, engaging, and non-repetitive Christmas tracks.
5. Alternative versions of today’s most popular Christmas songs
Check out these fresh and modern Christmas songs. Here’s the ultimate sample list:
- The Jonas Brothers: Like It’s Christmas, I Need You Christmas
- Tuxedo: Wonderful Christmastime
- Aloe Blacc: I Got Your Christmas Right Here, Last Christmas, Funky Ass Christmas (from their “Christmas Funk” album)
- Ariana Grande: Feliz Navidad, Drummer Boy, Santa Tell Me, Baby It’s Cold Outside, We All Need a Little Xmas, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
- Pink Martini: Silent Night, Shchedryk, Do You Hear What I Hear, Elohai N’tzor
- Phoenix: Alone on Christmas Day
- Gwen Stefani: White Christmas, Santa Baby, Let It Snow, You Make It Feel Like Christmas, Christmas Eve
Resource: Download the Jukeboxy app for the above playlist
6. Set the mood with your playlist by keeping it calm, loungy, or happy
There is a tempo range between 55 to 95 BPM (Beats Per Minute) for most Christmas songs, from the classics to the modern covers. When a track is slow and quiet, its BPM will be low, but when it is more upbeat and energizing, its BPM will be higher. For example, the BPM of a dance music production is between 120 and 140.
If you are building a Christmas music 2022 playlist, ensure your other songs are also in this tempo (55 to 95 BPM).
Your customers will enjoy a smooth, consistent, on-tempo playlist that alternates Christmas songs with non-Christmas songs, bringing variety and freshness. This playlist will engage and inspire your customers during this holiday season and keep your employees motivated.
Conclusion
You should carefully build and schedule Christmas music playlists to avoid getting your staff and customers annoyed and tired of the holiday spirit.
By following the checklist above, you can indeed create a high-quality Christmas playlist. Of course, this is time-consuming, and you probably will only have a little time to do it just before the holiday season. But we have a solution for that too. Check out Jukeboxy Music For Business, where you can choose from over 45 million songs and a wide selection of Christmas playlists in different genres. With Jukeboxy, you will have more time for other aspects of your business while providing the perfect Holiday music to your customers and employees.
