We’ve talked to people in dental offices who use Sirius/XM satellite radio. The word that keeps being repeated is “repetition.” Dentists, chairside assistants, hygienists and office staff tell us they hear the same songs repeated all the time on Sirius/XM radio channels. It’s no wonder. We looked at how often the same songs got played during the week of March 6-12, 2010, on some of the Sirius/XM channels being used in dental offices.

same song gets played…

Sirius Hits-1 124 times weekly / 18 times daily
Pink Channel 95 times weekly / 14 times daily
Kiss 89 times weekly / 13 times daily
Pulse 69 times weekly / 10 times daily
BPM 62 times weekly / 9 times daily
Nashville Country 56 times weekly / 8 times daily
The Highway (Country) 44 times / 6 times daily
Spectrum 42 times / 6 times daily
Mix 37 times weekly / 5 times daily
Alt Nation 36 times / 5 times daily
Blend 34 times weekly / 5 times daily

We know that “repetition” is one of the main complaints about other music services like Muzak, Sirius/XM and PlayNetworks. Sirius/XM is built more for in-and-out listening, mostly in-car commuting listening, more than all day, at-work, leave-it-on listening.  Repeating the same songs gives your business little diversity and variety, unless you constantly switch to different channels and that’s a hassle.

So we don’t repeat the same songs nearly as often on Smile Radio. We’ve designed Smile Radio for an 8 hour workday in the office. To compare, our Pop Smile channel plays the most popular songs 12 times a week. Smile One and Lite Smile channels (similar to The Blend or Mix on Sirius/XM) play some songs a maximum of once a day.  Adult Rock Smile (similar to Sirius/XM Spectrum) is once a day max.  And on all Smile Radio channels, the next day songs play at a different times to avoid day-to-day repetition.

We came across a book that we’re putting on our “to read” list.  It investigates the use, and abuse, of sound in business.  And not just music, but all sounds that can relax or energize, deter or entice. It’s called Sound Business.

The book’s synopsis:  Most organizations are blissfully unaware of their sound, and yet sound affects people deeply. Sound can change people’s behavior in almost any commercial environment – including offices, shops, showrooms, advertising, the internet, hotels, bars and restaurants (and dentist offices).

Research shows that appropriate sound can increase retail sales by over 30% and triple productivity for some workers. In Sound Business, leading strategic sound expert Julian Treasure explains exactly how to predict these effects and take control of sound to improve almost every aspect of business.

Combining the latest psychoacoustic theory, original thinking and practical tips for every application of sound, this is the first book to map this unexplored land of sound in business. The accompanying CD includes examples of applied sound as well as field recordings that show how not to sound.

Last time, we wrote about searching for song titles for theme sets using itunes or similar software.  Many people have put together the ultimate “car” playlist or “love” mix CD.  We took the dentist perspective for theme sets and searched “smile”.  See our previous post.

This time we search “tooth” and “teeth” in our huge database of music here at Smile Radio.  You won’t hear all these songs on Smile Radio (“Skin ‘O my Teeth” by Megadeath isn’t friendly dentist office music!), but it just shows how musicians connect with the pearly whites.

Songs with “tooth” or “teeth” in the title:

“Your Gold Teeth” – Steely Dan
“White Tooth Man” – Iron & Wine
“Crooked Teeth” – Death Cab For Cutie
“The Teeth Collector” – Pretty Girls Make Graves
“Gold Tooth” – Kelly Joe Phelps
“Dr. Teeth” – Layo and Bushwacka!
“Toothbrush and My Table” – Grace Potter and The Nocturnals
“Gaptooth” – Casey Driessen
“Summer Teeth” – Wilco
“Kick In The Teeth” – Supergrass
“Teeth” – Lady Gaga
“Clean My Teeth” – Hi-5
“Pulling Teeth” – Green Day

Then there’s the classic 1970’s band Spooky Tooth whose members included Gary Wright (his later song “Dream Weaver”) and Mick Jones who went on to Foreigner (“Cold As Ice”).  And come Christmas time our list with include “All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth” by Nat King Cole.

We have a very big library of songs to choose from at Smile Radio. That means less repetition during at-work listening in your dental practice.

It’s fun to search for song titles and make up your own theme sets using itunes or similar software.  Many people have put together the ultimate “car” playlist or “love” mix CD.

We have a huge database of music here at Smile Radio and thought it would be interesting to search for songs with dental terms in the title.  We started with “smile”. We certainly wouldn’t play all of these songs in a dental office (“Desecration Smile” by Red Hot Chili Peppers), but it’s fun to image a cleaning going on with “Illegal Smile” by John Prine playing overhead.

Songs with “smile” in the title:

“Sara Smile” – Daryl Hall & John Oates
“Smile” – Eric Clapton
“Smiley Faces” – Gnarls Barkley
“Make Me Smile” – Chicago
“The Shadow of Your Smile” – by many but especially by Tony Bennett
“Uncertain Smile” – The The
“When I See You Smile” – Bad English
“Can’t Smile Without You” – Barry Manilow
“God Put A Smile On Your Face” – Coldplay
“Smile” – Uncle Kracker”
“Just To See You Smile” – Tim McGraw
“Secret Smile” – Semisonic
“Smile Away” – Paul McCartney
“She’ll Leave You With a Smile” – George Strait
“A Smile Like Yours” – Natalie Cole
“When You Smile At Me” – David Sanborn
“Smile Like You Mean It” (a dentist’s favorite phrase!) – The Killers (not a dentist’s favorite name!)

We have a vast library of songs to choose from at Smile Radio. That means less repetition during at-work listening.  We’ll add more “smile songs” as we find them.  And we’ll search “teeth” and “tooth” in a future Smile Radio blog.

Are you playing a local AM or FM radio station in your dental office?  The music might be OK if it weren’t for all that talk.  We’ll write another blog about music but for now let’s zero in on the talk.  A popular complaint from dental professionals who listen to AM/FM radio is too much talk that interrupts the music.

1.  Commercials.  It’s a tune out, but you can’t physically tune out because  you’d be changing the station several times an hour.  The commercials are loud, repetitive and often irritating with their poor copywriting.  There’s just too many commercials in a row.  And then there’s the commercials for other dentists!  You don’t need other dentists promoting their services in your practice to your patients.

2.  DJs.  We love ‘em but they typically talk too often and too long about things we don’t really care about, especially when we’re working or in the dental chair.  Plus, some DJs say things that aren’t appropriate for everyone in the workplace or for all patients.  DJs often get in the way of being able to enjoy the music.

3.  Contests.  Fun to play but games can be silly and distracting when you’re trying to do detailed work that demands your concentration.

So is it worth it?  Listening to AM/FM may be free but you get what you pay for and unfortunately it’s not the best music service you can get for your dental practice.  Smile Radio is a better option with no talk and no commercials.

We had a great time at the Smile Radio booth at the Rocky Mountain Dental Convention January 21-23 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver. We met many dentists, hygienists, chairside assistants, office and front desk staff and fellow exhibitors. The feedback will help us make Smile Radio even better.

Smile Radio’s Dave Rahn and satisfied client Dr. Anil Idiculla

Dr. Mike Golinvaux and Smile Radio’s Dave Rahn

Smile Radio’s Tom Koetting, Jason Lucero and Dave Rahn

Here’s a twist on multiroom audio: sending music to light bulbs wirelessly around the office or home.

Klipsch, the speaker manufacturer, has come up with the LightSpeaker System that transmits music to a screw-in unit that combines a 20-watt speaker with a 10-watt LED lamp.

A music source, like an ipod or Smile Radio, is plugged into the included transmitter, and a remote is used to both dim the lights and control the sending of the stereo signal to pairs of speakers.

The starter kit is $600 plus $250 for each additional speaker.  Klipsch says the lamp has an expected 15-year life.   There is no need for in-wall wiring or amplifiers and installation is like “screwing in a light bulb”.

The trusted Better Business Bureau has advice to help businesses that use music in any way in their dealings with the public to understand their rights and obligations under the copyright law. This includes dental practices. Whether played as background or used to impart a special ambiance, music has become an essential part of many modern retail and service businesses. Many dental practices don’t realize that they need to pay licensing fees to play music in their practice.  Smile Radio covers ALL reporting and licensing fees so you don’t have it.  It’s hassle free with no legal worries.

Read important points from the BBB regarding copyrights, music and businesses here:

www.bbb.org/us/music-copyright-laws/

More new music is being released than ever before. Each year thousands of albums get recorded, released and then go virtually unnoticed.  Why?  It’s easier and cheaper now to record and manufacture an album, especially with software music programs for home computers.  There are also now more recording labels than ever as the music business searches for “the next big thing.”

Here’s some startling numbers we read about in Billboard magazine (8/8/09):

The number of albums released increased by 20% from 80,000 in 2007 to 100,000 in 2008. We’re not talking about your friend in his basement burning a few CDs for his buddies.  These are albums being released to retail for sale.

Only 6% of those 100,000 albums sold more than 1,000 copies. That means 94% went virtually unnoticed.  Just 1,500 albums sold more than 10,000 copies.  A mere 110 albums in ‘08 sold more than 250,000 copies.

So don’t worry if you don’t know the name of every band we play on Smile Radio.  We’ll keep searching and find the best new music in all formats and all genres that fits your dental practice.

From broadcast radio to MP3 players, some popular notions about listening in the digital age appear to be horribly off the mark.  A new paper by Council for Research Excellence  (CRE) with support from the Nielsen Company dispels many of the myths about how people today listen to music.

Myth: People don’t listen to the radio anymore. Fact: According to the study, broadcast radio by far has the broadest reach and commands the  most listening time. Broadcast radio has a 79.1% reach and gets an average of 122 minutes per day from listeners.

Myth: Young people don’t listen to radio.  Fact: The CRE found that 79.2% of listeners from 18 to 34 listen to broadcast radio, and they average 104 minutes per day. Radio’s daily reach amongst younger listeners is only slightly lower than its 80.6% amongst 35 to 54 year olds. That older group averages 107 listening minutes per day – just three more minutes than younger listeners.

Myth: Nobody listens to CDs anymore. Fact: CDs and cassette tapes are second in reach (behind broadcast radio) and get an average of 72 minutes per day from users. CDs represented 16.1% of daily listening time in the study, over twice that of satellite radio and over three times the share of portable MP3 players. CD listening is higher for consumers with lower incomes and less education. However, the reach of CD listening is the same whether or not the listener is technology oriented.

Myth: Young people are over CDs. Fact: Young listeners actually listen to CDs more often than older listeners, according to the study. Just under half the 18 to 34 age group  listen to CDs every day, and they average 78 minutes per day. Only 36.2% of the 35 to 54 group listen to CDs daily, and they average just 74 minutes per day.

Myth: The iPod has killed off radio and CDs. Fact: Portable MP3 players had only an 11.6% daily reach and a 4.9% share of all audio. Even among the 18 to 34 age group, MP3 players account for only 7.5% of each day’s listening time.

Myth: The computer is the new stereo.  Fact: Only 10.4% of the sample used their computers to listen to a digital file while only 9.3% streamed audio on their computers.  Myth: The Internet is where people discover music. The two ways to listen to music on a computer  – a saved file or streamed audio – represented very little of the study’s listening hours. Files accounted for only 4.1% of the study’s total daily listening. Streamed audio amounted to only 3.8%. The daily reach of each was about 10%.

Myth: The digital crowd has given up on other formats. Fact: Over fourfifths of people who listen to MP3 players listen to broadcast radio and they average 97 minutes per day. People who stream audio on their computers average 98 minutes of broadcast radio per day.

“How U.S. Adults Use Radio and Other Forms of Audio” is the result the tracking of 752 days of audio media usage of participants in five markets — Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia and Seattle – in parts of Spring and Fall of 2008. The study includes both users and non-users of media devices.

- written by Glenn Peoples in Billboard magazine