Musical Options

As MTSO is phasing out the sales of CDs, we started looking into streaming music options for Massage Therapists.

 In the last six months, I've had a few emails from At Peace music, inviting me to try their new Sightunes app. My first reaction was, why change something that works? I have an MP3 player. I can choose my own playlist, download whatever I want and not have to worry about badly-timed whale noises or subtle impositions into my spiritually-neutral work space.

It got us thinking at MTSO, what options are out there for music at work? The musical scene has changed a fair bit since I started working, both in content and delivery. Instead of CDs and Lite 96, now we have everything from online radio to apps. A brief conversation with the At Peace rep also shed some light on what could be considered a legally grey area - Is it considered “public performance” to play privately-purchased music at your place of business? This blog post on their website goes into more detail. 

For the purposes of this post, we will divide our music into two areas - personal and business use.

Business Use

Most online or satellite radio stations offer a premium membership, where, for a price, you have access to commercial-free curated music in a variety of styles. A brief list of sites/apps that looked promising include iTunes, CalmRadio, Live365, Slacker Radio, and At Peace Media’s SighTunes.   If you’re looking at subscription music for your business, do your research first - how many devices will you be playing on at the same time? What platforms does the site support? Will you be using up data streaming music, or can it be used offline as well?

Personal Use

Most online stations or apps offer a “free” version, commercials included. Aside from those, Songza gets good reviews for a variety of genres and no audible interruptions. Music Healing, free on the App Store, is adequate for short periods of time, but not something I would be able to handle for days on end.   Relax Melodies, also on the App Store, allows you to pick a choose a variety of sounds (including "Cat Purring") to blend together a unique and personalized soundscape.

Atmosphere is important, but so is being a responsible consumer. Music has changed in content, variety, and delivery method. It's worth our time as business owners to review our current options.  

In health,  MTSO staff.