Music has a way of becoming part of almost everything we do. It’s there when we’re getting ready in the morning, on the way to work, at the gym, in restaurants and shops, and later when we’re playing a game or watching something at home. Sometimes we’re actively listening. Sometimes it’s just there, working on the atmosphere.
The workplace is no different. For a long time, office music mostly meant your own headphones. Put on a playlist, shut out the noise. Now some companies are taking another approach, bringing music into the office through shared playlists, lessons, choirs and carefully curated soundtracks designed to boost mood. For this, Rob Wood even founded Music Concierge, a company that works with businesses to create professional playlists for their spaces.
It’s less about filling silence and more about changing how the workday feels.
When Music Helps
A busy office doesn’t need much help feeling busy. There’s already enough going on. But music can change that overwhelming atmosphere a bit. A calmer track can help people focus. Something more upbeat can give a tired room some energy. The trick is knowing when to use which.
This was one of the ideas behind Music in Offices, founded by pianist Tessa Marchington in 2007. Her inspiration came from watching her brother work as a lawyer and seeing how little room his working day seemed to leave for anything enjoyable that wasn’t part of the usual after-work routine. That might mean piano lessons. It might mean joining a choir. It might just mean having music playing in the background.
The really interesting corporate music projects aren’t always only about listening. At one law firm, 20 employees took up instruments in just three months. People who might never have picked up a violin or even a banjo as adults suddenly wanted to give them a try. Marchington talks about the concentration involved in learning an instrument and how different it can feel from normal corporate thinking. One of her pupils liked the little details involved in learning piano because they were so different from the big-picture thinking required in his job. Another described his piano lesson as a small but life-changing moment in the week.
The Office Soundtrack
Putting music on is easy. Choosing the right music is a little harder.
A complicated track with lyrics demanding your attention probably isn’t ideal when you’re trying to write. Neither is something with a rhythm that keeps pulling your focus in a different direction. Familiar music tends to work better in those situations. It’s predictable enough to stay in the background, which might explain why pop songs appear so often on office playlists. You probably already know them, so you don’t have to work too hard to follow them.
But there are moments when you do want the music to be noticed. A post-lunch energy dip, for example, is a different problem from a room full of people trying to concentrate. It doesn’t have to be the same soundtrack all day.
Who Gets to Choose the Songs?
This is where things can get complicated. Workplaces are full of people with very different tastes. Someone who wants upbeat pop first thing in the morning might be sitting next to someone who would happily spend eight hours listening to instrumental music. Giving employees some control makes sense here. People can add songs to shared playlists, take turns choosing music or suggest themes.
Hybrid work adds another layer. Music can be something people share across offices, and online work means participation doesn’t always depend on being in the same building.
Music Follows Us Everywhere
The office is only one part of the story. At the gym, music helps set the pace. In schools, it can change the atmosphere of a classroom. In retail and hospitality, it’s often part of the experience a business is trying to create. A restaurant can feel completely different depending on what’s coming through the speakers. Companies have started to think about this more carefully, especially in spaces where the atmosphere matters. Instead of grabbing a generic playlist, businesses can create different soundscapes for different times, zones or activities.
And music isn’t limited to physical spaces. Just think about gaming. A soundtrack can make a video game feel both funny and dramatic. The same idea turns up across all kinds of digital entertainment, including renowned slots games online where sound works with visuals to create a fuller experience.
Final Thoughts
A corporate playlist doesn’t have to mean music playing from the moment the first employee arrives until the lights go off. Sometimes the change can be much smaller: a playlist that suits the afternoon, a piano lesson between meetings, a choir rehearsal once a week, or nothing at all when people need complete concentration.
Music has always been part of daily life. The gym uses it to get people moving. Restaurants use it to shape the experience. Games use it to pull us into their world. There’s no reason the office can’t have its own soundtrack.
