Pump Down The Volume

The Single Solution's MD Paul Ergatoudis, offers his analysis

We all remember the late 80s track pump up the volume, by Maars but either times have changed or they got it all wrong in the first place.

Over three quarters of you think that the music in bars and clubs is generally too loud. Probably not a surprise, but then why do bar owners insist on playing such loud music

The answer is not entirely with bar owners. These days many clubs and bars are taken over by club promoters with their own data base of customers. These guys and their DJs are a little self indulgent and play music they see fit, often with little regard for the needs of customers.

Another theory is that if its too loud to talk, all people will do is drink, or dance and then get thirsty through exercise, hence sales will increase. Well the news again is a different story. The most significant result is that over half of our respondents said that they can get bored and go home, because its just too hard to hold a conversation. That cannot be good for sales!

Music Type

There is a crowd of people who like various forms of mixed dance music but my personal view is that guests will have more fun if they hear familiar tunes. Over half of our respondents said that they prefer to hear well known music in bars. DJs can get bored of playing the same popular tracks but they must be a little sensitive. There are too many bars where each track played is almost identical to the previous.

At the single solutoin, we always ensure that music volume is kept to a reasonable level, and we request an eclectic mix of tunes. We believe that this is very important. 35% of people said that they would enjoy their nights out more if bars and clubs played the music slighly quieter. The survey further showed that bars should always provide quiet areas, with 98% of people stating that there should be a significant differential between the music level on a dance floor and by a bar.

Hearing Damage

I often wonder how bar staff cope with the noise? Surely the employers are breaching health and safety by expsosing staff to excessive noise. 20% of respondents said that they suffered some kind of hearing damage from clubs.

On the Pull

Some Raw Facts about bars in general

• 50% want to hear well known pop at our events
• 5% per type, want to hear other genres such as Rock, Dance, or RnB
  
  
• 43% thought the music in bars and clubs is generally a bit too loud
• 32% thought that it was much too loud
  
  
• 86% thought that the music in bar areas should always be at a level where you can talk to two people at a time without shouting.
• On the dance floor 68% thought that you should still be able to speak to someone without having to shout in their ear
• Only 9% thought that you should have to shout in someones ear to be heard, which is almost always the case, so 91% are not happy!
  
  
• 70% don't approach new people in bars, because they don't expect to be heard
• 13% like loud music because it gives them an excuse to get up close to someone!
  
  
• 52% Sometimes get bored at bars and clubs and go home because it is too hard to hold a conversation
• 32% stay on regardless but would enjoy in more if the music were quieter
  
  
• 20% of people have some loss of hearing after visiting a club