Asda staff are up in arms over bosses’ decision to play “mentally draining” unlicensed music in shops in a move employees believe is part of cost-cutting measures.
Workers at the supermarket have launched a petition calling for the playlist in stores to be changed after the Leeds-headquartered supermarket quietly changed its in-store radio earlier this year.
Asda is using a service that plays unsigned performers’ songs rather than music licensed from popular artists – suggesting there are no royalties to be paid.
The change has not gone down well with employees. Many have posted threads complaining about it on the Asda Reddit Forum, with numerous posts attracting comments in double digits.
One called the new music “corny”, while another said it was “some of the worst, most unlistenable music to ever grace the world”.
Another said: “I’d rather listen to the souls of the damned screaming at me for six hours.”
Employees believed the change was part of cost-cutting measures at Asda, which has a multibillion-pound debt pile. One comment on the Asda Reddit forum said: “There must be some licensing arrangement and they probably decided to cut costs.”
In a previous discussion, another Reddit user said: “It’s s--- music because they won’t pay the fee to play decent music.”
To play commercially released music in stores, companies have to pay for a licence to cover the royalties, which are distributed to copyright holders by the Performing Right Society (PRS).
For those that do not want to pay for a music licence, there are services that offer royalty-free music. Asda declined to comment on whether it was using royalty-free music but said: “Any royalties paid to artists would come from the service providers, not Asda.”
In July, an online petition was launched calling on the supermarket to restore its former in-store music service.
The petition, which has garnered more than 600 signatures, said: “It is hindering concentration and causing immense stress for our Asda retail workers.
“For example, our Asda plays the same 20 songs throughout the day and I know this from working just 12 hours a week. I can’t imagine how irritating it must be for those working full-time. We are hard workers that deserve a welcoming and happy environment. Music means the world to people.
“I remember at the end of my longer shift when Born This Way by Lady Gaga would play and it uplifted my spirits and gave me a pep in my step.
“Now I leave Asda feeling worked up because I’m exhausted not only from physical work but also mentally drained from listening to whatever they’re playing now.”
The switch to royalty-free music comes as Asda’s owners seek to turn around performance while managing a large debt pile.
Asda was bought by the billionaire brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa and private equity firm TDR Capital in a £6.8bn deal in 2021 that loaded the supermarket with debt.
Performance has deteriorated since then. Asda has lost market share and sales tumbled 6pc in the 12 weeks to Aug 4, according to Kantar. Stuart Rose, Asda’s chairman, told The Telegraph last month that the supermarket’s decline had been “embarrassing”.
Staff morale has also taken a hit since the Issas’ takeover. Payroll issues led to thousands of staff receiving the wrong pay in the spring, caused by a long-running project to decouple Asda’s IT systems from those of its previous owner, Walmart, which had been beset by delays.
Less than half of respondents to the company’s annual internal questionnaire in June said they felt confident in its long-term strategic plan.
Asda’s radio station was, in years gone by, a surprisingly influential force in music broadcasting. Launched in 1991, it was previously called Asda FM and played chart hits. It was rebranded in 2019 to become Asda Radio.
An Asda spokesman said: “We made this change in February to align with our other sites including depots and in-store cafes.
“We appreciate that colleagues have different tastes in music and we always welcome feedback when making decisions about how our stores operate, including the music played on Asda Radio.”
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