MUSI 3041 Assignment 1 - Kwai Chung Plaza

MUSI 3041 Assignment 1

Lam Choi Yat (3036037102)

On September 20 (Saturday) from 1:30-2:30 pm, I was in Kwai Chung Plaza, wandering around searching for Programme music and trying to record then analyze it. The mall targets youngsters and locals, prices and rents are relatively low, spaces are tightly packed with small shops and food stalls. A world apart from its neighbor, Metroplaza, a standard shopping mall connected to MTR, clear and tidy, with a lot of big brands, targeting the middle class. 

I use the word “search” as there is unfortunately no background music in the mall, just foreground music within the stores and in very little occasion, being broadcast through outward facing speakers. It is safe to say, programme music is something that needs to look for rather than expected to appear. Still, there are few hotspots to look for. Programmed music appears way more frequent Women Fashion shops (including dresses, underwear, accessories and jewels) and Salons. In those places however, apart from the music tends to be pop music from the West or from Taiwan, there are not much interesting patterns or rationale relating the music to the business. 

An interesting broadcasting strategy would appear in Electronics shops. Apart from the usually bass heavy, up-beat, fast tempo music, it is a common to place the broadcasting speaker right at the corner selling speakers. I do believe it is a strategy to show off the quality of the demo speaker and hence build of a positive overall image for the speakers for sale in the customers’ mind. Another noticeable example is Taiwanese drink stalls, especially those with brands, you are almost guaranteed to hear Taiwanese pop music, usually love songs and ballades. The music acts almost as a signal similar to the ice-cream truck playing Blue Danude while the relaxing mood coincide with the most customers, shoppers tired from walking hours in the mall, tired and thirsty, seeking for a short pause and a cup of bubble tea. 

Besides the initial shock of programme music being relatively scarce, I am surprised to find Cantopop is being played rarely in stores. Nonetheless, it created a very unique atmosphere in the store that is being played. The first store I encountered using Cantopop is selling home-made local appetizers. The love songs by Justin Lo (側田), the young dude greeting customers and foods put in generic transparent plastic lunchboxes. The whole experience was as if you go to one of your friend’s home, trying out the dishes he/she have been practicing weeks for. Another shop also used Cantopop to create an atmosphere, also detached from the current time space. This time, the VCD/DVD rental store acted like a portal, teleporting everyone inside back to the good’ol 80s. The retro design, discs of old movie classics and the classic pop music fit together surely did enough to create such illusion.

There is a very unique shop in the mall that caught my attention and the programmed music suit the store in a way unlike other. It was on the highest floor on the mall, a small shop at the corner, selling presumably cannabis related products. The rock music played separate it from other shops as being unique, daring and adventurous, a perfect fit for the owner and the customers. It almost feels like a rebel from the highly commercial, capitalist environment, a rejection towards the high stressed city life and a strong urge from all customers to release such pressure.