The day after New Year’s is typically when the music stops and the back-to-work monotony begins.
Hopefully you’re coming back to your desk feeling refreshed after at least a few days off from work, but even then, getting back into the groove, so to speak, can be difficult. That’s where Spotify’s playlists come in.
If you haven’t used the streaming music service before, Spotify lets you build your own playlists of your favourite songs and albums. Beyond that, however, it acts as a sort of automated DJ by creating unique playlists for individual users (called Discover Weekly) as well playlists designed for particular tastes and moods. These could take some time to weed through, which is why B2B News Network has combed through them to see how, with a little imagination, they could be matched with some of the key moments in the professional lives of CMOs, heads of sales and even CIOs.
Note you’ll need to create an account to listen to these for free. Of course, you can build playlists on other streaming music services, so consider this as just one example of how you can “soundtrack” (yes, Spotify uses it as a verb) some of your key moments in 2018.
The playlist: ‘Tropical Morning‘
The music: Dancy, uptempto fare that has echoes of life on a beach somewhere.
The moment: Your commute. Whether you’re on the way into the office, en route to a client or agency meeting or gearing up for the start of an industry conference, the songs here make you feel like you’re somewhere warm (even when you’re not) and are mellow enough not to feel jarring in the early a.m.
The playlist: #ThrowbackThursday
The music: Anything but what’s currently on the charts. Usually well-known pop tunes that you’d likely find at wedding dances or retro nights at the club.
The moment: Sales kickoff. Typically this is the time of year where both sales and marketing teams are heads-down creating a major event to galvanize their reps into crushing their quota in the new year. This is often a group of very mixed ages, which makes a playlist like this a lively way to appeal to almost everyone — even if sales kickoff doesn’t fall on a Thursday.
The playlist: ‘Beast Mode‘
The music: Bass-heavey, throbbing EDM tracks that could include originals or remixes that wouldn’t be out of place at a rave.
The moment: The pre-keynote sting. If you’re a marketer who’s paying a DJ or an audio team to play a mix of 4×4 stompers as audiences take their seats and await the opening of a conference . . . just don’t. Because the exact same music is here, in a playlist that was originally intended to be used during workouts at the gym.
The playlist: ‘Brain Food‘
The music: Mostly instrumental, atmospheric and soothing without actually putting you to sleep.
The moment: Brainstorming sessions like hackathons usually start with some instructions or guidelines, followed by periods of time when groups or individuals are expected to essentially think and work. Few organizations consider how eerie the quiet in such rooms can be, which is why this playlist can be the perfect background to innovation.
The playlist: ‘Your Favorite Coffeehouse‘
The music: All-acoustic versions of pop and even alternative songs, heavy on guitar and vocals that rarely go above a strong whisper.
The moment: This was designed to replicate the experience of freelancers or road warriors who try to get work done at the local Starbucks, so it could work just as well in the average cubicle farm to create a less stressful vibe. Also consider it as something to run in board rooms when clients or other guests are waiting for the rest of the team to show up as opposed to stilted or awkward silences.
If none of these feel right, just start browsing Spotify, Apple Music or other services to start creating your own. Then, consider how you might measure the results of soundtracking your work, whether it’s increased productivity or more engaged employees. And when you see progress of any kind, dance like nobody’s watching.
