Music From The Shop Floor: Urban Outfitters

What happened to the glory days when you could stalk silently through Iceland, guided only by the hum of the freezer and your thoughts on which reconstituted chicken meal-for-one you should buy to cry over? Someone went and bloody soundtracked it, didn’t they. And it’s not just supermarkets who felt the need to make your mundane experiences sound like a tearful montage in a shit rom-com. It’s every single clothes shop along the high street, every toilet in a dilapidated service station. Apparently, retailers think that the best way to enthuse customers into a frenzy of buying is by whacking Ed Sheeran on a 20 minute loop.

But some chains are trying to do it differently. We spoke to Simon Burd and Stefanie Marshall, who are in charge of music and PR at Urban Outfitters. The cynical side of me assumed that the second hand records now found in their store were there merely for show, but I’m reliably informed otherwise.

With regards to what they play hear in store, there’s a resounding “we only play what we sell” mentality - there’s no cutting and chopping of playlists. Buzz bands aren’t rammed onto one looped soundtrack; albums are played in full and kept on a rotation selected by staff. “There’s so much good music from the history of recording that there’s no need to jump on every new band”.

That doesn’t stop UO from stocking glaringly obvious choices (Disclosure front the display box), but there are more curveballs than there are bestsellers. The Blade Runner soundtrack, for example, is one of Burd’s favourites, and is arguably more popular than recent releases.

“The music isn’t what sells. With the new stuff we just try and get a spread of things that people will find interesting. We also have albums we know aren’t as popular, but that we actually want in store. It’s part of the brand to be a bit different”.

Keeping up appearances is an important part of the music selection: Urban Outfitters is one of the most popular high street fashion shops in the world, and they’re not just stocking records with the intention of educating shoppers about Vangelis. Marshall isn’t denying this. “Some brands have the budget to advertise and do things commercially. They’ll get people involved like Rihanna who they think young girls will look up to. We like to keep things underground, a bit cooler, that are well known in a group who know their stuff”.

I ask what has been picked for aesthetics instead of quality, and Burd motions me towards a Police album. “I don’t want to be too snobbish. We could sell obscure Krautrock records or minimal wave stuff, but not everyone wants to buy that”.

That said, what gets played is still esoteric – but broadly so. Amongst the vinyls on display are Snoop Dogg and Madonna, with Aaliyah thrown in because Burd realises that 90s hip-hop is a big seller. There are some random reggaeton mixes that I can bank are only there because of their natty covers, but for the most part it’s an appealing selection; a mix of instantly recognisable classics, with acclaimed new releases like Savages and Ghost Face Killah.

Stocking “vintage vinyl” in a fairly pricey clothes store may come across as slightly pretentious, but for the most part it’s inspired by the interests and needs of their customers. Urban Outfitters realise that most of their customers are into music, without being complete wax nerds. “I think the one rule is: is it decent, is it good? There’s nothing here that I would be embarrassed to say we stocked.”