Staples Radio
I’ve come to understand that all startups have one thing in common; the first BIG customer is a firedrill but incredibly rewarding.
For my latest startup Staples is that BIG customer. Staples Radio went live in 1250+ Staples retail locations on the 15th.This is a project over a year in the making and represents advances in delivery technology and business models on several levels.
Time for a deep breath, a nice relaxing weekend, and when Monday rolls around onward to the next BIGger customer.
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July 17, 2007 - 10:39 pm
So how does Staples radio work. Do you have everything hooked up to an iPod and VHF antenna? Just curious because I have to suffer listening to Cassie every damn day!
July 18, 2007 - 6:43 am
Staples Radio is delivered via satellite, much like XM or Sirius. Each store has a small dish on the roof connected to a receiver in the ‘back room’ where the PA amplifier/Phone system is located.
The music is selected, by a _human_, every day and uploaded to Muzak for playback. The playback system contains over 450 CDs worth of music.
Cassie’s voice, and style, were chosen by Staples’ corporate marketing folks. If it’s any consolation, we listen to Staples’ Radio every day too.
September 20, 2007 - 10:11 pm
do you know where i can get a list of all the songs on SR? I work there and I absolutely LOVE them.
September 30, 2007 - 10:52 am
were in staples right now and the fukin musik sucks ass… change it up ya feel me…yadadaada
October 23, 2007 - 2:44 am
staples radio is alright, they play some jams but the random follow ups of the shit songs destroys my effin day. cassy is worse, and the worst by far is that pirate commercial wtf is that about??? and also that sales geniw commercial with the little kids gigglin n shit customers dont help either…wheres ink?
-just blaze
October 23, 2007 - 2:45 am
“sales genie”
-just blaze
November 2, 2007 - 1:10 am
yoo yo yo…im an ops mgr at staples and i love it man. staples radio is the shit, i love it. anyone know where i can get a list of all the songs that they play on staples radio?
November 13, 2007 - 1:23 pm
So is Cassie a robot or what……………..or is she a replicant ( blade runner)>>>>>>> marc
November 13, 2007 - 2:46 pm
Sorry, they don’t let us share the playlist.
November 13, 2007 - 2:49 pm
No, Cassie is not a robot. She is a voice actor based in LA. I can assure you that she is, in fact, a living being.
And no, she is NOT the person claiming to be ‘Cassie’ on MySpace.
November 17, 2007 - 6:44 pm
Yeah, well Cassie fell down when the plug came out of the muzak center. Everyone celebrated by humming to themselves for the next three weeks until someone got brilliant and figured it all out.
January 6, 2008 - 4:14 am
STAPLES RADIO is dead. At the start of 2008, Cassie was fired by Staples corporate. The angry screaming sometimes vulgar music “enjoyed” by families shopping at Staples over the holidays is no more.
RIP
January 6, 2008 - 10:32 am
I’m sorry that you found the music to be ’sometimes vulgar’. All the music heard on Staples Radio are/were hits and could be heard on radio stations throughout the country.
Music programming is more art than science. It is impossible to select a list of songs that will be ‘acceptable’ to the public at large. It’s either too fast or too slow, too loud or too boring; regardless of what you play someone will be offended.
I’m very interested to know exactly what music you heard on Staples Radio that you found ‘angry’, ’screaming’ and/or ‘vulgar’. This is the feedback we need to improve the programming.
Thanks for taking the time to comment.
January 8, 2008 - 4:10 am
Seems this year you guys went for a dance theme? Some of the songs I’ve heard over the past couple of days have been pretty good. Can’t for the life of me remember what they were. Is Cassie actually gone? Thanks for playing some Jamiroquai, btw, really brightens up my day.
January 15, 2008 - 12:54 am
I myself am glad that Cassie is gone, Im sure she didn’t write her own stuff and was just an actor but what she said was never heard any ways talking about rewards, business cards in mins. etc. and I know this because I would have people all the time ask, what is the rewards program when Cassie explained it, all that eco easy stuff blah blah blah… eh, guess im just complaining but working there I know I feel a lot better not having to listen to her annyoing voice anymore, and as for the music I like it at times, I just dont like the slow stuff, the upbeat stuff keeps me in a working mood rather then tired while stocking…
January 16, 2008 - 9:04 pm
I for one must say i am so glad shes gone, I mean the idea was good I suppose, but the voice, the repetitiveness, the song’s from advertisements (post its, ugh), the ‘running a small buisiness is like raising a child, inventhelp, general steel, UGH, so annoying…
Im LOVING the new music, i heard stuff I thought i’d never hear.
All American Rejects – Move Along, and The Last Song
Blink 182 – Another Planet, Rock Show
Postal Service – I forgot, probably such great heights
Death Cab for Cutie – I forgot
Relient K – Be My Escape
Hellogoodbye – Here, In you arms
Jem – 24
Awesome stuff, i found this blog thru a google search, are you associated with making the playlists or something tim? Any way I could get a song list of what is actually set? Is it on random? Or made up every day? etc, thanks.
January 22, 2008 - 7:46 pm
I’ve been with staples for some time now and i have to agree with everyone… Cassie just had to go… it made my work day miserable, to the point i heard her repeat herself sooo much i could almost predict every upcoming commercial by her and the songs following them it was so repetitive. 8 hours a day you could hear the same commercials at least 15 times. it makes you dread coming to work. lol. since the new year i can honestly say that my Employees have had a sudden change in attitude and productivity with the change of music and withdrawing of all those terrible commercials. everyone seems to be more happy at work and would agree with me when i say the new music is awesome. nice call corporate!
February 17, 2008 - 9:30 pm
omggg i hated cassie, lol but thankgod shes gone now and we have just a regular station with music commercial free. i’m not really too sure wat station it is my manager said its some satelite thing. anyway, the music is not too bad now, copy center is actually not boring anymore lmao. so what store number is everyone from? anyone from new york?
March 3, 2008 - 2:01 pm
‘Staples Radio’ is officially gone. It has been, actually, since 26 Dec 2007. Corporate switched to Muzak on that date, which is why Cassie is no more. (source: Staples@Work portal)
May 7, 2008 - 11:35 pm
I loved staples radio minus cassie but she wasnt that bad she sounded kinda hot. Anyways they played alot of 80s made the day enjoyable, then right after xmas it got awesome mc hammer, jamerqui all kinds of good stuff then one day they switched now you hear the same songs over and over, its like an emo kid picked the music. Its HORRABLE every once in a while you hear a good song then next is dumb. I mean who ever remade “in the name of love” should hang themselfs
staples employee
May 20, 2008 - 6:49 pm
dooood my sales manager and I were just discussing how we would rather hang ourselves then have to lsiten to cassie on staples radio ever again..THANK YOU LORD JESUS FOR DESTORYING THE ABOMINATION THAT WAS STAPLES RADIO!!! HALLELOUJAHH!!!!
June 5, 2008 - 1:36 am
Ill have to agree with the previous post there. It seemed that after the much needed escape from the holiday music and that horrible woman that there was almost what seemed to be a month period of actually decent music. Then all of a suddent seemed to kick back to the staples radio-esque type songs… minus cassie of course, thank God. What was up with that little teaser month of being able to enjoy what was pumped into our heads for 8 hours a day?
June 26, 2008 - 5:25 pm
I agree Cassie was like finger nails scraping on a chalk board! She became the every day B.S conversation. The music did ROCK! It was a great idea and defenetly helped push some sales and rewards. The new music was great but has died down a little. Can we get some Pat Benitar?!!! By the way shouldnt some of you be working and not blogging from the ez tech computer! shame on you! lol Hope your not one of my associates!
August 18, 2008 - 7:42 am
Hey guys, great blog! I’ve been monitoring this blog for months now but still no such luck getting a playlist.
1 question I have is there’s this one song that Staples plays all the time in my store and the other stores since they all get the same music at the same time… it goes like this “I been down in Harlem babe, I been down I been down” or something like that. It’s kind of a slow song but it’s really catchy. Any help?
August 19, 2008 - 6:35 pm
I can’t believe there are so many complaints about Cassie. Who cares? I’d rather hear the rolling stones and journey all day long than this new horrible shit they play. It’s like fucking grandma music now. What’s worst is that almost every store in the area plays the same horrible station. What the FUCK?! Seriously.. the music is so bad now that I want to quit. Same awful songs every single day.
August 20, 2008 - 9:18 am
We knew that there was way too much ‘Cassie’ on Staples Radio but we were locked into a deal that required us to play Staples corporate spots a fixed number of times per hour. We tried to get them to use more voices but we were unsuccessful, obviously.
What you are hearing now is just standard Muzak fare; for better or worse my company is no longer responsible for what you hear within Staples.
August 28, 2008 - 4:20 pm
does anyone know the Muzak playlist that staples is playing now
November 8, 2008 - 12:25 am
I was in Staples on Sunday and I heard a song something about “My whole world came down on me” In any case, I tried to get a sample of it on my phone and I am having no luck do you know where the music comes from??/
November 8, 2008 - 11:09 am
The music is provided by Muzak (http://www.muzak.com). They have many standard ‘channels’ that are delivered to thousands of stores throughout the country (and people wonder why music sounds the same everywhere…) as well as custom channels for those willing to pay extra.
I don’t know which channel Staples is currently using.
November 17, 2008 - 8:28 pm
Pete the song you are looking for is “Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth With Money” by Primitive Radio Gods. Staples Radio made me want to use my safety box cutter on my wrist. The best thing I ever did was quit. I lost all respect for the company after they had their mandatory meetings last summer about buying out another company and about paying less attention to customers who do not look like they will spend much. Staples = Epic Fail
November 25, 2008 - 7:49 pm
I personally think the new music is awesome. Im sure glad Cassies gone. She annoyey the crap out of me every 5 mins. The new music is good i just hear the same songs every week. Its almost like cassie’s annoying voice.
EasyTech at store 0880 in goldsboro, nc
December 11, 2008 - 10:38 pm
I was in Staples tonight and they played a Christmas song and I think it was called One Christmas or One Christmas Is Not Enough For You or something like that. The singer singing it sounded British. Does anyone know about this song or has heard it before?
December 15, 2008 - 2:28 pm
My store is in a shopping center and we have the same exact Muzak station as Home Depot. So the same song plays at the same time. This is true for all Home Depots. Lowe’s also uses a similar station. The music right now sucks though. I liked the music better when it was Staples Radio, minus Cassie. I didn’t mind it saying Staples Radio though. This FM One stuff has to go. We sometimes put in our own MP3 players when the music gets really boring.
April 28, 2009 - 5:11 pm
cool sitename man)))
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internet signature: http://semev.ru/
May 13, 2009 - 8:05 pm
I HATE the “click, click, click” of the stapler, then the commercial.
June 11, 2009 - 11:03 pm
I was working in Staples today around maybe 10 am, 11 am, or 12 Noon & they played this song by a girl singer. I tried to make out the Chorus which goes something like:
June 12, 2009 - 7:23 pm
Heard a song for the second time while at Staples. Starts out slow with guitar that sounds like indie guitar or middle east guitar. I cannot id it for the life of me and if driving me crazy! Lyrics start out come down,…. or calm down. Help me please someone …
June 12, 2009 - 7:25 pm
o.k. that song sounds like an alternative band, male singer – beautiful melody – I would decribe it as an alternative ballad.
July 4, 2009 - 12:41 am
I was in staples yesterday and heard a song that was playing and i really want this song bad but i don’t know the name of the band or who sangs it all i know is it gos something like this (I can be myself how bout you and he says i can be myself a lot then it gos something like this (I dont know who i’m suppose to beeeee then it gos again something like this again (I can be myself how bout you… I think its a rock band from the 90s anyway if any of you know or think you might know the name of the band or song please let me know my e-mail is jec80srock35@aol.com thanks
Jerry
July 4, 2009 - 1:40 am
Never mind i just found the song it’s called (Fire Escape By Fastball)…
July 13, 2009 - 10:33 pm
I think i know which one you are talking about. thought it was a new weezer tune . kinda swingy. still lookin . district 32 store 0609
August 14, 2009 - 3:16 pm
I can’t figure out who sings a song don’t know the name. Its a woman young voice…. nd she goes lalalalala on the chorus. And she says something like ” learn how to give and take” but the rest I could never hear cause a customer is always talking haha. Help.
August 23, 2009 - 12:44 am
I NEED THAT SONG TOO AMBER, sounds like a falsetto chorus
September 27, 2009 - 11:45 pm
I like most of the songs at staples i have even downloaded some onto my ipod..some get tiring after a while though. luckily my store doesnt play the commercials cuz they shut it off when we were setting up he store and nobody ever turned it back on
October 10, 2009 - 12:41 am
I work at staples warehouse. almost every day I hear a song that has a disco beat.. it sounds like Madonna, but not sure… the song lyrics goes like this… Every little thing I done to you, come on.. I’ve got a crush on you…
October 18, 2009 - 10:58 pm
Okay so I love the music that is played at Staples. I used to work at a grocery store that literally played ONE TAPE for over a year. The only problem is I have a really hard time finding the name of songs that I like because there isn’t a playlist anywhere.
January 23, 2010 - 4:25 am
If Staples would give me a job playing music for us we would be jamming 24/7 and so would the customers. The music they play is fine but as a Manager I work so many darn hours I hear the same music over and over and over and over. Please PLEASE change it up more. Thanks!
January 25, 2010 - 12:27 am
All I want to know is…who does the cover of” I don’t wanna go on with you like that”?
January 27, 2010 - 6:02 pm
Also what Rolling Stones song do they always play?
May 29, 2010 - 10:32 pm
Hi : ) I work at Staples and there’s one song that always comes on that I totally love. I think it’s called “It’s gonna be ok” and I can’t find it anywhere on the internet, so I thought I would go to the source. Do you know who sings that one?