Customers come over and brag when the music they love is played. Now Førde Climbing Center is considering further developing its music initiative.
/ 18/11/2024 / Audun Fegran KopperudThe story is taken from TONO's campaign page. musicamplifier.no.
– We see very clearly that music affects the mood of our customers, says Torbjørn Wiken, general manager at Førde Klatresenter.
Since opening in 2020, they have had between 20,000 and 30,000 visits a year, with people climbing, rock climbing and visiting the cafe. What all the facilities have in common is that they always play background music to enhance the experience of the center.
Førde's climbing community has been small, and there has been nothing on offer for climbers.
– After the opening of the center, the activity level has increased significantly and stabilized at a good level, says Torbjørn.
When the center is open, staff rotates to control the music. The speakers blast tunes from classic rock bands, pop stars, indie artists, and EDM DJs.
– Our audience is very broad, so we play a lot of different things. It also depends a bit on the time of day and what the main activity is at the center at that time, says Torbjørn.
The climbing center has different offerings, adapted to different needs. There is yoga, maternity bouldering and various courses for children. Both the music and the sound level are adjusted to the customers.
– When we have a lot of children and families with children visiting, we often play quiet “cafe background music”. Then there is so much noise in the room that you can’t hear the lyrics anyway. It would have been a mush of sound if we had played music that requires you to be in focus, says Torbjørn.
When the clientele is more adult and the atmosphere is different, the tempo and volume of the music can be turned up. It's important to reach a broad audience so that most people hear songs they like.
The climbing center is also flirting with the idea of introducing its own genre nights, where after a certain time they turn up the volume and stick to one genre for the rest of the evening. This is something that several customers have requested.
– If it's a "heavy night" on Wednesday, those who don't like the music can postpone their training session to another day. This could be the new project for the fall, suggests Torbjørn.
The climbing manager also thinks it would have been a good idea to change the music from season to season.
– We have potential for improvement when it comes to using the music correctly. I think it would be smart if one of us were given dedicated responsibility for the music, so we could use it a little more strategically, says Torbjørn.
– Then the music could be adapted to both the season and activity, and it would have been possible to do various musical experiments.
Without music, everyday life at the climbing center would be boring for the employees. Torbjørn says that everyone enjoys it, both when the center is full and when they are working on screwing new trails into the walls.
When Førde Klatresenter decided to play music, TONO was the only option. When they pay the TONO fee, the center gets access to all the famous music from Norway and the rest of the world.
– Music is simply an important part of our offering, and it is appropriate that we pay for it, Torbjørn states.
He believes that the familiar music has a positive effect on people's well-being both when they climb, and when they eat in the center's café or spend time in the shop.
– The recognition effect means a lot. People come up to us and tell us when there are songs they recognize. It's clear that they appreciate the music we play, and that motivates us to continue investing in music.