Planning for your Christmas music playlist is not just a way to get ready for the holidays; it’s also a fun project that allows you to explore the wide world of music. You can find all kinds of suggestions on how to create an all-time Christmas playlist online. You can even look at lists of what other people listen to during the holidays. But more importantly, creating this kind of list is something anyone can do. If you’re willing to spend some time thinking about what songs make sense together and how they fit into their own context around specific holidays, then you’re certainly in good shape with this project. We’ll show you how below!
Start with the classics
Before creating your own Christmas playlist, it’s essential to understand how important it is to listen to the classics. The great thing about Christmas music is that there are so many different styles and genres of holiday tunes—and if you don’t know where to start, start at the beginning!
It might sound like a lot of work for someone who doesn’t have much time on their hands during this season of festivities, but once you’ve got your favorite albums in order, then you can start creating your playlists by picking out individual tracks from each album and adding them into an iTunes folder named “Christmas Playlist Hits.“
Remember the newer hits
The easiest way to find new music is to listen to the latest releases. If you’re unaware of what’s popular right now, you can use Jukeboxy as a guide.
Consider looking at the top albums on shopping websites like Amazon. These services provide lists of the most popular albums from around the world, along with reviews and other information about each album so that you know what others say about them before buying one yourself!
Make sure you add in some new favorites every year
New songs are released every year, and you should add them to your playlist as soon as possible. If a song is popular at the time when it’s released, then it’s likely going to stay popular for a while—and if it starts off with high ratings on iTunes or Jukeboxy, there’s no reason not to include it on your Christmas playlist!
Think about what your customer wants to hear
Customers are more likely to listen to music they like, so it’s important that you keep this in mind when making selections for the playlists. You can also see which artists and songs are most popular, which will give you some ideas on where to begin with curating a playlist. If possible, ask customers what kind of music they’d like as well!
Extra Resource: How To Soundtrack Your Brand?
Make it a collaborative process
The best way to make an all-time Christmas playlist is by getting the opinions of others. Ask your customers or employees what they want to hear. You can also ask your family members if they have listened to good songs recently that could work well together in a playlist (this might be especially helpful if you’re trying out one of these playlists for the first time.
Make sure you are playing music legally at your business
Whether playing from a CD, downloaded Content or a music service, make sure you comply with the Music Copyright Law.
In the USA, there are four organizations that collect royalties on behalf of copyright owners: ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and GMR. In order to play music in a business establishment, including Christmas music, a business must obtain blanket licenses from these organizations. If not, consequences could be harsh, as we covered in one of our articles, “What To Know About Music Licensing.”
Creating your own Christmas playlists might sound like a fun activity; however, there are a few things you should consider:
- Time spent – do you have the time to create the ultimate Christmas playlist?
- Licensing budget – do you have the budget to cover the fees for all four organizations? A medium-sized business spends a few thousand dollars annually for blanket licenses.
- Explicit Content – did you know that there are explicit Christmas songs in personal use music services?
- Expertise – creating a playlist for business use is much more complicated than making one for your own entertainment.
Subscribe to a business music streaming service
Now that you’ve made your list and settled on a few songs to include, the next step is finding a music streaming service with all of these features.
- Commercially licensed background music for business use
- A wide range of tracks
- Good user interface (UI) for browsing through playlists and choosing songs
- Good mobile app so you can listen on the go without having to open up another app or browser window.
- Customer support
Conclusion
Creating your own all-time Christmas music playlist is an excellent way to start the holiday season. However, a business must keep in mind the consequences of streaming music from their personal library, whether it is from CDs or a music service like Spotify.
Subscribing to a business music service provider as Jukeboxy will:
- Prevent copyright infringement,
- Give you more time for other aspects of your business and
- Give you a piece of mind knowing appropriate songs will play throughout the holiday season.
Jukeboxy ensures that there are tracks from different genres and eras in every playlist. This way, you can keep things fresh even after years of listening to the same old hits on repeat!
Did you know? You could transfer your own playlist to your Jukeboxy Music for Business account.
Suggested Article: Christmas Music – A Checklist to Help You Find The Perfect Christmas Music for Business
