This Might Be The Reason You Never Hear Music Playing At Costco

If you're doing your grocery shopping at any Publix, or Harris Teeter, or Kroger, odds are you'll hear some background music blasting from speakers around the store. Maybe during the holidays, you'll even hear those jingling tunes you love to hate so much, and when a pop star drops her new album, you'll hear the same few songs over and over again as you stand in the produce department. Costco is perhaps one of the few reprieves from hearing Billboard's Top 100 songs as you get your shopping done, as the massive warehouses don't play music at all.

Though Costco has never confirmed its reasoning, many employees speculate that the big-name retailer doesn't play music in its stores because of copyright infringement concerns. "I assume that it's because they are worried about having to pay for an ASCAP license," said one Redditor, continuing that "any music in a public place where people gather requires a license." Another user on Reddit shared a photo of an email allegedly from Costco's corporate office that states, "music played where members can hear the music is considered a public performance and is protected by copyright laws. Costco does not have a license for such use." Even if most grocery stores have a good reason to play music for customers, Costco is among the rare few that do not.

There are strict rules about what can and cannot be played in a public space, thanks to the Copyright Act, which is meant to protect the integrity of artists and performers. Technically, playing music in a large space, such as Costco's warehouses, is considered a public performance, which would mean Costco needs to pay specific licensing. If the company doesn't, it risks lawsuits from organizations like ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC, which monitor these things to ensure that artists are properly compensated. The licenses to play music can cost anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars per year, depending on the size of the store, which means a business like Costco is looking at quite a pretty penny.

Another theory on Reddit is that there's no connecting overhead speaker system that would allow them to select one playlist for the whole warehouse, even if the stores paid for a license. According to employees, the "no music" rule is a department-by-department thing, besides these 10 things Costco employees know about the chain that most shoppers don't, as some Redditors claim they play music in the bakery department on a Bluetooth speaker, and other Redditors in the tire department also reported still playing music. There's even an employee on Reddit who said that "music IS allowed during NON business hours." Whatever the reason behind it, you probably won't need to ask the staff to change the music that's playing while walking around a Costco anytime soon.