The Art of Music

At Edelman Toronto, our open concept space is surprisingly quiet at times. The secret? Music.

If you look around you’ll see several people plugged into their headphones. If you were to unplug those headphones you would discover what makes us tick, what makes us create what we create, meet tight deadlines, and be happy while doing it.

Without music I wouldn’t have been able to graduate university, clean my apartment, finish that metrics report, or even write this blog post. For me, listening to music isn’t just entertainment. Music is motivating, inspiring, and keeps me focused. Whether you’re drafting a press release, analyzing data, or brainstorming for a campaign, music for many keeps us on track and can spark the next big thing. This won’t be news to anyone who lives in their headphones.

Music of course isn’t the only thing keeping this office quiet, ambition and hard work definitely plays a part. However, when I sent around a survey to all three Canadian Edelman offices, only 5 per cent of 79 respondents said they didn’t listen to music while working. This suggests that music plays a large role in our work and should not but undervalued.

When asked why Edelman folk listen to music at work, 69 per cent said it helps them concentrate, 59 per cent said it keeps them sane (my favorite response), and 33 per cent listen to music at work for inspiration.  There are other companies that ban music which for me is a scary thought. My colleagues agree. If music was banned from any of the Canadian Edelman offices 86 per cent of those who took my survey said they would be upset. This is no surprise since 94 per cent said music makes their work more enjoyable.

When I first started at Edelman I was surprised with how friendly and happy everyone was, and I’m starting to realize that music may have something to do with it.

Image Credit: ‘Listen to Your Heart Music’ by Piccolanene