Asda workers have hit out at a move to play unlicensed music on repeat in the store.
Supermarket bosses swapped over the music on their in-store radio to songs by unsigned artists in an alleged bid to avoid paying expensive royalties.
But staff at the supermarket change have criticised the move, saying it is “repetitive” and “mentally draining”.
In a Reddit forum dedicated to staff, some have hit out at the change, saying it was “corny”.
One customer on the forum said of the new music: “I am just a customer but even I’ve noticed how terrible it is now!
“I was shopping about a week ago and one song came in, a female singer doing a repetitive, awful song and I turned to my wife and just said ” this is literally the worst song I’ve ever heard.”
Another commentator added: “The music was bad before but no, somehow they found a way to make it even worse.
“I hate all the modern chart music like many others (Taylor Swift, Bieber, Ed Sheran ect) but this AI generated sounding music is like another level of Hell.”
Meanwhile a third said: “This music now is depressing. I don’t even realise it’s on now, we have it playing so low. A decent banger every now will do us the world of good.”
Staff have speculated that the change is a bid to reduce paying royalty fees to big record labels from playing songs on the in-store radio.
Asda launched its own in-store radio in 1991.
Some fed-up staff launched a petition in July to ask the supermarket to revert back to their previous music coverage.
With more than 600 signatures, the petition states: “Asda workers across the nation are getting sick of the royalty free AI generated music.
“It is hindering concentration and causing immense stress for our Asda retail workers. For example, our Asda plays the same 20 songs throughout the day and I know this from working just 12 hours a week.”
But an Asda spokesperson told The Telegraph: “We made this change in February to align with our other sites including depots and in-store cafes.
“We appreciate that colleagues have different tastes in music and we always welcome feedback when making decisions about how our stores operate, including the music played on Asda Radio.”
