What is Best Buy Radio?

A popular TikToker says that through his job at Best Buy he discovered a strange trend of songs playing on radio stations in retail stores.

In a viral clip with over 2.8 million views, TikTok user Dallas Ponzo (@dallas_ponzo) explains his findings.

He also says he wants answers.

“I came to work today and [Best Buy] The radio was on,” the TikToker says in the clip.

For those who have never worked in retail, he explains that most stores have their own online radio station. These stations play music 24/7 without commercials.

“Towards the end of the evening there was a song that was super catchy,” he explains. “And I listened to it and thought, ‘Damn, this is kind of good.'”

He says he decided to use the song search app Shazam to find out the title.

He says he was shocked to find out that Jackie Scott’s song “Superstars” was only played 546 times.

“That was like the lowest song I ever played,” he says, referring to the number of plays.

That’s why he decided to search for the song on other platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music to find out whether “Superstar” was more popular there. He couldn’t find it on any platform.

Ponzo, who has 294,000 TikTok followers, says he then turned to YouTube to find out more information about Scott.

He made a strange discovery. He says he found the song on YouTube, but it only had 1,400 views and it was over a decade ago. There were also comments on the video with everyone saying they heard the tune at a mall or retailer.

@dallas_ponzo

The underground radio

♬ Original sound – Dallas

How do retailers decide what to play in stores?

A CNN article explained that stores take ambience very seriously and each store has its own method of figuring out what music to play.

Retailers like Lululemon are reportedly allowing their managers to choose music for the sores. Walmart has its own station, Walmart Radio. Ponzo hinted in his TikTok that Best Buy also has a Best Buy Radio.

Others commission third parties to create playlists. Some people simply forego playing music altogether.

Ultimately, the very important decision of which song to play in stores depends heavily on the stores themselves.

Viewers celebrate Jackie Scott getting her flowers

There were few clues in the comments section as to why the song didn’t appear on the platforms.

“I think it makes perfect sense for the radio station to fill all the hours with songs that may have low licensing costs,” one user wrote.

Others applauded the attention the song received through the viral TikTok video that questioned its obscurity.

“The fact that superstars by Jackie Scott now has 10,000 views and over 300 comments,” one viewer wrote in a comment that received over 19,000 likes.

“Jackie Scott’s Superstars now has over 65,000 plays,” another user updated.

The upload on YouTube now has 160,000 views and many commenters there refer to Ponzo’s TikTok.

The Daily Dot reached out to Best Buy via email and Dallas Ponzo by TikTok and an Instagram comment for more information.

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