We've just had a notice from on high
that we are no longer allowed to listen to our ipods and stuff at work.

fucking ridiculous.

it's left me fuming, as well as a few of my colleagues. half of the people in this office listen to music at work!
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Tue 21 Apr 2009, 12:03, 22 replies, latest was 17 years ago)

...
Does the rule apply to speakers in computers?
( Agnostic Antichrist Baltimora, Tue 21 Apr 2009, 12:04, Reply)

yeah
this has royally fucked me off. we're in an open plan office and it gets really quite distracting.
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Tue 21 Apr 2009, 12:06, Reply)

If people are playing music out loud so that others can hear it
then I can sort of see their point; it's possible for them to run into all sorts of PRS bullshit and get fined and such.

If people are listening on headphones this doesn't apply though since only one person is listening to it.

Bastards! I couldn't work without music on.
(username1, Tue 21 Apr 2009, 12:07, Reply)

.
Has this ruling come straight from the top?

Or is someone just playing clever dick?

Either way, why not have a quiet word, explaining that it helps peoples productivity?
( Agnostic Antichrist Baltimora, Tue 21 Apr 2009, 12:08, Reply)

If you can't listen to music,
Just start singing.
Really loudly.
And out of tune.
( Cawl, Tue 21 Apr 2009, 12:12, Reply)

That happened in my old job
They claimed it was to do with playing copyrighted material in what was technically a public space. It's a load of bollocks.
(Tiny Blindfolded Horse Kitten sound car horns would end road rage, Tue 21 Apr 2009, 12:15, Reply)

Er
They were in fact correct. The term you're searching for is 'the law' rather than 'a load of bollocks'.

An old employer of mine (and this was in an office, only employees could hear the music, no public facing etc) got fined £12k a few years ago for exactly this. You can't blame people for trying to protect themselves against this, buying the license you need is pretty expensive in the first place.

I'd stick with headphones, they can't do fuck all to you then.
(username1, Tue 21 Apr 2009, 12:33, Reply)

it's come right from the top
and we're not a small company

we are of the opinion that someone has a pet hate and is enforcing it across the board.

I find it really hard to work without music if I have to concentrate on a long, monotonous task and I have to do quite a lot of them.

no one, in this office at least, is guilty of listening too loud.

they are banging on about professionalism and wanting staff to interact and not isolate themselves.
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Tue 21 Apr 2009, 12:17, Reply)

I suggest...
Cunting them in the fuck.

All of them!
( Agnostic Antichrist Baltimora, Tue 21 Apr 2009, 12:18, Reply)

I had to ban the use of iPods and suchlike
In the machine shop, for obvious reasons.
But anywhere else here is fine.
I'd rather people be happy than have to suffer The Radio.
( Cawl, Tue 21 Apr 2009, 12:19, Reply)

Kaol
that makes sense, but an open plan office?

fucking ridiculous.

means I'm going to be working from home more often I reckon.
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Tue 21 Apr 2009, 12:21, Reply)

Yeah, it would've been easy for me
To ban it everywhere, but it's a bit over-the-top.
Especially in an office.
That's absolutely ridiculous.
( Cawl, Tue 21 Apr 2009, 12:22, Reply)

You could try
thinking of a tune and humming it really loudly in your head. If you want to listen to something else, simply think of another tune and hum it.

Saves on batteries, too.

(/toptips but I can't find the linky...)
(MrOli is ugly, but in the morning you will be sober, Tue 21 Apr 2009, 12:24, Reply)

I don;t envy you Vipros
Being able to listen to music (30GB of MP3s on one of my machines) is a Godsend in my open plan office. I'd have gone stab-happy long ago if I couldn't tune the world out.

If they stopped us listening to music here, it'd be the last straw.
( Labia Majora You keep on talking but it makes no sense at all, Tue 21 Apr 2009, 12:30, Reply)

I'd just listen to it anyway
If I didn't listen to music at work my productivity would drop by about 50% simply because I'd be unable to concentrate properly in this sodding open plan office.

Working is doing my head in lately. I really need to get out of the rat race as fast as I can.
( Captain V, Tue 21 Apr 2009, 12:31, Reply)

If you're listening to
Music through headphones, you're not gonna be chatting to other people...
( Cawl, Tue 21 Apr 2009, 12:33, Reply)

For those interested
there's more info on the ins and outs of PRS/MCPS licensing here

I have to hold my hand up here and admit a vested interest; quite a lot of my income comes from music that I've written and produced. If everyone ignored the appropriate laws I wouldn't get a penny for the things I've created for other people's enjoyment.

It ain't all glamorous in showbiz y'know, so please think of the people who are trying to make a living at this.
(username1, Tue 21 Apr 2009, 12:37, Reply)

emails have started to fly about addressed to the whole company
suggesting that it should be discussed and what have you. We're going through the appropriate channels from here too, so unless the company decide to be complete cunts then I can't see this being enforced.
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Tue 21 Apr 2009, 12:42, Reply)

Seeing as your company
is trying to encourage interaction, you could just stand around chatting to each other all day instead of working.

You may of course be sacked, but at least then you could listen to your music whenever you liked.
( K2k6 has a proper job these days, Tue 21 Apr 2009, 14:11, Reply)

Periodically we get letters and calls about this licence fee.
We have a radio playing in the factory.

My dad says fuck em as it's not his radio.
( girlinthehole, Tue 21 Apr 2009, 15:37, Reply)

how about
you man the fuck up?
(knackerz is skinning up, Wed 22 Apr 2009, 3:59, Reply)