TAYLOR Swift makes the perfect hold music when you’re kept hanging on the phone, according to new research.
Swift’s signature blend of country, rock and pop has been found to be the winning combination to soothe the frustration of being kept on the line.
Is Taylor Swift the best hold music?
The average Brit spends 38.2 minutes on hold before giving up
The ground-breaking study was commissioned by mobile network provider Talkmobile as part of its commitment to enhance its already industry-leading customer service rating
It found how average Brit spends 38.2 minutes on hold waiting to speak to a customer services advisor before giving up.
And the study suggests that hearing Taylor Swift may encourage you to Stay Stay Stay a little longer.
The study, carried out by the University of York, put 2,540 people on hold and played them two minutes and 22 seconds of ten different audio tracks.
Researchers monitored the participants heart rate, mood and alertness while the music played.
Trivia was more popular than music altogether, with participants preferring a voice loop of interesting facts.
Blues was the next most popular, closely followed by country.
Music psychologist Dr O’Neill said: “Both country and rock scored well in our research.
“So a modern-day fusion based with its roots in those genres would seem to be the perfect hold music.
“This indicates that an artist like Taylor Swift would fit best with these findings.
“This isn’t just about customer satisfaction, it’s about how sound and music can influence human behaviour and emotional well-being in everyday situations.”
At the other end of the scale, heavy metal scored the worst, with participants claiming it left them with a headache or in distress.
Participants were also put on hold for three minutes for each type of music then asked to estimate how long it had been.
In this part of the study, silence was golden with most listeners believing they were on hold for an average of one minute and 49 seconds.
Rock scored well with an average guess of 3.05 minutes, followed shortly by country with 3.07 minutes.
A Talkmobile spokesperson said: “As the 14-time Grammy award-winning artist enters her new era, releasing in October, it looks like we’re entering a brand new ‘era’ of hold music too.
“Although it may disappoint some ‘Swifties’ out there, unfortunately, we won’t be able to able to get permission to use her songs as hold music.”
Rock and country music are among the preferred genres Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
