Music and Aroma Can Boost Sales
In the increasingly competitive world of retail, music is no longer just filling silence in a corner. For Jerry Chen, Managing Director of USEA Global, music is a strategic instrument capable of moving consumer behaviour, setting the tempo of store operations, and ensuring that musicians’ economic rights are fulfilled transparently.
Jerry, who leads the development of omni-channel experiential retail solutions in Asia, brings a big vision to Indonesia. Through the umbrella of U-NEXT HOLDINGS, he aims to revolutionise how Indonesian businesses view music and aroma as part of a profitable business strategy.
According to Jerry, many business operators and collective management organisations focus too much on royalties, yet overlook the added value for business.
“Music is a by-product. What the business actually wants is to increase revenue,” he says.
This is where the psychology of music comes into play. Jerry explains that the technology he is promoting can tailor music according to visitor demographics. In a furniture store, for example, the music can differ between weekdays dominated by young families and weekends filled with multigenerational families.
Moreover, music can be a subtle operational control tool. “In a restaurant, music can help you politely ‘encourage’ customers to leave. By playing the same song repeatedly, visitors will feel they have stayed too long without staff having to tell them,” Jerry notes.
The same applies when a store is about to close: increasing the music volume by up to 30% with farewell-themed songs such as Semisonic’s “Closing Time” can psychologically signal customers to finish their shopping.
Beyond the psychological aspects, USEA Global focuses on the accountability of music licences. Drawing on the success of the collaboration between U-NEXT and JASRAC in Japan, Jerry hopes to apply a similar model with the National Collective Management Agency (LMKN) in Indonesia.
The system offered acts as a single point provider. Business operators (retail, hotels, F&B) pay to one door, and the technology will detect music usage accurately.
“We want to deliver transparency. Our technology can detect music usage, help calculate royalties transparently, and hand them over to the rightful rights holders,” he explains.
Jerry likens the planned collaboration with LMKN to a husband-and-wife relationship that must understand each other. Its primary focus is to ensure local musicians receive their fair share and that entrepreneurs understand the value of the music they play.
One of the system’s flagship features is the ability to automatically stop music access for operators who refuse to pay royalties or when licences expire. In Japan, this method has proven very effective.
“Only about 1% are still ‘naughty’. When their music is stopped by the system, they typically come and pay so that the service can be reactivated,” Jerry says. He believes this is important to build an ecosystem in which music is valued as a business asset, not just a cost.
For Jerry, cultural adaptation is the key. What works in Japan or Singapore may not necessarily fit Indonesia. Therefore, USEA Global is committed to finding the right formula aligned with Indonesia’s copyright framework and business culture, while introducing the idea that music, like fashion, should be tailored to the occasion.
The new LMKN policy has triggered a drastic fall in musicians’ royalty income. LMK and AKSI write to the President asking for the reversal of Government Regulation No. 27 of 2025. LMKN clarifies the controversy over dangdut royalties plunging from billions to Rp25 million. There was reportedly a distribution rejection by LMK ARDI.
Member of the House of Representatives Baleg Once Mekel encourages stronger oversight in revising the Copyright Act. Focus on transparency of royalties, digital databases, and the role of LMK.
The National Collective Management Agency (LMKN) has for the first time publicly disclosed the amount of unclaimed royalties.
LMKN and musicians highlight the public’s continuing misunderstanding of performing rights and royalty distribution.
Copyright © 2026 Media Group - mediaindonesia. All Rights Reserved