Music not just for pleasure but as a business tool will be examined at a workshop at this year's GoNorth music festival in Aberdeen on May 10/11.

The annual festival is now a well-known showcase for emerging bands and a venue for unveiling the latest innovations in the North music industry.

This year organisers have arranged a special presentation aimed at those who use music within their business such nightclubs, sports centres, shops or company switchboards. Research shows that music can significantly affect the behaviour of customers in so far as it can influence buyer behaviour, consolidate brand perception, decrease abandoned calls and increase customer enjoyment.

Organised by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), the two-hour seminar on Wednesday, May 10 at Kilau (upstairs) in Belmont Street, will allow operators to hear Charlie Smith of Music Intelligence demonstrate what the true commercial value of music can be to any business.

Charlie, formerly general manager of the Performing Rights Society in Scotland, a psychology graduate and a Fellow of the Institute of Sales and Marketing Management, formed his company a year ago. He will be describing how music can be used in advertising and in dealing with problems of anti-social behaviour, particularly in large public entertainment areas such as bars, clubs, stadia and bus or rail stations.

Also speaking will be Victoria Brown, a training provider who works in communications and process design, and Elaine Smith who recently completed a dissertation on the effect of playing exit music in a nightclub on incidents of violence.

Charlie Smith explained: "Music affects human behaviour and we'll be looking at how it plays a role in consumer psychology. We'll be sharing the results of some very interesting studies and I'm anticipating lots of good questions about them."

Iain Hamilton, creative industries manager with HIE explained: "Music can be a fundamental tool in the ongoing relationship between any business and its customers. It can directly assist corporate objectives, regardless of business size. I hope a good number of people will come along and hear something new and useful to them.

"It would be good to get a guide on numbers, so it would be really helpful if people could email me at i.hamilton@hient.co.uk to let me know they are coming along. "

The workshop will take place on Wednesday, May 10 between 4pm and 6pm at Kilau (upstairs) on Belmont Street, Aberdeen.