Delta adds music playlist to get passengers in right frame of mind

Passengers boarding Delta airplanes started hearing something different this week. No, not the sound of passengers trying to jam their stuffed suitcases into the overhead compartments to avoid baggage fees, but a new music playlist, put together by Pasadena-based branding agency DMI Music & Media Solutions.

On the boarding soundtrack? Artists such as Alicia Keys, Jack Johnson, Sheryl Crow and Natasha Bedingfield.

Delta was looking for a way to enhance its customers’ experience, said Chris Babb, product manager of in-flight entertainment and media.

The airline industry is hurting these days, so it seems strange that Delta would be spending money on in-flight music when customers might rather, for example, get more pretzels or not have to pay extra for checked luggage. But music isn’t that big of an expense, Babb said.

“It’s part of our differentiation strategy.”

So how does one come up with a playlist that differentiates the experience of boarding a Delta plane from the experience of boarding another? It’s all about the way the music makes passengers feel, said Tena Clark, chief executive of DMI. The agency tried to choose music that would make people feel relaxed but also upbeat and positive.

We’ll see if customers sing the praises of the new playlist. But I’m wondering whether it is a bad omen that Delta’s defunct low-cost carrier was called Song?

If it looks good on those Sims …

The Sims, a popular computer game that’s sold more than 100 million copies in the last eight years, has often been called a “dollhouse” game. What happens when the dolls break out of the dollhouse?

That happened last summer when Electronic Arts, publisher of The Sims, teamed with Swedish clothing retailer H&M to sponsor an online fashion runway featuring outfits designed by players of The Sims. The companies received 1,000 digital entries uploaded to The Sims’ website, then selected 60 outfits – worn by Sims, of course – to feature on a virtual runway show hosted by Yahoo Inc. The show got more than 500 million views, and about 100,000 people voted on the outfits.

On Thursday, H&M came out with a real-world version of its winning pick. The black-and-white-striped number, which can be worn as a tunic or breezy sundress, will sell for $14.90 at U.S. stores starting July 31.

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Alex Pham

Apple deflates cost of Air laptop

Apple on Thursday shaved $500 off the price of the upgraded version of its supermodel-thin MacBook Air laptop, to $2,598 from $3,098.

The base model, with a slower processor and hard-disk drive instead of the solid-state drive, remains $1,799.

Apple wouldn’t say whether the price reduction had anything to do with the July 11 release of its highly anticipated iPhone 3G. Said spokesman Bill Evans: “From time to time we adjust the price of configure-to-order options for our systems.”

Apple may be doing it to lift sales, which have been relatively modest, according to an executive for an authorized online Apple reseller who did not want to incur the wrath of Steve Jobs by having his name divulged.

“You have creative pros who want all the bells and whistles,” he said. “But the MacBook Air is so thin, it doesn’t really have that.”

Measuring 0.76-of-an-inch thick and weighing 3 pounds, the MacBook Air was introduced in January. Apple has not disclosed sales figures for the laptop, but industry analysts believe it hasn’t flown off the shelves – as light as it is.

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Alex Pham