Ever wonder how retail stores like Kohl’s manage the music and messages shoppers hear while browsing for sales on shoes, clothes or home décor? A lawsuit filed last year in the U.S. District Court for Eastern Wisconsin shines some light on the decade-long relationship between Menomonee Falls-based Kohl’s Corp. and California-based Disc Marketing LLC, or DMI, the retailer’s vendor for those services.

$43,428

The monthly payment Kohl’s made to DMI for in-store music and messaging services. From Aug. 1, 2015 to July 31, 2018, Kohl’s paid $36.38 per month per location, plus sales taxes, for the service.

$390,852

Kohl’s ended the contract as of July 31, but DMI says Kohl’s owes it around $390,000 to cover services through the end of April 2019. DMI says the contract requires those payments, but Kohl’s said it has substantially fulfilled its contractual obligations.

12 months

The contract required 12 months of notice before either side ended the contract. DMI claims Kohl’s provided notice in April 2018 while Kohl’s said it issued a request for proposals for music and messaging vendors more than a year before the end of the deal. DMI participated in the RFP, but Kohl’s selected another vendor.

125 messages

The agreement between Kohl’s and DMI included 12 professionally produced messages per month. Additional messages could be recorded for $250 per hour of studio time. DMI provided 125 message insertions per month, following directions from Kohl’s. Additional insertions were $10 per occurrence.

14 days

DMI provided Kohl’s with a list and samples of each song to be included in its music services. Kohl’s was then given 14 days to notify DMI of any songs it did not want played in its stores.