Background music

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Background music (British English: piped music) is a mode of musical performance in which the music is not intended to be a primary focus of potential listeners, but its content, character, and volume level are deliberately chosen to affect behavioral and emotional responses in humans such as concentration, relaxation, distraction, and excitement. Listeners are uniquely subject to background music with no control over its volume and content. The range of responses created are of great variety, and even opposite, depending on numerous factors such as, setting, culture, audience, and even time of day.

Contents

Background music is commonly played where there is no audience at all, such as empty hallways and restrooms and fitting rooms. It is also used in artificial space, such as music played while on hold during a telephone call, and virtual space, as in the ambient sounds or thematic music in video games. It is typically played at low volumes from multiple small speakers distributing the music across broad public spaces. The widespread use of background music in offices, restaurants, and stores began with the founding of Muzak in the 1930s and was characterized by repetition and simple musical arrangements. Its use has grown worldwide and today incorporates the findings of psychological research relating to consumer behavior in retail environments, employee productivity, and workplace satisfaction. [1]

Due to the growing variety of settings (from doctors' offices to airports), many styles of music are utilized as background music. Because the aim of background music is passive listening, vocals, commercial interruptions, and complexity are typically avoided. In spite of the international distribution common to syndicated background music artists, it is often associated with artistic failure and a lack of musical talent in the entertainment industry. There are composers who write specifically for music syndication services such as Dynamic Media and Mood Media, successors of Muzak, and MTI Digital. Multiple studies have correlated the presence of background music with increased spending in retail establishments. [2]

Types

Incidental music

The use of incidental music dates back at least as far as Greek drama. A number of classical composers have written incidental music for various plays, with the more famous examples including Henry Purcell's Abdelazer music, George Frideric Handel's The Alchemist music, Joseph Haydn's Il distratto music,[ citation needed ] Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Thamos, King of Egypt music, Ludwig van Beethoven's Egmont music, [3] Carl Maria von Weber's Preciosa music,[ citation needed ] Franz Schubert's Rosamunde music, [4] Felix Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream music, Robert Schumann's Manfred music, [3] Georges Bizet's L'Arlésienne music, [5] and Edvard Grieg's Peer Gynt music. [6] Parts of all of these are often performed in concerts outside the context of the play. Vocal incidental music, which is included in the classical scores mentioned above, should never be confused with the score of a Broadway or film musical, in which the songs often reveal character and further the storyline. Since the score of a Broadway or film musical is what actually makes the work a musical, it is far more essential to the work than mere incidental music, which nearly always amounts to little more than a background score; indeed, many plays have no incidental music whatsoever.[ citation needed ]

Furniture music

The term furniture music was coined by Erik Satie in 1917, and demonstrated by him in three sets of compositions: Musique d'ameublement (1917), Sons industriels (1920) and Tenture de cabinet préfectoral (1923). It fell into disuse when the composer died a few years later, and the genre was revived several decades later. Typical of furniture music are short musical passages, with an indefinite number of repeats. [7]

Muzak / Elevator music

Elevator music (also known as Muzak, piped music, or lift music) is a more general term indicating music that is played in rooms where many people come together (that is, not for the explicit purpose of listening to music), and during telephone calls when placed on hold. There is a specific sound associated with elevator music, but it usually involves simple instrumental themes from "soft" popular music, or "light" classical music being performed by slow strings. [1] More recent types of elevator music may be computer-generated, with the actual score being composed entirely algorithmically. [8] [9]

The term can also be used for kinds of easy listening, [10] piano solo, jazz or middle of the road music, or what are known as "beautiful music" radio stations.

Corporate music

Corporate music (or corporate production music) is a term for background music, made to work with company presentations: rather subtle, understated and unobtrusive. [11] However, it should not be confused with "corporate pop" - pop music produced by corporations and that "blurs the line between independent and mainstream". [12]

Video game music

Video game music (VGM) is a soundtrack for video games. Songs may be original and composed specifically for the game, or preexisting music licensed for use in the game. Music in video games can be heard over a game's title screen, menus and during gameplay. [13] Sometimes, a soundtrack from a videogame can be released separately, as it happened with GTA V's in-game "radiostations" [14]

Website music

The early social media website Myspace has supported a feature where specific songs chosen by the user would automatically play on their profile pages. [15]

Group fitness music

With the proliferation of boutique fitness classes in the late 2010s, a new emphasis is being placed on properly licensing music to be used by instructors in a group fitness environment. As it is more interactive than traditional background music, the licensing and cost structures differ.

Internet delivered background music

Internet-delivered background music was delivered by companies as Mood Media (which had acquired Trusonic, which had acquired Muzak). This allowed the retailer to instantly update music and messages which were deployed at the store level as opposed to using older compact disc and satellite technologies.[ citation needed ]

Background non-music

Business audio

Business audio refers to a type of service that provides audio content that is licensed for use in a commercial setting.[ citation needed ]

Business news can be one example. The term background music is another example. Providers of the latter include:

In the United States, the terms "elevator music" and "Muzak" are commonly used to refer to business audio services that provide background music in retail settings.[ citation needed ]

History

Founded in 1934, Muzak was among the early background music providers.

Business audio is produced off-site and delivered to the client via a number of methods including DBS satellite, SDARS satellite, coaxial cable, FM radio subcarrier, leased line, internet broadband, compact disc, and tape. [16]

Most audio content is licensed for personal and home use only. Business audio services allow clients to use audio content in public and commercial settings by paying appropriate royalties to performing rights organizations like ASCAP, BMI, SESAC and GEMA in Germany.[ citation needed ]

Historical devices

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edvard Grieg</span> Norwegian composer and pianist (1843–1907)

Edvard Hagerup Grieg was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the leading Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of Norwegian folk music in his own compositions brought the music of Norway to fame, as well as helping to develop a national identity, much as Jean Sibelius did in Finland and Bedřich Smetana in Bohemia.

Elevator music is a type of background music played in elevators, in rooms where many people come together for reasons other than listening to music, and during telephone calls when placed on hold. There is no specific sound associated with elevator music, but it usually involves simple instrumental themes from "soft" popular music, or "light" classical music being performed by slow strings. This type of music was produced, for instance, by the Mantovani Orchestra, and conductors such as Franck Pourcel and James Last, peaking in popularity around the 1970s.

Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to refer to electronic music generally.

Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as the film score or soundtrack.

Easy listening is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, non-rock vocals and instrumental covers of selected popular rock songs. It mostly concentrates on music that pre-dates the rock and roll era, characteristically on music from the 1940s and 1950s. It was differentiated from the mostly instrumental beautiful music format by its variety of styles, including a percentage of vocals, arrangements and tempos to fit various parts of the broadcast day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Film score</span> Music written to accompany a film

A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to enhance the dramatic narrative and the emotional impact of the scene in question. Scores are written by one or more composers under the guidance of or in collaboration with the film's director or producer and are then most often performed by an ensemble of musicians – usually including an orchestra or band, instrumental soloists, and choir or vocalists – known as playback singers – and recorded by a sound engineer. The term is less frequently applied to music written for media such as live theatre, television and radio programs, and video games, and said music is typically referred to as either the soundtrack or incidental music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muzak</span> Brand of background music

Muzak is an American brand of background music played in retail stores and other public establishments. The name has been in use since 1934 and has been owned by various companies.

Lounge music is a type of easy listening music popular in the 1950s and 1960s. It may be meant to evoke in the listeners the feeling of being in a place, usually with a tranquil theme, such as a jungle, an island paradise or outer space. The range of lounge music encompasses beautiful music-influenced instrumentals, modern electronica, while remaining thematically focused on its retro-space age cultural elements. The earliest type of lounge music appeared during the 1920s and 1930s, and was known as light music.

"In the Hall of the Mountain King" is a piece of orchestral music composed by Edvard Grieg in 1875 as incidental music for the sixth scene of act 2 in Henrik Ibsen's 1867 play Peer Gynt. It was originally part of Opus 23 but was later extracted as the final piece of Peer Gynt, Suite No. 1, Op. 46. Its easily recognizable theme has helped it attain iconic status in popular culture, where it has been arranged by many artists.

"Morning Mood" is part of Edvard Grieg's Peer Gynt, Op. 23, written in 1875 as incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play of the same name, and was also included as the first of four movements in Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46.

Music on hold (MOH) is the business practice of playing recorded music to fill the silence that would be heard by telephone callers who have been placed on hold. It is especially common in situations involving customer service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WVKS</span> Radio station in Toledo, Ohio

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Light music</span> British musical style of "light" orchestral music

Light music is a less-serious form of Western classical music, which originated in the 18th and 19th centuries and continues today. Its heyday was in the mid‑20th century. The style is through-composed, usually shorter orchestral pieces and suites designed to appeal to a wider context and audience than more sophisticated forms such as the concerto, the symphony and the opera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trusonic</span> Music company

Mood Media North America is a commercial music company and a wholly owned subsidiary of Mood Media Corporation. Founded in 1999 as a small business unit (SBU) of the now defunct MP3.com, Trusonic provided background music to businesses. During the shutdown of MP3.com, Trusonic Inc, a new corporation co-founded by Joe Tebo and Dan O'Neill purchased the assets (technology/IP/etc) of the Trusonic business unit including the rights to the majority of the MP3.com independent artist catalog. In October 2007 Trusonic Inc was acquired by Fluid Media Networks. Fluid Media Networks acquired Mood Media in 2010 and Trusonic Inc changed its name to Mood Media North America in 2011. The Trusonic brand remains as the name of the primary Technology Trusonic Media Player in use today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">InStore Audio Network</span> Former provider of in-store radio and television networks

InStore Audio Network (ISAN), formerly InStore Broadcasting Network (IBN), was an American broadcasting company which provided in-store music, video content and audio advertising for delivery within supermarkets and drugstores. At the time of its acquisition, the company was headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DMX (music service)</span> Branding agency and digital music service

DMX, Inc., formerly Audio Environments, Inc., and later AEI Music Network, Inc., was a "multi-sensory" branding agency based in Austin, Texas. DMX also provided music for cable and satellite television networks worldwide, including DSTV in Africa. It was the first company to offer music by satellite.

Andy Blythe and Marten Joustra are British composers who have collaborated on various TV, Production Music and game projects as part of their company, Swallow Studios. Their specialty is jazz, although they have also written in other genres. They are also known as Blythe Joustra.

Mood Media Corporation is an international in-store provider of music, digital signage, hold music, on-hold messaging, scent, integrated audio/video, and interactive mobile marketing products. It was founded in 2004, and is based in Austin, Texas. The company provides services to a variety of retailers and other business verticals such as restaurant, financial, healthcare, hospitality and QSR. Mood Media Corporation has expanded its product offerings through acquisitions of Somerset Entertainment in Canada, BIS Group in Europe, and Trusonic, AEI Music Network Inc., Muzak, DMX, Technomedia, and GoConvergence in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cantata 700</span> Background music system and tape format

The Cantata 700 is a commercial background music system and corresponding cartridge format developed by 3M that was in common use from 1965 until the 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MTI Digital</span> American business music provider

MTI Digital is a provider of in-store music, advertising, digital signage, and on-hold messaging and hold music for retail stores, supermarkets, convenience stores, and restaurants in the United States and Canada.

References

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  2. Milliman, R.E. (1982). Using Background Music to Affect the Behavior of Supermarket Shoppers. Journal of Marketing. 46(3). 86–91.
  3. 1 2 Lamothe (2008 , p. 142)
  4. Lubbock (1957 , p. 130)
  5. Lamothe (2008 , p. 1)
  6. Schwarm, Betsy. "Peer Gynt". Encyclopædia Britannica . Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  7. Hervé Vanel. Triple Entendre: Furniture Music, Muzak, Muzak-Plus , Oxford Academic (2013), ch.1
  8. Murphy, Michael (August 26, 2015). "People are confusing computer-generated music with the works of J.S. Bach". Quartz. New York. Retrieved Jun 16, 2021.
  9. Wilson, Chris (May 19, 2010). "I'll Be Bach: A computer program is writing great, original works of classical music. Will human composers soon be obsolete?". Slate. New York. Retrieved Jun 16, 2021.
  10. Mark Ammons (6 Aug 2010). American Popular Music, Grades 5 – 8. Mark Twain Media. p. 52. ISBN   978-1-58037-983-0.
  11. "How corporate/business music sounds (1 minute read)". 9 August 2021.
  12. "Is Corporate Pop Music Here To Stay?". 4 October 2022.
  13. Rogers, Scott (2014-04-16). Level Up! The Guide to Great Video Game Design. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN   9781118877197.
  14. "Rockstar Releases Soundtrack Versions Of GTA Radio; published: April 12, 2013 by Cheat Code Central Staff".
  15. Lakshmin, Deepa (2014-12-15). "23 Sceney Songs That Were Your Myspace Background Music". Mtv.com . Retrieved 2022-03-21.
  16. "Muzak", Oxford Music Online, Oxford University Press, 2001, doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.53254

Works cited