levasseur@morgan.DEC (Ray EMD & S Admin 223-5027) (10/22/85)
This reply is aimed mostly at Todd Jone's commentary regarding MUZAK.
When I first got out of the Navy, the 8 months before I started college were
spent working as a field service engineer for WCRB Sound Systems, a major
competitor to MUZAK in the Eastern Mass/Southern N.H. areas. I was involved
in designing suitable sound packages for various businesses and on the road
service of existing ones. A common complaint from younger employees when I'de
drop by was, "can you get anything else on that box besides elevator music?"
It was against regulations for me to de-tune the subcarrier tuners but on one
occasion I was in a department store on a service call. The reciever was an
older "tube type" reciever and could be tweeked to recieve standard FM broad-
casts (the newer ones were all fixed tuned by crystal to the subcarrier...no
fun at all!) Before bringing the audio back on line I tuned to WBCN "Da Rock
of Baahston" When the audio came on I could hear applause from the floor. The
secretary in the office I was in asked if I'de leave it tuned to BCN, but alas
I wouldda gotten my ass chewed from da boss....so it was back to the 101 en-
chanted strings play favorite standards.
This brings me to why the BIG hits you may hear in the elevator are never
played by the real artists, such as Beatles tunes. Most of it has to do with
licensing and contract agreements. It would cost many more $$$$$ to have the
countless hours of musical drivel played by the original artist since higher
royalties are involved than a no-name group playing the same selections. The
same goes for TV productions and some movies, a lot of their music comes from
"Music pools"....or is that cesspools? Larger money making productions can
afford the higher royalties demanded by a Paul McCartny, Dianna Ross, etc.
Another reason that the muzak sounds soooo bad is that it has the hell com-
pressed out of it. When I worked in backround music, there were a bank of
broadcast decks running at 1 7/8" to 3 3/4" per second tops to squeeze the
most music into the least media. We also had special record changers that
played stacks of 16 RPM lp's....not the best sound available. Of course any
piece of music which retained it's full dynamic range would detract from the
ignorability of the backround muzak. The same effect can be achieved using
good rock/soft rock performed by the real artists, with much more satisfying
results......at least for younger audiences. But alas, we want to keep our
secretaries typing and not toe tapping. Studies have been made to the contrary
that show productivity increasing when GOOD music is played. After working
for WCRB I did a lot of studying and took a course in college on the Psychol-
ogy of Music, how it affects behavior, what works best in a given environment
etc. Boston has had a few muzak stations over the years; WSSH, WJIB, WHUE to
name a couple all played "The beautiful music". I've noticed that WSSH in
particular plays more soft rock by the real artists; McCartney, Elton John,
Melissa Manchester, Jackson Brown, James Taylor, etc. Me'thinks that some
of the "free commercial stations" are smartening up and appealing to a wider
audience. Even my ol mom sings along with Stevie Wonder and the Beatles.
I make quite a few backround music tapes for people, much like muzak tapes.
Friends have wanted unobtrusive music to play at dinner, etc. There are even
some cuts from Pink Floyd albums that fit the bill. An old co-worker and I
discussed the possability of starting a "younger audience" muzak service but
the costs were monstrous, again royalties, etc. There is also the competative
rock stations to contend with; a 24 hour a day, no interruption rock channel
would steal some of their fire. We canned our idea after learning all the legal
and monetary hassles involved.
I've noticed that a lot of small business in the Boston area supply their
own forms of muzak. Boutiques, chi chi gift shops, etc usually play taped rock
or disco music. I feel that the music should fit the business. Muzak is also
quite expensive to subscribe to so a lot of smaller businesses will go for al-
ternatives. When I was with the station our sales force was pounding the pave-
ment in search of prospective customers. The firms who subscribed to our form
of elevator music tended to lean toward conservative businesses; banks, law
offices, etc. I think that I read the same brochure that you did which said
something to the effect of, "increasing psychological thrusts". I prefer in-
creasing pelvic thrusts myself :-) The concept of muzak is a watered down ver-
sion of what a dj in a disco will play, he starts the crowd out with a lower
tempo, then builds up to a dancing frenzy later in the evening. I tend to bring
my own muzak wherever I go. When shopping at the supermarket I'll strap my
walkman on. Dead or Alive's "You spin me around" is a perfect fit for an envir-
onment where little old ladies are running people down in the aisles with their
shopping carts.
Lastly, on the subject of subliminal programming all I can say is that it
has been done. When I was working at CRB I was reading an article in a trade
journal about this. There was a car dealership that was cited for implanting
messages in their backround music "BUY! BUY! BUY!" I think that this is unfair
to the unsuspecting consumer but then some people will do anything to make a
buck. So what have I rambled on about....well mainly I feel that muzak and rel-
ated environmental ambiance is pure drivel, auditory pablum for the masses. ME!
what do I call good backround music? Good jazz, Mike Oldfield, Keith Jarrett,
Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, Pink Floyd, etc al.
Note: not to sound ignorant, but who the hell is Kate Bush anyhoo? I never heard
of the dear girl before listening to net.music. Does she sound like any
other female performer? Kinda makes me want to rush down to Looney Tunes
and scoff up a coupla her disks just outta curiousity.
Ray
"Thank God for MUSIC, thank God for mmuuuussssiiiiiccccccc"
The late Pat Cowley