Editing Background music

{{Short description|Music that deliberately establishes mood}}
{{Other uses|Background Music (disambiguation){{!}}Background Music}}
{{more citations needed|date=July 2019}}
'''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 [[Loudness|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.

Background music is commonly played where there is no audience at all, such as empty hallways, 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 [[Video game music|music in video games]]. It is typically played at low volumes from multiple small speakers distributing the music across broad public spaces. Music has proven to improve cognitive processes, enabling the brain to process more information.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=D. Lane |first=Scott |date=December 24, 2022 |title="Don't Stop the Music," Please: The Relationship between Music Use at Work, Satisfaction, and Performance |journal=Behavioral Sciences |volume=13 |issue=1 |page=15 |doi=10.3390/bs13010015 |doi-access=free |pmid=36661587 |pmc=9855069 }}</ref> The widespread use of background music in offices, restaurants, and stores began with the founding of [[Muzak]], or light background music, in the 1930s and was characterized by repetition and simple musical arrangements.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Goldsmith |first=M. |date=February 2005 |title=Elevator Music: A Surreal History of Muzak, Easy-Listening, and Other Moodsong |url=https://caccl-glendale.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01CACCL_GLENDALE/fomh76/cdi_proquest_reports_225782582 |journal=American Library Association |via=ProQuest}}</ref> Its use has grown worldwide and today incorporates the findings of [[psychological research]] relating to [[Consumer behaviour|consumer behavior]] in [[Retail|retail environments]], employee [[productivity]], and workplace satisfaction.<ref name=elev>Lanza, Joseph. ''Elevator Music: A Surreal History of Muzak, Easy-listening, and Other Moodsong'', University of Michigan Press (2004)</ref> 

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, [[Television advertisement|commercial]] interruptions, and complexity are typically avoided. In spite of the international distribution common to [[Broadcast syndication|syndicated]] background music artists, it is often associated with artistic failure and a lack of musical talent in the [[Show business|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.<ref>Milliman, R.E. (1982). Using Background Music to Affect the Behavior of Supermarket Shoppers. Journal of Marketing. 46(3). 86–91.</ref>

==Types==
===Incidental music===

{{Main|Incidental music}}

The use of incidental music dates back at least as far as [[Greek literature|Greek drama]]. A number of [[european classical music|classical]] [[composer]]s have written incidental music for various plays, with the more famous examples including [[Henry Purcell]]'s [[Abdelazer|''Abdelazer'' music]], [[George Frideric Handel]]'s [[The Alchemist (Handel)|''The Alchemist'' music]], [[Joseph Haydn]]'s [[Symphony No. 60 (Haydn)|''Il distratto'' music]],{{citation needed|date=December 2021}} [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart]]'s [[Thamos, King of Egypt|''Thamos, King of Egypt'' music]], [[Ludwig van Beethoven]]'s [[Egmont (Beethoven)|''Egmont'' music]],<ref name=lamothe142/> [[Carl Maria von Weber]]'s [[Preciosa (Weber)|''Preciosa'' music]],{{citation needed|date=December 2021}} [[Franz Schubert]]'s [[Rosamunde|''Rosamunde'' music]],<ref>{{harvtxt|Lubbock|1957|p=130}}</ref> [[Felix Mendelssohn]]'s [[A Midsummer Night's Dream (Mendelssohn)|''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' music]], [[Robert Schumann]]'s [[Manfred (Schumann)|''Manfred'' music]],<ref name=lamothe142>{{harvtxt|Lamothe|2008|p=142}}</ref> [[Georges Bizet]]'s [[L'Arlésienne (Bizet)|''L'Arlésienne'' music]],<ref>{{harvtxt|Lamothe|2008|p=1}}</ref> and [[Edvard Grieg]]'s [[Peer Gynt (Grieg)|''Peer Gynt'' music]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Peer-Gynt-by-Grieg|title=Peer Gynt|first=Betsy|last=Schwarm|access-date=4 December 2021|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]}}</ref> 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 musical|Broadway]] or [[film musical]], in which the songs often reveal character and further the storyline. Vocal incidental music sets the tone for a film through using various beats or sounds, portraying the emotions of certain scenes.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Britannica |date=December 18, 2014 |title=Incidental Music |url=https://www.britannica.com/art/incidental-music |website=britannica.com}}</ref> 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, allowing the actors to express their characters solely through words and their expressions.<ref>{{Cite web |last=BridgeTTC |date=2024-02-24 |title=What Is Acting? |url=https://www.thebridge-ttc.org/what-is-acting/ |access-date=2024-04-29 |website=The Bridge Theatre Training Company |language=en-GB}}</ref>

===Furniture music===
{{Main|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. After his death, furniture music was reinterpreted and programmed in concerts; many individuals found that it filled the awkward pauses, allowing audiences to become better immersed into the performance'''.'''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Coraline |first=Potter |title=Erik Satie: A Parisian Composer and His World |publisher=Boydell & Brewer, Boydell Press |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-78204-648-6}}</ref> Typical of furniture music are short musical passages, with an indefinite number of repeats.<ref>Hervé Vanel. ''[https://academic.oup.com/illinois-scholarship-online/book/20068/chapter-abstract/179040079?redirectedFrom=fulltext Triple Entendre: Furniture Music, Muzak, Muzak-Plus]'', Oxford Academic (2013), ch.1</ref> 

===Muzak / Elevator music===
{{Main|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 [[Music on hold|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 music|"light" classical]] music being performed by slow strings.<ref name=elev/> More recent types of elevator music may be computer-generated, with the actual score being composed entirely algorithmically.<ref>{{Cite news | last = Murphy | first = Michael | title = People are confusing computer-generated music with the works of J.S. Bach | newspaper = Quartz | location = New York | date = August 26, 2015 | url = https://qz.com/488701/humans-are-confusing-music-composed-by-a-computer-for-j-s-bach/ | access-date=Jun 16, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | last = Wilson | first = Chris | title = I'll Be Bach: A computer program is writing great, original works of classical music. Will human composers soon be obsolete? | newspaper = Slate | location = New York | date = May 19, 2010 | url = http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/music_box/2010/05/ill_be_bach.html | access-date=Jun 16, 2021}}</ref>

The term can also be used for kinds of [[easy listening]],<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vSpqAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA52|page=52|title=American Popular Music, Grades 5 – 8|author= Mark Ammons|publisher=Mark Twain Media|date= 6 Aug 2010|isbn=978-1-58037-983-0}}</ref> [[piano]] solo, [[jazz]] or [[middle of the road (music)|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.shockwave-sound.com/blog/how-corporate-business-music-sounds/|title=How corporate/business music sounds (1 minute read)|date=9 August 2021 }}</ref> However, it should not be confused with "corporate pop" - [[pop music|pop]] music produced by corporations and that "blurs the line between independent and mainstream".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://walnutcreekband.org/corporate-pop-music/|title=Is Corporate Pop Music Here To Stay?|date=4 October 2022 }}</ref>

===Video game music===
{{See Also|Chiptune}}
[[Video game music]] (VGM) is a [[soundtrack]] for [[video game]]s. Songs may be original and composed specifically for the game, or preexisting [[Music licensing|music licensed]] for use in the game. Music in video games can be heard over a game's title screen, menus and during gameplay.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title = Level Up! The Guide to Great Video Game Design|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=UT5jAwAAQBAJ|publisher = John Wiley & Sons|date = 2014-04-16|isbn = 9781118877197|language = en|first = Scott|last = Rogers}}</ref>

===Website music===
The early [[social media]] website [[Myspace]] has supported a feature where specific songs chosen by the user would [[Auto-Play|automatically play]] on their profile pages.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Lakshmin|first=Deepa|date=2014-12-15|title=23 Sceney Songs That Were Your Myspace Background Music|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/2023794/myspace-background-music/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141224171041/http://www.mtv.com/news/2023794/myspace-background-music/|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 24, 2014|work=[[Mtv.com]]|access-date=2022-03-21}}</ref>

=== Group fitness music ===
{{main|Mood 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 ===
{{main|Lounge 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|date=May 2018}} Using this technique enables the creator to include more meaning in their work and effectively convey their messages. Playing music that affects the mood of the audience urges many emotions, making the work more memorable.<ref>{{Cite web |last=jeanmfp |date=2020-10-06 |title=Importance of Background Music {{!}} Music for Productions |url=https://musicforproductions.com/importance-of-background-music-in-your-videos-2/ |access-date=2024-04-29 |website=Music For Productions, Stock Music, Production Music |language=en-US}}</ref>

=={{anchor}}Background non-music==
===Business audio===
'''Business audio''', also known as copyrighted material, refers to a type of service that provides audio content that is licensed for use in a commercial setting.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What Musicians Should Know about Copyright {{!}} U.S. Copyright Office |url=https://www.copyright.gov/engage/musicians/#:~:text=As%20the%20owner%20of%20your,perform%20or%20display%20the%20work. |access-date=2024-04-29 |website=www.copyright.gov}}</ref>

Business news can be one example. The term ''background music'' is another example. Providers of the latter include:
* [[Muzak Holdings LLC]]
* [[DMX (music)|DMX]]
* [[Playnetwork|PlayNetwork]]
* [[MTI Digital]]
* [[XM|XM for Business]]
* [[Music Choice]]
* [[Applied Media Technologies Corporation]]
* [[Trusonic]]

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.<ref name=":0" />

==History==
Founded in 1934, [[Muzak Holdings|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 [[Direct broadcast satellite|DBS]] satellite, [[Digital Audio Radio Service|SDARS]] satellite, [[coaxial cable]], [[FM radio]] [[subcarrier]], [[leased line]], [[internet]] [[broadband]], [[compact disc]], and [[Magnetic tape|tape]].<ref name=":0">{{Citation|chapter=Muzak|date=2001|publisher=Oxford University Press|doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.53254|title=Oxford Music Online}}</ref>

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]], [[Broadcast Music Incorporated|BMI]], [[SESAC]] and [[Gesellschaft für musikalische Aufführungs- und mechanische Vervielfältigungsrechte|GEMA]] in Germany.{{citation needed|date=February 2013}}

===Historical devices===
* The 1959 [[Seeburg 1000]] was a stack [[record player]], playing both sides continuous and repeating up to 1000 songs and up to 25 special {{cvt|9|in}} vinyl records with a {{cvt|2|in}} center bore at {{frac|16|2|3}}&nbsp;RPM.
* The [[Rowe Customusic]] was an endless tape cartridge player, loading simultaneous six C-type [[Fidelipac]] cartridges. 
* The 1964 3M [[Cantata 700]] played continuous and auto-reversing one of its large and proprietary [[magnetic tape]] cartridges, containing up to 26 hours of music.
* [[Rediffusion]]’s Reditune system was popular in the 1960s UK.

==See also==
* [[Ambient music]]
* [[Applied Media Technologies Corporation]]
* [[DMX (music)|DMX]]
* [[Elevator music]]
* [[Jamendo]]
* [[PlayNetwork]]
* [[Soundtrack]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Works cited===
* {{Cite thesis |title=Theater music in France, 1864–1914 |publisher=The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |last=Lamothe |first=Peter. |date=2008 |type=PhD |id={{ProQuest|304547910}}}}
* {{Cite journal |title=Music Incidental to a Play |first=Mark |last=Lubbock |journal=The Musical Times |date=March 1957 |volume=98 |issue=1369 |pages=128–131 |doi=10.2307/936528 |jstor=936528}}
* Sanseverino, Domenico, et al. ““Don’t Stop the Music,” Please: The Relationship between Music Use at Work, Satisfaction, and Performance.” ''Behavioral Sciences'', vol. 13, no. 1, 24 Dec. 2022, p. 15, https://doi.org/10.3390/bs13010015
* Goldsmith, M. “Elevator Music: A Surreal History of Muzak, Easy-Listening, and Other Moodsong.” ''CHOICE: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries'', vol. 42, no. 6, American Library Association CHOICE, 2005, pp. 1031-. 
* Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "incidental music". ''Encyclopedia Britannica'', 18 Dec. 2014, https://www.britannica.com/art/incidental-music 
* BridgeTTC. “What Is Acting?” ''The Bridge Theatre Training Company'', 18 Apr. 2023, http://www.thebridge-ttc.org/what-is-acting/#:~:text=The%20purpose%20of%20acting%20is
* Potter, Caroline. ''Erik Satie: A Parisian Composer and His World''. NED-New edition, Boydell & Brewer, 2016. ''JSTOR'', http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7722/j.ctt18gzfkq. Accessed 29 Apr. 2024.
* MFP, JEAN. “Importance of Background Music | Music for Productions.” ''Music for Productions, Stock Music, Production Music'', 6 Oct. 2020, http://musicforproductions.com/importance-of-background-music-in-your-videos-2/

{{Music cognition}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Background Music}}
[[Category:Music cognition]]
[[Category:Music psychology]]
[[Category:Cognitive musicology]]
[[Category:Easy listening music]]
[[Category:Industrial music services]]
[[Category:Music in advertising]]
[[Category:Broadcasting]]