Muzak files for bankruptcy
It’s the end of an era. Elevator music is no more.
They were the jaunty, forgettable streams of synthesized music you would hear between the lobby and your floor.
But like so many other cultural reference points, the elevator-music industry has faded away. And barely anybody noticed.
The breaking point came in February, when Muzak, the company that introduced us to elevator music, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
“We just don’t have music in elevators anymore,” said Joseph Lanza, author of “Elevator Music: A Surreal History of Muzak, Easy-Listening, and Other Moodsong.” Introduced in the early 1930s, elevator tunes were designed to calm the nerves of jittery passengers and mask the loud, frightening sounds of the grinding gears. But now, they are almost all silent, Lanza said. And somewhere along the way, the term elevator music became derisive, he lamented.
In 1989, Muzak rejected Ted Nugent’s offer to buy the company for $10 million with the intention of shutting it down. Ted hated elevator music:
“It’s an evil force in today’s society, causing people to lapse into uncontrollable fits of blandness. It’s been responsible for ruining some of the best minds of our generation.”
No more minds shall be so ruined.
h/t: Allmusic Blog