# What happened to Muzak?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-muzak/111435
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [May 29, 2002, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-muzak/111435 "2002-05-29T20:30:35Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2002, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-muzak/111435/1 "2002-05-29T20:30:35Z")
Used to be not too long ago you could still go into a grocery store and be shocked into dropping your pickles when you recognised the treacle-y instrumental being piped in as Zepplin’s “Stairway to Heaven.” The town I grew up in even featured an all Muzak station which my brother & I used to tune into to sing along with dreck such as “Say, Say, Say.” Now everywhere you go just has a crummy blend of contemporary/middle-of-the road pop with a few oldies thrown in. When I was in “the city” (San Francisco) a couple weeks ago I saw a couple Muzak company vans in different areas, so I assume the company still exists, yet no longer specializes in the instrumentals? I really really miss it. I mean, I have a stack of 101 Strings albums, but it’s better with more current music.
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### Author:  [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2002, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-muzak/111435/2 "2002-05-29T21:54:57Z")
According to Cecil’s [Where does Muzak come from, anyway?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_317.html) (which appears on page 317 of _The Straight Dope_):
> [@](#):
>
> In case you haven’t been listening closely–and where Muzak is concerned, who does?–Muzak isn’t as Muzak-y as it used to be. By the late 70s the company had become synonymous with pap and competitors started muscling in on its once exclusive franchise. So the company ditched the 101-Strings-do-Perry-Como and revamped its approach. It now offers 16 thematically-organized channels, 15 of which offer original artist recordings–you may not even realize they’re being brought to you by Muzak. The 16th channel, the Environmental Channel, is closest to the Muzak of old, with familiar tunes re-recorded to lose the vocals and any excessively edgy instrumentals. The music has a more contemporary feel, with tunes by artists ranging from Steely Dan and Bonnie Raitt to Cowboy Junkies.
If anything, they’ve expanded their offerings since Cecil wrote that column about 20 years ago.
Just last week I got an email from Muzak’s Director of Licensing, asking me about an article on my site about Maj. General George Owen Squier, future founder of Muzak. He said that the company’s home office is currently in Fort Mill, South Carolina, which is just south of Charlotte, North Carolina. He also said they give tours, although I suspect it’s not as fun as, say, a candy factory. The company website, not surprisingly, is at [www.muzak.com](http://www.muzak.com).
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### Author:  [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)
#### Post date: [May 30, 2002, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-muzak/111435/3 "2002-05-30T02:01:58Z")
It’s annoying as all hell. Back in the good old days, the music stayed in the background. Nowadays you can’t go anywhere without being aurally assaulted by pop crap I’ve heard 900,000 times and am heartily sick of.
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### Author:  [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)
#### Post date: [May 30, 2002, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-muzak/111435/4 "2002-05-30T12:00:25Z")
When I left Salt Lake City (too many years ago, alas) there was still a big building-side sign for Muzak. (SLC seems like _exactly_ the place to have a billboard for Muzak. I’ve never seen one anywhere else.)
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### Author:  [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)
#### Post date: [May 30, 2002, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-muzak/111435/5 "2002-05-30T15:42:48Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Neidhart \*
> \*\*It’s annoying as all hell. Back in the good old days, the music stayed in the background. Nowadays you can’t go anywhere without being aurally assaulted by pop crap I’ve heard 900,000 times and am heartily sick of. \*\*
I’m with you, brother. If you go into 5 different stores a day you can hear the same damn crap song 5 different times! It’s even worse when some stores just play the radio, because then you get the crap advertising as well. I work as a merchandiser in stores now, so it’s driving me extra crazy. I never listen to the radio anymore because it seems like music has just gotten too “intrusive.”
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### Author:  [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2002, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-muzak/111435/6 "2002-06-02T15:38:58Z")
I blame it on the baby boomers.
🙂