Muzak

This article is about the brand of background music. For the general term, see Elevator music.
"Wired Radio" redirects here. For radio programming delivered by wire, see Cable radio and Carrier current.

A Muzak van in Indianapolis, Indiana

Muzak is an American brand of background music played in retail stores and other public establishments.

The name Muzak, a blend of music and the popular camera brand name Kodak, has been in use since 1934 and has been owned by various companies. The word Muzak has been a registered trademark of Muzak LLC since December 21, 1954.[1]

In 1981, Westinghouse bought the company and ran it until selling it to the Fields Company of Chicago, publishers of the Chicago Sun-Times, on September 8, 1986.[2] Muzak was based in various Seattle, Washington, locations from 1986 to 1999, after which it moved its headquarters to outside Charlotte in 2000.[3] Formerly owned by Muzak Holdings, the brand was purchased in 2011 by Mood Media in a deal worth US$345 million.[4][5]

In the United States, due in part to the market dominance of Muzak Holdings, Muzak came to be used to refer to most forms of background music, regardless of source.[2] This makes Muzak an example of a genericized trademark. Muzak may also be referred to as "elevator music" or "lift music" (see also Music on hold). Though Muzak Holdings was for many years the best-known supplier of background music, and is commonly associated with elevator music, the company itself did not supply music to elevators.[6]

  1. ^ "Wfrecruiter.com". Retrieved July 9, 2013.[permanent dead link‍]
  2. ^ a b Luke Baumgarten (September 27, 2012). "Elevator Going Down: The Story Of Muzak". Redbull Music Academy. Archived from the original on April 22, 2015. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
  3. ^ Blecha, Peter (June 19, 1956). "Muzak, Inc. -- Originators of "Elevator Music"". HistoryLink.org. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
  4. ^ Das, Anupreeta (March 24, 2011). "Marketing analytics startup Adometry lands $8M from Shasta Ventures". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 31, 2011.
  5. ^ "Toronto's Mood Media buys Muzak". National Post. March 25, 2011. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
  6. ^ Dunning, Brian. "Skeptoid #370: The Science of Muzak". Skeptoid. Retrieved April 25, 2014.