Elevator music (also known as
Muzak, piped music, or lift music) is a type of
background music played in rooms where many people come together (that is, with no intention whatsoever to listen to music), and
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" classical music being performed by slow strings. This type of music was produced, for instance, by the
Mantovani Orchestra
Annunzio Paolo Mantovani (; 15 November 1905 – 29 March 1980) was an Anglo-Italian conductor, composer and light orchestra-styled entertainer with a cascading strings musical signature.
The book ''British Hit Singles & Albums'' stat ...
, and conductors such as
Franck Pourcel and
James Last, peaking in popularity around the 1970s.
More recent types of elevator music may be computer-generated, with the actual score being
composed entirely algorithmically.
Other uses
The term can also be used for kinds of
easy listening,
solo,
jazz or
middle of the road music, or what are known as "
beautiful music" radio stations.
This style of music is sometimes used to comedic effect in
mass media such as
film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
, where intense or dramatic scenes may be interrupted or interspersed with such anodyne music while characters use an elevator. Some
video games have used music similarly: ''
Metal Gear Solid 4'' where a few elevator music-themed tracks are accessible on the in-game
iPod
The iPod is a discontinued series of portable media players and multi-purpose mobile devices designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The first version was released on October 23, 2001, about months after the Macintosh version of iTunes ...
, as well as ''
Rise of the Triad: Dark War'',
''GoldenEye 007'', ''
Mass Effect'', and ''
Earthworm Jim''.
Opposition
There are a number of societies, such as
Pipedown,
that are dedicated to reducing the extent and intrusiveness of piped music. This campaign group proposes that some people can be deeply annoyed by piped music, and even find it spoils their enjoyment in recreation or drives them out of shops. They suggest that eight out of 10 people have left an establishment early because it was too noisy.
[Se]
Pipedown
The
Good Pub Guide 2017 called for a ban on piped music in pubs, already the case in houses managed by the
Samuel Smith Brewery.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elevator Music
Elevators
Easy listening music
Industrial music services