Unwanted Music is Noise Pollution to Some

EPA issues warning about sounds in public places

March 27, 2012

When does music in public spaces become noise pollution?

You probably like at least some sort of music. Tunes that you pick out.

Problem is, in lots of places across the United States, you’re forced to hear somebody else’s choice in music.

Say you’ve just landed at an airport. In the terminal, the van taking you to your rental car, and the car-rental office, so-called “background” music is blasting.

There’s peace and quiet inside your automobile. But don’t lower the window, because the person next to you did, too, and the bass woofers in that vehicle’s stereo system are blasting so loudly that the whole car is shaking.

Mercifully, you reach your hotel lobby, only to hear syrupy-sweet “elevator music,” as it’s called - even before you get on the elevator.

In the gift shop: more tunes! Up the elevator: actual elevator music.

Muzak was a pioneer in both “background music” and the psychological possibilities that it presents.

You go out to dinner and end up in a place where the management thinks more music will stimulate conversation or your appetite. Then a strolling mariachi band or a guy playing the violin comes around.

Psychologists call this barrage “audio architecture,” or “musical wallpaper,” designed to put you in the mood to buy more and eat a lot.