Talk:Background music

Opinion
In my opinion, Background Music can be background music, only in the condition that it is originally and intentionally composed to be played-back as background in the mentioned places in the article like Elevators, etc...

The particular property that a Background Music must have, is that the structure of its melody and themes may not necessarily observe the Aesthetics rules in Musical Form.

Themes and melodies in Background music can be repeated limitlessly, because the audience never pays attention to the structure of music; in other words the audience just hears (Not listens to) Background Music.

I think, a serious (artistic) music (eg. Classical music or even easy-listening music that observes the rules of Aesthetics in Musical Form) cannot and must not be used as Background Music.

It is to be regretted that there are many Restaurent / Elevator / ... managers who select artistic and serious styles of music to be used as Background Music. --217.219.76.163 21:03, 1 May 2007 (UTC)

Intent of design or composition does not guarantee resultant type, form or use. Music to replace general white noise must only be non intrusive enough to not break out of general ambiance. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.31.109.67 (talk) 16:32, 6 September 2007 (UTC)

Are you still here Takeitnoww (talk) 20:49, 6 September 2020 (UTC)

Television/film
This article could really do with covering music used in Television and Film too. —Sladen (talk) 01:45, 26 June 2008 (UTC)


 * ...and radio, audiobooks and podcasts. Morganfitzp (talk) 22:01, 11 February 2019 (UTC)

Retail oulets
Many retail outlets now have their own specially commissioned "radio station" which plays an appropriate genre of music interspersed with advertisements or promotional information. There is obviously some overlap between background music and retail radio, but Wikipedia currently seems to be lacking a single article which groups these together. Perhaps a new article could usefully be created? Martinevans123 (talk) 16:41, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

1.1.2 Tasks music impairs
I believe the line: "When two concurrent sources of information compete must be processed, the sources interfere with each other." should be edited. I am unsure if it should say: "When two concurrent sources of information compete, and must be processed together, the sources interfere with each other." or if the author's intended meaning is slightly different... Tokyoeasywriter (talk) 08:41, 30 April 2015 (UTC)

Full Re-write Needed and Article Split
It looks like this article has devolved into a catch-all for random bits of information. The intro is repetitive, does not provide context, and does not summarize the article. Psychological studies in the effects of music on human behavior is neat-o, but should not be the bulk of an article about background music. The history section should explore more than Musak. Uncited statements exist all through the article. A big long confusing mess on a fantastic and increasingly relevant subject matter.

The absence of any mention of background music for health care, medical, and dental settings (where Musak and major competitors all offer specific programming) tells me that no one has thoughtfully edited or researched this article.

I will start reorganizing and building this article. Please join in!Luke Kindred (talk) 19:02, 15 January 2019 (UTC)


 * I don't know, the article seems to be OK to me: this article merely conjuncts "baby boomers' era" background music (Rowe, Seeburg, 3M) and modern VGM.
 * >The absence of any mention of background music for health care, medical, and dental settings
 * You know, this overlaps with Muzak and lounge music. 81.89.66.133 (talk) 13:45, 13 July 2023 (UTC)