radio on the tv
June 13, 2023 4:46 PM Subscribe
For about the next decade, the combined DMX/AEI Music would compete with Muzak. In 2011-2012, Canadian background music (now usually called "multisensory marketing") firm Mood Media bought both Muzak and DMX/AEI, combining them all into the Mood Media brand. This behemoth would enjoy nearly complete control of the background music industry, were it not for the cycle of technology bringing in IP-based competitors like Pandora for Business. Haha, no, I am kidding, Pandora for Business is also a Mood Media product. 3600 words from J. B. Crawford at Computers Are Bad.
This reminds me of all the chatter about 'enshitification', as seen all over the recent Reddit thread. And I wonder: why come up with a new shitty Web 2.0 euphemism for 'capitalism'? That's the problem here, and obfuscating it isn't doing us any favors.
posted by SaltySalticid at 7:28 PM on June 13, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by SaltySalticid at 7:28 PM on June 13, 2023 [3 favorites]
I have a minor obsession with Muzak. Like the classic version of it. How they had channels for different moods, how they had a specific pause in the music that if you knew about signaled it was actual Muzak.
I'm going to go back even further to my days in my orthodontist's office and say I really wish there was a source for Muzak, AKA "easy listening" tunes. I have very specific memories of sitting in that office when I was a tween and hearing what were really amazing cover versions of songs, but I search and search and there is NO source anywhere that I can find for what must be several decades of that music.
Anyway, this is a bit of a thing for me, and I don't delve deeply into it because it's probably a rabbit hole I will never emerge from. But there is apparently no memory for all those Muzak songs from long ago, when they were doing their own thing rather than using artist-recorded originals, and that's a real shame IMO.
posted by hippybear at 9:06 PM on June 13, 2023 [5 favorites]
I'm going to go back even further to my days in my orthodontist's office and say I really wish there was a source for Muzak, AKA "easy listening" tunes. I have very specific memories of sitting in that office when I was a tween and hearing what were really amazing cover versions of songs, but I search and search and there is NO source anywhere that I can find for what must be several decades of that music.
Anyway, this is a bit of a thing for me, and I don't delve deeply into it because it's probably a rabbit hole I will never emerge from. But there is apparently no memory for all those Muzak songs from long ago, when they were doing their own thing rather than using artist-recorded originals, and that's a real shame IMO.
posted by hippybear at 9:06 PM on June 13, 2023 [5 favorites]
well, here's something ...
GROCERY STORE 1970's
posted by philip-random at 9:12 PM on June 13, 2023 [4 favorites]
GROCERY STORE 1970's
posted by philip-random at 9:12 PM on June 13, 2023 [4 favorites]
Well, the enshitification discussion has to do mostly with how websites, businesses, morph from serving their customers to serving their investors. And yes that is a part of capitalism as we are currently experiencing it, that isn't a feature built into capitalism at its core, and so it's worthy of a discussion as it exists in parallel with capitalism but is not a requirement. But many businesses are treating it like it is a requirement.
It's not Web 2.0 and it's not a euphemism. It's a description of a specific manifestation of capitalism that is currently dominant.
posted by hippybear at 9:17 PM on June 13, 2023 [3 favorites]
It's not Web 2.0 and it's not a euphemism. It's a description of a specific manifestation of capitalism that is currently dominant.
posted by hippybear at 9:17 PM on June 13, 2023 [3 favorites]
Hippybear, go check out Seeburg1000.com.
Seeburg was a jukebox company that got into the background music business in the 1960s. Unlike the ephemeral Muzak, Seeburg's music was delivered over vinyl records that were mailed back and forth... so some artifacts survived. The website above streams the music it can find, 24 hours a day. There is also a lot on YouTube (example)
posted by JoeZydeco at 10:19 PM on June 13, 2023 [8 favorites]
Seeburg was a jukebox company that got into the background music business in the 1960s. Unlike the ephemeral Muzak, Seeburg's music was delivered over vinyl records that were mailed back and forth... so some artifacts survived. The website above streams the music it can find, 24 hours a day. There is also a lot on YouTube (example)
posted by JoeZydeco at 10:19 PM on June 13, 2023 [8 favorites]
Calling "enshittification" another word for "capitalism" is like saying "diarrhoea" is another word for "spoiled milk" because it's what happens as a result of drinking spoiled milk.
No, it's not obfuscation, it's a term used to refer to a specific phenomenon. Considering every aspect of capitalism to be identical to capitalism, and any word used to describe a specific phenomenon related to capitalism to be a euphemism for capitalism, just leads to craziness like:
"My uncle died of esophageal cancer because Twitter rolled out grey checkmarks"
(because "river pollution" is a euphemism for "capitalism" and "enshittification, like Twitter's grey checkmarks" is a euphemism for "capitalism" and thus "river pollution" = "Twitter's grey checkmarks").
That way lies madness and a breakdown of communication.
posted by Bugbread at 10:20 PM on June 13, 2023 [7 favorites]
No, it's not obfuscation, it's a term used to refer to a specific phenomenon. Considering every aspect of capitalism to be identical to capitalism, and any word used to describe a specific phenomenon related to capitalism to be a euphemism for capitalism, just leads to craziness like:
"My uncle died of esophageal cancer because Twitter rolled out grey checkmarks"
(because "river pollution" is a euphemism for "capitalism" and "enshittification, like Twitter's grey checkmarks" is a euphemism for "capitalism" and thus "river pollution" = "Twitter's grey checkmarks").
That way lies madness and a breakdown of communication.
posted by Bugbread at 10:20 PM on June 13, 2023 [7 favorites]
There was a jazz version of "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning" that played in heavy rotation at my 90's retail job, that still gets stuck in my head to this day.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 11:06 PM on June 13, 2023
posted by The Underpants Monster at 11:06 PM on June 13, 2023
Capitalism gives us good things, that it then enshittifies. Like, how could these things become shitty if they weren't non-shitty to begin with? I don't recall switching economic systems from something else to capitalism recently, so the non-shitty time for any given product/service/company must have been under capitalism as well. Enshittification is a consequence of capitalism, a part of how it operates, but not the same thing.
posted by Dysk at 1:23 AM on June 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Dysk at 1:23 AM on June 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
This was great. Who is this person with their old timey web log??
posted by latkes at 1:39 AM on June 14, 2023
posted by latkes at 1:39 AM on June 14, 2023
This was on the wall in an office I had in 2014. I pity the person who had to deal with that.
posted by tommasz at 6:27 AM on June 14, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by tommasz at 6:27 AM on June 14, 2023 [3 favorites]
how they had a specific pause in the music that if you knew about signaled it was actual Muzak.
There's an interesting bit of trivia on that. Muzak was delivered first over phone lines and then later over FM radio. But in either fashion they could only do one stream of music at a time.
When competitors came along, they offered different 'styles' of music. Relaxed and casual for a medical office or cocktail lounge. Upbeat and moving for a factory or a diner when you wanted people to eat quickly and get out.
Muzak couldn't offer multiple streams to accomplish this, so they alternated the music in fifteen minute intervals and your local receiver would go silent for the opposite fifteen. They retroactively came out and said "our Very Scientific Research shows that taking a break is a good thing". And maybe it was true, maybe not. But that's not why it happened.
posted by JoeZydeco at 7:10 AM on June 14, 2023 [2 favorites]
There's an interesting bit of trivia on that. Muzak was delivered first over phone lines and then later over FM radio. But in either fashion they could only do one stream of music at a time.
When competitors came along, they offered different 'styles' of music. Relaxed and casual for a medical office or cocktail lounge. Upbeat and moving for a factory or a diner when you wanted people to eat quickly and get out.
Muzak couldn't offer multiple streams to accomplish this, so they alternated the music in fifteen minute intervals and your local receiver would go silent for the opposite fifteen. They retroactively came out and said "our Very Scientific Research shows that taking a break is a good thing". And maybe it was true, maybe not. But that's not why it happened.
posted by JoeZydeco at 7:10 AM on June 14, 2023 [2 favorites]
There is a restaurant in the south/south central US called Braums that plays musak type songs, but they play modern songs, and some sort-of obscure tracks. I couldn't find a place that actually plays their muzak/elevator music type versions, but they have Spotify lists of the tracks that I assume they turn into muzak.
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:30 AM on June 14, 2023
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:30 AM on June 14, 2023
(because "river pollution" is a euphemism for "capitalism" and "enshittification, like Twitter's grey checkmarks" is a euphemism for "capitalism" and thus "river pollution" = "Twitter's grey checkmarks").
I do wish we could find a way to have consensus on market economy and capitalism not being THE SAME THING. That is, if we're going to toss capitalism around as a euphemism for great-evil-that-destroys-everything-it-touches, then we need to have a different word (or phrase) for that way of doing business that isn't fundamentally-evil-wrong. Otherwise, we're imposing a binary good-or-bad (with nothing in between) on the complexity that is everything, and that's as suggested ...
madness and a breakdown of communication
Or put it this way -- that cafe you love because the music is cool and the decor is tasteful and the staff are pleasant, seem to even like their jobs, and, of course, the coffee is excellent, good luck finding that in some socialist worker's paradise.
posted by philip-random at 8:59 AM on June 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
I do wish we could find a way to have consensus on market economy and capitalism not being THE SAME THING. That is, if we're going to toss capitalism around as a euphemism for great-evil-that-destroys-everything-it-touches, then we need to have a different word (or phrase) for that way of doing business that isn't fundamentally-evil-wrong. Otherwise, we're imposing a binary good-or-bad (with nothing in between) on the complexity that is everything, and that's as suggested ...
madness and a breakdown of communication
Or put it this way -- that cafe you love because the music is cool and the decor is tasteful and the staff are pleasant, seem to even like their jobs, and, of course, the coffee is excellent, good luck finding that in some socialist worker's paradise.
posted by philip-random at 8:59 AM on June 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
I mean, capitalism is capitalism whether you enjoy it or don't. The overall system that human labor and the earth's bounty are being extracted for the benefit of the few is a reality in it's friendlier and most horrific forms!
But I agree that it's fine to have names for specific consequences and aspects of life under capitalism!
posted by latkes at 10:00 AM on June 14, 2023
But I agree that it's fine to have names for specific consequences and aspects of life under capitalism!
posted by latkes at 10:00 AM on June 14, 2023
What comes after Late Capitalism
Zombie capitalism, of course.
I wonder whether pre-recorded music for airliners was part of this, or separate.
posted by snuffleupagus at 4:06 PM on June 14, 2023
Zombie capitalism, of course.
I wonder whether pre-recorded music for airliners was part of this, or separate.
posted by snuffleupagus at 4:06 PM on June 14, 2023
Or put it this way -- that cafe you love because the music is cool and the decor is tasteful and the staff are pleasant, seem to even like their jobs, and, of course, the coffee is excellent, good luck finding that in some socialist worker's paradise.
I mean..... Why not?
Most socialists I know also acknowledge the difference between "markets" and "capitalism." The difference is that in capitalism, everything is shaped into a market good. You can't pay for ride in the ambulance? Too bad, you can't afford to live.
You seem to be getting your impression of socialism from Cold-War portraits of East European Communism, not what modern socialists talk about as a way to shape a society. There are, in fact, a lot of ways to create socialism, and not all of them involve centralizing all economic power in the hands of the State.
posted by Stochastic Jack at 9:52 PM on June 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
I mean..... Why not?
Most socialists I know also acknowledge the difference between "markets" and "capitalism." The difference is that in capitalism, everything is shaped into a market good. You can't pay for ride in the ambulance? Too bad, you can't afford to live.
You seem to be getting your impression of socialism from Cold-War portraits of East European Communism, not what modern socialists talk about as a way to shape a society. There are, in fact, a lot of ways to create socialism, and not all of them involve centralizing all economic power in the hands of the State.
posted by Stochastic Jack at 9:52 PM on June 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
Related:
- TV radio - there were radio receivers that could play the audio portion of analog TV channels.
- The band TV on the Radio got their name from this.
- Cable internet is (or was?) IP over MPEG. (nitter)
- so for a while, well, “I wonder if Netflix is actually MPEG over TCP over MPEG”
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posted by ovvl at 7:01 PM on June 13, 2023 [1 favorite]