Muzak

Muzak was an American brand and company which provided background music played in retail stores and other public establishments. The name Muzak, a blend of "music" and the popular camera brand name Kodak, was introduced in 1934. The word Muzak has been a registered trademark of Muzak LLC since December 21, 1954. The Muzak brand was retired in 2013, shortly after Mood Media purchased the company in 2011. Muzak LLC still exists as a legal entity, but all of its operations were ceased and integrated into Mood Media. In August 1981, Westinghouse acquired the company when it bought Teleprompter Corporation and ran it until selling it to Field Enterprises of Chicago, publishers of the Chicago Sun-Times, on September 8, 1986. Muzak was based in various Seattle, Washington, locations from 1986 to 1999, after which it moved its headquarters to outside Charlotte in 2000. Muzak LLC was purchased in 2011 by Mood Media in a deal worth US$345 million. 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. The term is also commonly used in English vernacular as a pejorative for music considered bland and insubstantial. 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.