Musak files for bankruptcy

[n2doc]

By Alan Duke
CNN

(CNN) -- Muzak, the company that put pop, string-filled arrangements of rock songs in your elevator, filed bankruptcy papers Tuesday after it missed a $105 million payment to creditors.


The Muzak company is best known for background music piped into places such as elevators.

The pipeline of easy listening will continue to flow as Muzak restructures its debt during the Chapter 11 process, the company said.

"Muzak is a solid business with an outstanding customer base, but we are burdened with substantial debt obligations established over a decade ago," Muzak CEO Stephen Villa said.

Muzak's cash flows doubled in the last three years, Villa said, "demonstrating that our business continues to perform well even in today's challenging environment."

Along with its ubiquitous elevator offerings, Muzak and its 14 affiliates -- all privately owned -- produce on-hold messages and install sound systems, digital signs and drive-thru systems for retail businesses.

more:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/02/11/muzak.bankruptcy/index.html

Oh well, sounds like the eviscerated noise will continue to flow from a million elevators unimpeded

[Deja Q]

1. All those damn illegal MP3 downloads from Napster. Yup. No other reason than piracy robbed them.

:eyes:

[babylonsister]

2. And that elevator music won't be missed! nt

[marmar]

3. The Muzak version of "Buddy Can You Spare a Dime?" is coming to an elevator near you....

:scared:

[KansDem]

7. !!

At first I thought, "Really?" and tried to imagine what Montavoni and his 101 strings would do with that depression-era classic...

Then I "got it!" :rofl:

[Blaze Diem]

4. My daughter told me today that the Mall retail store where she works uses Muzak

for the steady stream of pop music played in their store, Aeropostale(sp), and many like it.

[PA Democrat]

5. Darn. I will miss the Christmas carols played in SEPTEMBER....

:rofl:

[Blaze Diem]

12. Oh ya. She would miss it too, I'm sure (not) but her store is also closing soon.

See what happens when jobs are outsourced and Americans don't have any money to replenish the economy.
The American middle class's own version of 'trickle down'.

[PA Democrat]

13. I'm sorry about your daughter's job.

It's always people who can least afford it who get hit the hardest.

Henry Ford was a greedy capitalist on many levels, but he at least understood that without a middle class earning decent wages he would not be selling too many automobiles. He paid his auto workers twice the going rate in the industry because he knew cheap labor means fewer consumers for his product. Today's CEOs seem more interested in jacking up short term profits while undermining long term economic stability.

[Barack_America]

6. Muzak is fascinating and frightening.

They've actually profiled what kinds of music encourages people to buy certain things at certain times. Thus, the type of Muzak you hear will vary depending on what you're shopping for and when you are shopping.

I read that in an MCAT Verbal Reasoning Passage. It blew my mind.

[tanyev]

8. A smiley for the occasion:

:nopity:

[Renew Deal]

10. Why are you gleeful in other people's suffering?

They have real people working for them that will suffer if Muzak goes down.

[tanyev]

16. The little violin guy for string-filled arrangements of rock songs. Get it?

He's playing a violin. That's all I intended. Go jump on somebody else's case.

[Renew Deal]

18. Well, you attempted humor.

And you deserve credit for that. :shrug:

Unfortunatly, there are others here that really post stuff like that.

[Dukkha]

9. a moment of silence for the Girl from Impanena

Tall and tan and young and lovely
The girl from ipanema goes walking
And when she passes, each one she passes goes

*elevator stops* I believe this is where you get off

[SoCalDem]

17. I knew the world had slipped off its axis, when I heard

"Stairway to Heaven" on an elevator one day ..:rofl:

[madaboutharry]

11. I like Muzak.

I actually find it comforting, kind of like chicken soup with matzo balls and noodles. It reminds me of my grandmother and the times when I was a kid and would stay with her in New York City and we would be in buildings or elevators and hear it. I am glad they are only restructuring. I would really miss it if I could never hear it again.

[hunter]

14. I loathe Muzak.

Our Home Depot used to be comfortably noisy, but then they started playing music and it became uncomfortably noisy. Blech. It made me even less inclined to shop there.

One of the grocery stores I shop at has a demented mix of music that seems entirely inappropriate for grocery shopping. I think it's designed more to keep the employees from fighting with irritating customers and each other. After listening to that music for an hour or two they simply don't give a shit if a customer or another employee is being a jerk.

Whatever, dude. Have a nice day.

[tanyev]

15. self-delete.

[ashling]

19. They Day the Musak died

Nothing wrong with their product or their music

[Ichingcarpenter]

20. How do you sleep?

The sound you make is muzak to my ears. You must have learned something in all those years ...