Monthly Archives: October 2010

Have you ever stood in an elevator and it seemed like you would never get to your floor? Even worse, is the horrible “elevator music,” they torture us with. Who is responsible for this music we hear in elevators, malls, & supermarkets? George Owen Squier, an aviation trailblazer, & inventor that’s who. As a major in the Army Signal Corps, he supervised testing of the Wright Brothers’ plane in 1908. In fact, his flight with Orville Wright made him one of the first passengers to ever ride in an airplane. Squier played a major role in convincing the army to buy the Wright Flyer, hence launching the age of military aviation. During WW I Squier rose to command of the Army Air Corps. Quite an accomplished man, but that is just the beginning. Squier was a prolific inventor having more than sixty patents to his name! In 1911 he patented what he called, “wired wireless,” basically cable’s forerunner. This technology allowed many radio signals to travel over a single wire.

George Owen Squier

Squier retired from the army and decided to start a company to bring wired wireless to America. For $2 a month, Americans could have radio programs piped into their home over the electrical wires. It was an idea way ahead of its day, but one that Americans didn’t want to pay for, since they were getting radio for free. Squier didn’t give up and decided to market his wired wireless to businesses. It was felt that when an office had piped in music, employees would produce more. Businesses liked it, and bought into it.

In 1934 Squier changed his company’s name from Wired Radio to a more catchy name, “Muzak.” A name you are likely familiar with. Muzak is what you and 1 million people a day hear in elevators, stores, restaurants, malls, and offices. Is it really music to our ears? Or is there something else at play here? Well, elevator music of a specific type has been found to have a psychological effect: slower, more relaxed music tends to make people slow down and browse longer. The next time you’re in an elevator, or at a doctor’s office, notice how the music makes you feel. When you are out shopping do the same, but also take notice of  how much you spend. Believe it or not, that piped in music plays a big role on our moods & spending decisions.