Getting back to what music gets programmed in banks, or doctor's offices or other places of business... I understand that I can't expect to walk in and hear the soft hits of the 70s or 80s. But I also don't expect to hear uptempo Top 40 or Hip Hop or Rock music. The whole idea of music in the background was that it was supposed to be IN THE BACKGROUND. It was supposed to give us a lift, put us in a happy or relaxed mood, even if we really weren't aware of it.
But in 2015, there is no such thing as relaxing music anymore. It isn't that Sade and Norah Jones have stopped putting out music. It's that even stations aimed at the high end of 25-54 won't play them anymore. So recently while in a drug store, waiting to check out, I was hearing "Shake It Off" and "All About The Bass." When I was in a drug store 30 years ago, I wasn't hearing The Rolling Stones or Rick James. I heard SOME sort of relaxing music. Gee, I remember some banks --gasp-- used to play Classical music on the P.A. system, no doubt thinking that would make us think, wow, this is a SERIOUS institution which really cares about protecting my money. Now many markets, even large markets like Houston, Atlanta and Miami, have no Classical station, be it commercial or public.
So what is happening with today's adults? Why do they only want to hear uptempo hits? While our parents relaxed to Percy Faith and Henry Mancini, or Sinatra and Johnny Mathis, we relaxed to Carole King and James Taylor, or Lionel Richie and Gloria Estefan. Now that's all over. It's not that young adults are choosing different soft music than us, they're choosing no any soft music at all.
