Wes Phillips

I did some work for Muzak once and made the mistake of calling it "music" within the hearing of my boss. He corrected me, "It is a work enhancement technology." Muzak, he explained, was designed to operate subliminally and different programs were designed to have different effects. Office music was designed to keep you focused and working briskly, whereas shopping music was designed to chill you out and make you linger, perhaps to buy more.

A new study suggests that music can affect your choice of wine. Is that manipulation? Is Muzak? Are either of them worse than paying for shelf placement?

Hmmm.