ABSTRACT
This chapter starts from the presumption that, whether people like it or not, Western media cultures are now quite saturated with recorded pop music. Music is disseminated in social situations in an industrial way by commercial companies and individuals alike. I have chosen four media configurations for closer scrutiny: 1) muzak in commercial locations such as shopping malls; 2) music radio in semi-public and private locations, such as the hairdressers and taxis and commercial vehicles; 3) internet jukeboxes involving a high level of personal choice in music, for instance Pandora and Last FM; 4) disc jockeying in clubs, pubs, cafés, etc., with limited attendance. This chapter has no sound examples. If you like, it is an oasis of silence in an otherwise noisy book.
