For airports, background music is no longer an afterthought

SEATAC, Wash. — Ambient music is no longer an afterthought at many airports, which hire local musicians and carefully curate playlists to help lighten the mood of travelers.

London Heathrow Airport has built a stage to showcase emerging British artists for the first time this summer. The program has been so successful that the airport hopes to bring it back in 2025. Nashville International Airport features five stages that host more than 800 performances a year, from country musicians to jazz combos. In the Dominican RepublicPunta Cana International Airport welcomes passengers with live merengue music.

Tiffany Idiart and her two nieces were delighted to hear musicians during a recent stopover in Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

“I like it. There are a lot of people here and they can all hear it,” said Grace Idiart, 9. “If their flight had been delayed or something like that, they could have had a rough day .And so music could have helped them feel better.

Airports also carefully select their saved playlists. Detroit Metropolitan Airport plays Mototown strikes in a tunnel connecting its terminals. Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas has a playlist of local artists compiled by a local radio station. Singapore Changi Airport has commissioned special piano accompaniment for its giant digital waterfall.

Music is not a new phenomenon in airport terminals. Brian Eno’s “Music for Airports,” an album released in 1978, helped define the ambient music genre. It’s minimalist and designed to calm.

But Barry McPhillips, head of international creative at Mood Media, which provides music for airports and other public spaces, said the technology allows background music to be less generic and more adapted to specific places or times of the day.

Mood Media – formerly known as Muzak – develops playlists to appeal to business travelers or families based on who is at the airport at any given time. He can program quieter music in the security line but something more energizing in the duty-free shop.

“We see it as a soundscape,” McPhillips said. “We design for all these moments.”

There’s a science to Mood Music’s decisions about volume, tempo, and even whether to play a song in a major or minor key, he added.

“How do we want to affect their mood in that moment?” » said McPhillips. “It’s not just, ‘Here’s a bunch of songs.’ That’s a bunch of songs for this 10 minute segment, and then we move on to the next 10 minutes.

At the same time, many airports are taking a low-tech approach, hiring local musicians to serenade travelers and give them a sense of the place they’re passing through.

Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway airports host more than 100 live shows each year. Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport started a live music program five years ago and now has two stages featuring local artists.

Tami Kuiken, head of music at Seattle Airport, said Seattle-Tacoma Airport started its live music program about a decade ago after a city commissioner heard live music at Seattle airport. Austin, TX.

“The idea was like, ‘Man, why doesn’t Seattle have music?’ We’re also a music town,” Kuiken said.

As a first step, the airport created a playlist featuring emerging artists as well as famous artists like Pearl jam. Then it was decided to test live musicians for 12 weeks. It was such a success that the airport now welcomes live musicians daily and is building new performance spaces.

“People’s anxiety levels are very high when they travel,” Kuiken said. “The feedback we started getting was that once they went through the checkpoint and were greeted by music, all of a sudden their anxiety and stress levels dropped. . »

The programs also benefit musicians, who are paid to perform and receive greater exposure. When the Colorado Springs Airport announced a live music program in March, more than 150 musicians applied. It now hosts two two-hour performances each week.

Roz McCommon smiles as she performs with a microphone and people walking in the background. — Roz McCommon sings at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on November 26, 2024, in SeaTac, Washington.AP Photo/Manuel Valdés

David James, a singer and guitarist who plays at the Seattle airport about once a week, said waking up in time for a daytime gig required some adjustment. But he gained new fans from all over the world.

“I get really nice responses from people all the time, saying, ‘It was so calming to be able to just sit and listen to music between flights,’” James said. “So it feels like it’s particularly therapeutic for people.”

Country stars like Blake Shelton And Keith Urban passed through the Nashville airport and interacted with local musicians, said Stacey Nickens, the airport’s vice president of corporate communications and marketing. Shelton even gave one of them his guitar.

Otto Stuparitz, a musicologist and lecturer at the University of Amsterdam who has studied airport music, said airports should think carefully about their selections. Music meant to be actively listened to — like live music or upbeat pop songs — can be very distracting in an already chaotic environment, he said. He noticed that some airports – particularly in Europe – turn off the melodies completely.

But McPhillips said large spaces like airports can feel cold and unwelcoming without background music.

“A well-designed audio strategy is one that people aren’t particularly aware of,” he said. “They just know they’re having a good time and it’s appropriate.”

–DEE-ANN DURBIN and MANUEL VALDES/Associated Press