Elevator Music

[pygmalion]

No disrespect intended to anyone with this topic. Don't forget -- I play violin, so I'm a purveyor of elevator music.

That said, do you see what I see? When I go to ballroom dances, the music -- especially for waltzes and foxtrots -- is elevator music, meaning, mostly instrumental, with lots of violins. Pretty old fashioned stuff. And there are even "elevator music" covers of contemporary artists , like George Michael and Harry Connick Jr., who make comtemporary waltzes and foxtrots. What's the deal? First, is it that way where you are? And if so, why do you think that is? The demographics of the dance crowd? The need for strict tempo music? Other? And, here's the kicker. Does the sort of music played affect the attractiveness (or lack thereof) to different groups of people -- like a younger crowd, for example?

[Sagitta]

There are certain classics which work alright as they are classics, and then there is the other stuff which really does not appeal to me. Unfortunately I'm bad at naming songs so can't name any. And perhaps I'm a bad example as I prefer latin music any day. [shrug] :)

[BayAreaBallroomLady]

:roll: It actually costs money to play the "real thing". Some studios, it seems, do not want to pay the copyrights, or even put out the effort, to use the authentic songs. I don't know what the fees are, but I would surely like to look into it and find out. Wonder if anyone else out there knows?

[jon]

:roll: It actually costs money to play the "real thing". Some studios, it seems, do not want to pay the copyrights, or even put out the effort, to use the authentic songs. I don't know what the fees are, but I would surely like to look into it and find out. Wonder if anyone else out there knows?

I don't believe you're correct in making this distinction. ASCAP/BMI, the two major music licensing agencies in the US, charge fees for commercial use (very broadly defined) of essentially all commercially recorded music, and the consequences of not paying those fees are frightening. If there is a dance business not paying the protection money, they are at high risk of extremely expensive lawsuits. There are tiny amounts of license-free music but it would be quite difficult to identify enough of it to run a dance off of.

The basic problem is much simpler IMO: there isn't much pressure from ballroom dancers to cause ballroom venues to play better music. Without that the situation will never change.

[pygmalion]

Hmm. I hadn't thought about good old ASCAP. Makes sense, jon. I know that's why restaurants don't use the "Happy Birthday to You" song. It's copyrighted. That puts a whole different spin on things. Thanks.

(The music they often play is still lame, though!)

[pygmalion]

Ha! No more excuses. I found an organization, NBEA, National Ballroom and Entertainment Association, which offers its members significant discounts when playing music licensed by ASCAP and BMI (not SESAC, yet, but that's pending).

So, since they can buy the rights to play music at low cost, why do ballroom DJ's insist on playing the elevator variety? Yuck!

nbea.com