Background music may seem harmless， but it can have a powerful effect on those who hear it. Recorded background music first found its way into factories， shops and restaurants in the U.S. But
it soon spread to other parts of the world. Now it is becoming increasingly difficult to go shopping or eat a meal without listening to music.
To begin with， "muzak" was intended simply to create a smoothing atmosphere. Nowadays， however， it's become big business …… thanks in part to recent research. Dr. Ronald Millikan， an American marketing expert， has shown that music can boost sales or increase factory production by as much as a third.
But， it has to be light music. A fast one has no effect at all on sales. Slow music can increase receipts by 38%. This is probably because shoppers slow down and have more opportunities to spot items they like to buy. Yet， slow music isn't always that effective. Dr. Millikan found， for example，
that in restaurants slow music meant customers took longer time to eat their meals， which reduced overall sales. So restaurant owners might be well advised to play up-tempo music to keep the customers moving—— unless， of course， the resulting indigestion leads to complaints！
背景音乐似乎是无害的，但它对听者却有很大影响。录在唱片或磁带上的背景音乐首先是在美国的工厂、商店和餐馆找到其市场的。但它很快就传到世界各地。现在无论是购物还是进餐，听不到音乐是越来越难了。
起初，在公共场所连续播放背景音乐只是为了营造一种和谐的气氛。然而，现在却演变成了一桩大生意——这得部分地归功于近来的调查研究。 美国营销专家罗纳德·米利肯博士的.调研表明，音乐可以提高销售额，也可以使工厂生产增加三分之一。
但这必须是轻音乐。节奏快的音乐对销售不产生任何影响，而慢音乐可增加38％的销售额。这也许是因为购物者随着音乐减缓了购物速度，从而有更多的机会去发现他们喜欢买的东西。不过，节奏缓慢的音乐并非总是那么有效。例如，米利肯博士发现，在饭馆里，播放慢音乐则意味着顾客进餐所花的时间更久，因而减少了销售总额。所以，餐馆老板播放快速音乐，以便使顾客不断地流动——当然，不要由此产生消化不良，引起顾客抱怨。
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