More people listen to this music provider than any other source in the world, with an audience of 100 million daily.

It is an excellent bet that you and everyone you know have heard their service. The company name is recognized by almost everybody in the United States and many people across the globe.

And the company is headquartered in Fort Mill.

Muzak dwells in an edgy, unusual, upbeat building off Carowinds Boulevard in Lakemont Business Park. From the moment you walk through the front doors, you have an impression that these people know what they are doing and they do it well.

And they have been doing it for decades.

Muzak was founded in the 1920s by Gen. Owen Squier. He believed that different types of music affected the productivity of workers. Squier also patented the transmission of music over electrical lines as a means of delivering music to factories and businesses.

The name Muzak was created by the General as a combination of two words. Squier was fascinated by the Kodak Co., so he married the words "music" and "Kodak" to create Muzak.

But nobody seems to know why the General used a "z" in the middle.

Muzak connected with elevators, as taller buildings began to sprout from city skylines. Unfortunately, most people only knew of elevators from their usage in mines. Because mine elevators often resulted in injury and death, and the elevators of that time did not operate quietly and smoothly, riders were nervous.

Playing music helped calm the riders and allowed them to find the elevators.

From those beginnings, Muzak has grown to more than 350,000 subscribers, more than 2,000 employees and more than 200 locations worldwide. You can find Muzak in 14 countries outside of the United States. In Fort Mill, Muzak employs about 250 people.

Muzak moved its headquarters to Fort Mill in 1999 from Seattle. The company moved here because two-thirds of Muzak's clients were east of the Mississippi, making it expensive to stage meetings.

South Carolina also offered the best deal, nearby airport facilities and a friendly climate. The Fort Mill location won over a number of higher profile cities such as Atlanta and Baltimore.

Many people remember the Muzak music of earlier days. The name of the company became the generic term for softly played orchestral renditions of popular music. All background music was labeled Muzak. Those of us riding elevators in the 1960s and 1970s recall the odd versions of hard rock that drifted into our ears as the elevator doors closed.

Muzak's director of marketing, Kimberly Wolff, is quick to say, "Muzak is a company name, not a type of music."

Since 1982 Muzak has only used original artists' music--no more strange music compositions floating mysteriously in the background. This company is on the cutting edge with its products, created by "audio architects" who know how to design music programs to help business branding.

Elevator and background music are just small parts of what Muzak does now.

The company is a pioneer in the fine art of influencing what customers buy and how customers perceive a business--and it is the largest commercial sound system contractor in the United States.

Muzak now delivers programs by satellite, CD and tape, and it has one of the largest digital music libraries in the world. The three main product lines are music, voice (in-store and on-hold marketing), and sound systems.

Seventy percent of callers are placed on hold, and many buying decisions are made after a customer enters a store. This gives a business the perfect marketing opportunity to communicate effectively with customers--through sound. Muzak employees are experts on helping businesses utilize that opportunity, and they help many of the best-known businesses in the world.

Much of what Muzak produces now is called foreground, rather than background, music. Foreground music is meant to play an active part in a customer's shopping experience. When you enter the store of a popular brand name or franchise and hear music filling your ears, that is foreground music. Since it is in the foreground, it is intended to enhance your mood, your shopping experience, and actively motivate you.

The Muzak of today is not the Muzak of yesterday. The company has grown and successfully reinvented itself. It is a case study for many business schools. And it is definitely not a type of generic music.

By the way, when you step out of your car in Muzak's parking lot, you hear--what else?--music playing.

Bill Henson is a technical writer and marketing copywriter living in Rock Hill. You can reach him by e-mail at writer@cetlink.net.