Letter: Sound barrier

Sir: I've been unwillingly thinking about Muzak in shops (Letters, 11 November). I decided a while back to stop going into shops that inflict this. It makes me feel ill.

Television programmes can also be seen as shops. I stopped going into Channel 4's world chess shop for the same reason, and I would not go into Notes & Queries again. Even wildlife programmes have resorted to it, and with sport it's a bad habit. It is lazier and cheaper to switch on a rhythm machine than to commission real music, if backing is needed, but if they think we all want it, I'd like to be counted as a non-passive customer.

Yours sincerely,

DAVID HART

Birmingham