QUIET SCOTLAND
The Scottish campaign for freedom from intrusive music in public places
Links
Here are details of some other organisations that are concerned with unwanted background music in public places.
Acoustics and Noise Consultants
Trade association for acoustic, noise & vibration consultancy practices in the UK. Includes list of member companies, searchable via geographic database
Against forced music in hospitals
Patients in hospital wards, and in doctors' and dentists' waiting rooms, are often forced to listen to other people's choice of music, or to the noise of their televisions. Unwanted noise is stressful. When people are ill and vulnerable they often want peace and quiet and yet this is often denied them. Anyone who wants to listen to music or the radio can do so easily through headphones. Please sign the petition against piped music and television in hospitals and medical surgeries, places which people have to visit and where forced music may be literally impossible to escape. We have also produced a list of quotations from genuine patients with health conditions that make having to listen to unwanted background music particularly stressful. If, like many people, you are uncomfortable complaining in a medical environment, please download the quotations and send them to the relevant medical practice.
Do you find the background music on television and radio programmes is often so loud that you are unable to hear the dialogue, or the natural sounds in wildlife documentaries? Sound problems are the single most consistent topic of viewer complaints to the BBC. Please complain if background music prevents you from hearing a programme.
Scottish-based not-for-profit social enterprise which supports businesses and organisations in creating customer environments, public spaces and workplaces that are suitable and comfortable for all hearing abilities. Aim is to make the UK a more hearing-friendly nation - one that is considerate of people's hearing needs and more effective at addressing them.
Charity for people with autistic spectrum disorders, whose aim is to improve the lives of autistic people. National Autistic Society Scotland is based in Glasgow. Recently the charity has had success in persuading large UK supermarkets and shopping malls to introduce 'quiet hours' so that adults and children with autism, together with their families and carers, can shop in comfort.
National charitable foundation which aims to raise awareness of, and find solutions to, noise pollution and pollutants related to solving noise issues, for example light disturbance and air pollution.
This organisation campaigns for freedom from piped music in public places. Pipedown is supported by Alfred Brendel, Stephen Fry, Lesley Garrett, Julian Lloyd Webber, Joanna Lumley, Tony Parsons, Philip Pullman, Simon Rattle, Mark Rylance, Prunella Scales, Jake Wallis Simons, Claire Tomalin and millions of others. Downloadable factsheet available.
The first branch of Pipedown in the USA, launched in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in July 2017.
Reviews of places throughout the UK without piped music.
Scottish group affiliated to Pipedown. Members campaign for freedom from piped music in public places, with special emphasis on Scottish businesses. They try to highlight the effects this music has on people with medical conditions, such as ME, autism, dyslexia, and hearing impairment.
A Canadian organisation covering "soundscape awareness and protection" which includes unnecessary background music. Their website includes an extensive list of worldwide links. They issue a quarterly "noiseletter".
Royal National Institute for the Deaf (formerly Action on Hearing Loss) campaigns on behalf of people with a hearing problem. This includes highlighting the difficulties of hearing television programmes when there is background noise, including background music. One of their campaigns is "Access to Television" and their website provides details as to how to complain and where to send it. They cover all the main broadcasters. They have also launched a Speak Easy campaign, alerting restaurants and cafes to the difficulties the hard of hearing face when there is excessive background noise, including piped music, in their establishments.
The Scottish section of RNID campaigns for the 850,000 people in Scotland who are deaf or have a hearing loss. One of the things they want to ensure is equal access to public services, shops, business and entertainment. They hold decision-makers to account when 'reasonable adjustments' required by the Equality Act (2010) aren't made.
UK voluntary non-charitable campaigning organisation against noise which also carries out research and produces publications.