You might notice something in the halls of Northampton County’s courthouse...
...the sound of silence.
From the hallways to the elevators to call waiting, music is no longer being played anywhere in Northampton County buildings, including the courthouse, because it would cost taxpayers money.
The speakers in the buildings and on the phone were silenced last week after the county received a letter from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers demanding the county pay up because the music -- even so-called muzak -- that they were playing belongs to someone.
ASCAP tells NBC10 that technically all those songs that were coming over the speakers are the property of the composer and that they deserve a fee for their use.
That fee for Northampton County to keep playing the music would be about $2,300 a year.
That total equals the taxes paid by three taxpayers on average each year and county officials say they think that money could be better allocated.
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So the music died.
“I miss it and I know that the people that call up and are put on hold miss it because they don’t know if it’s dead, the don’t know if we hung up on them, they don’t know if they’re on hold,” said county employee Linda Zembo.
But not everyone working in county buildings misses the tunes.
“I kinda like it, it’s neat, it’s kinda quiet,” said county employee Jane Walker.
