Yes, there is a good reason that ice cream trucks generally sound the same in every city and town across America, at least the ones where such vehicles are still welcome. (Phooey on Bloomington and its fancy-schmancy noise ordinances.) Apart from a few rogue trucks that play their own music, most professional ice cream distribution vehicles come complete with a music box from Nichols Electronics. Today, Mark Nichols and his wife, Beth, are carrying on a business founded by Nicholsâ father back in the 1950s. The companyâs âall-starâ model is something called the Digital II, capable of playing eight different songs. And how, exactly, did the company decide on which songs to use? âThe Entertainerâ became a staple after it was reintroduced in 1973âs The Sting. As for the other songs, whatâs important is that theyâre not copyright protected. âIt isnât worth getting in trouble over rights issues,â Nichols explains. Besides, by using the same few songs over and over, those very tunes have become virtually synonymous with ice cream consumption in the minds of many.