What is a "BUTTONED" ending anyway?

[rpw]

About the only thing I understood before Googling the term, is that it is not a deliberate fade-out because the 'band' doesn't know how to end the song. I'd wondered if that also eliminated a last note/chord left 'hanging' until it has stopped being audible, did 'BUTTONED ENDING' mean a staccato stop to all instruments/sounds or a deliberate crescendo to a definitive ending?

After doing a small amount of research, I am now of the opinion that a buttoned ending is desired so that the song duration can easily be edited to fit the length of a scene/commercial. I suspect that hanging notes are looked upon as too similar to fade-outs and most likely make the song duration not easily edited to fit a scene. As I think about this, pieces that have multiple parts/movements would also be more difficult to edit, you'd have to compose the piece so that the ending could be pasted in at almost any point in the piece.

Anyone have differing opinions? Any comments from the TAXI staff?

[Robtoons]

I think they just mean that the song has a written ending, not a fadeout on a riffing band type of thing.
As far as the ringout of the last note goes, I think it could be long or short, depending on the style.
TA-DAAAAAAAAA is still a button ending.