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Is there a way to hear B/EZ music on side frequencies?

R

radioman1181

Inactive
Inactive User
Hello,
Is their a way to still hear B/EZ Muzak on side frequencies. I am referring to the bands that are out of FM and AM. I know alot of the music services used to be in stores and hotels.I have also heard that radio stations used to have B/EZ on their subcarriers?
Anyway, I would love to hear B/EZ again and I was wodering if anyone knows what kind of receiver I could buy and what frequencies they might be on?

Just a side note... Afew years back one of the local AM stations hear in the town I live in,carried B/EZ every night... and commercial free on weekends. It was great. The weird thing about it was that there was no breaks for station ids or commercials. the music was played one after the other and every once in awhile you would hear the dj come on and give the station name and phone number...out to anyone who wanted to comment on the beautiful music. I share that because I always wondered if the station was carrying one of these services.

I dont even know if these services exist today...but I thought id through it out anyway.

Thanks,

Jim
 
> Hello,
> Is their a way to still hear B/EZ Muzak on side
> frequencies. I am referring to the bands that are out of FM
> and AM. I know alot of the music services used to be in
> stores and hotels.I have also heard that radio stations used
> to have B/EZ on their subcarriers?
> Anyway, I would love to hear B/EZ again and I was wodering
> if anyone knows what kind of receiver I could buy and what
> frequencies they might be on?
>

Muzak used to be distributed via a subcarrier to the FM signal, and it is possible to buy receivers to pick up these subcarriers, called SCA.
But I think most of that has moved to satellite. Muzak is distributed through the Dishnetwork system. Some of the Muzak formats are available as audio services on Dish, but not all of them. The traditional "background" music Muzak channels aren't included. There is an "easy listening" audio channel on Dish, but it's all instrumental. You might want to check with your cable TV provider, some of them offer audio services, and might have what you're looking for.

> Just a side note... Afew years back one of the local AM
> stations hear in the town I live in,carried B/EZ every
> night... and commercial free on weekends. It was great.
> The weird thing about it was that there was no breaks for
> station ids or commercials. the music was played one after
> the other and every once in awhile you would hear the dj
> come on and give the station name and phone number...out to
> anyone who wanted to comment on the beautiful music. I share
> that because I always wondered if the station was carrying
> one of these services.
>
Maybe, but probably not. Most likely it was on reel-to-reel tape and they chose not to sell any commercials during those periods.


> I dont even know if these services exist today...but I
> thought id through it out anyway.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Jim
>
 
10 years ago, there used to be several stations in my area that carried Muzak subcarriers. They are all but gone now as stores/hotels/etc. have moved to satellite. The subcarriers are now basically used for things like Radio for the Blind.

BTW, I don't care for Dish Network's B/EZ channel. It consists of too many old, traditonal, big band standards. Vintage B/EZ I guess you'd call it. I have no problem with that type of B/EZ, but I also want to hear newer B/EZ remakes from the 70's and 80's. That kind of music is available on Direct TV's Music Choice, but alas I subscribe to Dish because it is $10 bucks cheaper.

And when will Sirius ever pick up a B/EZ channel? What do they have against the format? XM has no problem with it. Dish offers Sirius, so I'd be glad to upgrade if and when they add a B/EZ channel.
 
Thanks guys for your inputs. I did find some stuff on the SCA website. However, I dont really want to dish out alot of money for nothing.... and id be scared to get a receiver and then not even hear a B/EZ on it. I quess the next best option is either satalite or internet. I've been checking out KLUX and KNCT. They both seem like they have a good sized library of the easy stuff.

If anyone has more ideas or favorite internet stations... please pass them along.
Thanks,
Jim


> 10 years ago, there used to be several stations in my area
> that carried Muzak subcarriers. They are all but gone now as
> stores/hotels/etc. have moved to satellite. The subcarriers
> are now basically used for things like Radio for the Blind.
>
> BTW, I don't care for Dish Network's B/EZ channel. It
> consists of too many old, traditonal, big band standards.
> Vintage B/EZ I guess you'd call it. I have no problem with
> that type of B/EZ, but I also want to hear newer B/EZ
> remakes from the 70's and 80's. That kind of music is
> available on Direct TV's Music Choice, but alas I subscribe
> to Dish because it is $10 bucks cheaper.
>
> And when will Sirius ever pick up a B/EZ channel? What do
> they have against the format? XM has no problem with it.
> Dish offers Sirius, so I'd be glad to upgrade if and when
> they add a B/EZ channel.
>
 
> If anyone has more ideas or favorite internet stations...
> please pass them along.

Shameles plug, but even though we are a small station, we have a lot of Internet listeners. It may be too upbeat for your taste, but you might like it. Who knows? The format varies with different day parts. It helps if you are on Central time, but a lot of our Internet listeners seem to be in Australia and New Zealand. Go figure. www.kzqx.com
 
> Hello,
> Is their a way to still hear B/EZ Muzak on side
> frequencies. I am referring to the bands that are out of FM
> and AM. I know alot of the music services used to be in
> stores and hotels.I have also heard that radio stations used
> to have B/EZ on their subcarriers?
> Anyway, I would love to hear B/EZ again and I was wodering
> if anyone knows what kind of receiver I could buy and what
> frequencies they might be on?
>
> Just a side note... Afew years back one of the local AM
> stations hear in the town I live in,carried B/EZ every
> night... and commercial free on weekends. It was great.
> The weird thing about it was that there was no breaks for
> station ids or commercials. the music was played one after
> the other and every once in awhile you would hear the dj
> come on and give the station name and phone number...out to
> anyone who wanted to comment on the beautiful music. I share
> that because I always wondered if the station was carrying
> one of these services.
>
> I dont even know if these services exist today...but I
> thought id through it out anyway.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Jim
>
Your best bet would be to get Xm Satellite Radio.They have a channel called Sunny that plays beautiful music.It's on channel 24 and is programmed by none other than Marlon Taylor.He use to program the bonneville format.They play mostley instrumental lush tunes and throw in a couple of vocals but it's a great station.Also during the holiday season they play the beautiful easy listening Christmas Music.Xm makes boomboxes now for in the house so you can listen in the house.I have both the car hook up and the boombox so I enjoy Sunny in the car and in my house.Another great source for b/ez is music choice.They have a b/ez channel.There on Direct tv.There's also Wktz which is on the internet.There at jones.edu.<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by jeff003 on 08/16/05 04:34 AM.</FONT></P>
 
MUZAK still on SCA in some areas

Here in Central North Carolina, MUZAK still has back-up programming on SCA channels. The original MUZAK 'background' format is on 100.7 FM, a 100KW station in with a tower south of Rocky Mount, NC. The foreground, soft-AC channel is still on the SCA channel of 106.1 FM in Raleigh, NC (another 100KW). This is as of around a year ago. Unless something has changed since then, SCA MUZAK is still on those two subcarriers. I would imagine it's probably also available (as a back-up) service in other markets. Locally, MUZAK programming is sold by a company called Warner Communicatiosn, based in Rocky Mount, NC. They have served this area for a LONG time, so I would imagine they have a long-standing relationship with the owners of the two FM stations and have been able to keep the SCA signals going.

> > Hello,
> > Is their a way to still hear B/EZ Muzak on side
> > frequencies. I am referring to the bands that are out of
> FM
> > and AM. I know alot of the music services used to be in
> > stores and hotels.I have also heard that radio stations
> used
> > to have B/EZ on their subcarriers?
> > Anyway, I would love to hear B/EZ again and I was wodering
>
> > if anyone knows what kind of receiver I could buy and what
>
> > frequencies they might be on?
> >
> > Just a side note... Afew years back one of the local AM
> > stations hear in the town I live in,carried B/EZ every
> > night... and commercial free on weekends. It was great.
> > The weird thing about it was that there was no breaks for
> > station ids or commercials. the music was played one
> after
> > the other and every once in awhile you would hear the dj
> > come on and give the station name and phone number...out
> to
> > anyone who wanted to comment on the beautiful music. I
> share
> > that because I always wondered if the station was carrying
>
> > one of these services.
> >
> > I dont even know if these services exist today...but I
> > thought id through it out anyway.
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Jim
> >
> Your best bet would be to get Xm Satellite Radio.They have a
> channel called Sunny that plays beautiful music.It's on
> channel 24 and is programmed by none other than Marlon
> Taylor.He use to program the bonneville format.They play
> mostley instrumental lush tunes and throw in a couple of
> vocals but it's a great station.Also during the holiday
> season they play the beautiful easy listening Christmas
> Music.Xm makes boomboxes now for in the house so you can
> listen in the house.I have both the car hook up and the
> boombox so I enjoy Sunny in the car and in my house.Another
> great source for b/ez is music choice.They have a b/ez
> channel.There on Direct tv.There's also Wktz which is on the
> internet.There at jones.edu.
>
 
All the Best Beautiful Songs can be heard at...

http://www.just-oldies.com. And you pick the Hits!


> BTW, I don't care for Dish Network's B/EZ channel. It
> consists of too many old, traditonal, big band standards.
> Vintage B/EZ I guess you'd call it. I have no problem with
> that type of B/EZ, but I also want to hear newer B/EZ
> remakes from the 70's and 80's. That kind of music is
> available on Direct TV's Music Choice, but alas I subscribe
> to Dish because it is $10 bucks cheaper.
>
> And when will Sirius ever pick up a B/EZ channel? What do
> they have against the format? XM has no problem with it.
> Dish offers Sirius, so I'd be glad to upgrade if and when
> they add a B/EZ channel.
>
 
Yeah, I knew I wasn't just imagining seeing this thread when I first came across the SCA thread on the Ibiquity board. It's amazing what a little digging will accomplish.

"Here in Central North Carolina, MUZAK still has back-up programming on SCA channels. The original MUZAK 'background' format is on 100.7 FM, a 100KW station in with a tower south of Rocky Mount, NC. The foreground, soft-AC channel is still on the SCA channel of 106.1 FM in Raleigh, NC (another 100KW). This is as of around a year ago. Unless something has changed since then, SCA MUZAK is still on those two subcarriers."
Click to expand...

Anybody know if they're still on the air, this many years later? I recall Dr. Elving telling me in a telephone call back in summer of 2007 that a couple of the Muzak services, in particular the ones in NYC (I think) and the Twin Cities, had just gone off the air a couple weeks earlier.

If they are, I probably wouldn't count on them being there much longer, considering recent unfortunate developments.
 
Muzak changed its name to MOOD recently. There was a story about this on CBS Sunday Morning tv show. Muzak still has Muzak.com website. Try KAHM 102.1 Prescott AZ at KAHM.info or QEZRADIO.com for similar music. Also live365.com has some EZ stations.
 
stevations said:
Muzak changed its name to MOOD recently. There was a story about this on CBS Sunday Morning tv show. Muzak still has Muzak.com website. Try KAHM 102.1 Prescott AZ at KAHM.info or QEZRADIO.com for similar music. Also live365.com has some EZ stations.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the plug, Steve! It's good to know someone will give me a plug from time to time...that way I don't have to do a shameless plug for myself. :D

btw, I keep a list of beautiful music stations streaming online here. I keep it up to date as much as possible and only include stations which have at least 50% instrumental music in their format. I do know of a couple of other BM stations I haven't yet listed on the page. If anyone is familiar with the Radionomy service, there is a station which uses their service and programs all James Last music...not sure of the link, though. There is also another "guitar-oriented" beautiful music station that will be coming online soon, although I'm not at liberty to identify the station at this time.
 
Even though it's not Muzak, the KAHM stream is great. It'd be even better, though, if the fidelity was quite a bit higher (and they didn't overdrive the audio so badly!) I'm certain they could get away with running about a 48k 44100Hz AAC stream in not too much more bandwidth than they're probably using now. It wouldn't be as high of fidelity as, say, 96K (or even better, 192) but it'd certainly suit the kind of music they're playing far better than the low-bitrate MP3 encoding they're running now.

"Muzak changed their name to 'Mood' recently. There was a story about this on CBS Sunday Morning TV show. They still have their muzak.com website."
Click to expand...

Already covered on http://radiodiscussions.com/smf/index.php?topic=107740.msg2057126#msg2057126

Thinking the topic of this thread over a bit more, I really, strongly doubt they're still using SCA distribution anywhere these days. I'd be 100% surprised if I came across a market somewhere where it's still going on. Now that the Mood Media coup de grâce finally happened, I can only imagine whatever few Muzak SCAs sre still operating (probably numbering in the lower single digits) will probably be taken off life-support by the end of the year, if they haven't done already.
 
You may soon get your wish......... KAHM FM 102.1 and KAHM.INFO
are in the process of upgrading their online site and audio as well.
Soon their transmitter will be moved about 20 miles closer to Phoenix
atop an even higher peak. Hopefully, the music will remain unchanged....
 
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