Satellite radio networks for retail/restaurant chains

[anotherguyTN]

I'm not sure if this is under the right forum or not, but I'll try here. I got to thinking about this today when I was at a local Sonic restaurant. They have their own radio network that plays a mix of pop, rock, country, and soul from the 60's to now. Also, I work at Lowe's part time and they have their own radio network that is an AC mix from the 60's to now. Another is Hobby Lobby, who has a radio network with soft AC Christian instrumental music. I know that the music in some stores may come from a satellite network while others may actually come from CDs that are produced for the chain and are not a real radio network. A lot of these will also have ads for the store or restaurant mixed in with the music

I have a few questions: First of all, what chains of stores or restaurants actually have their own satellite network for music and/or ads in their stores, and which ones use CDs? Also, for the ones that actually have their own satellite network, are these carried by Sirius/XM, Muzak, or some other source? Finally, is there a website that would list these networks and what their formats are? Thanks for any information.

 

[kenglish]

Macy's Department Stores has a channel or two on Galaxy-25, at 98.1 degrees.

 

[Starbucks]

I'm not sure if this is under the right forum or not, but I'll try here. I got to thinking about this today when I was at a local Sonic restaurant. They have their own radio network that plays a mix of pop, rock, country, and soul from the 60's to now. Also, I work at Lowe's part time and they have their own radio network that is an AC mix from the 60's to now. Another is Hobby Lobby, who has a radio network with soft AC Christian instrumental music. I know that the music in some stores may come from a satellite network while others may actually come from CDs that are produced for the chain and are not a real radio network. A lot of these will also have ads for the store or restaurant mixed in with the music

I have a few questions: First of all, what chains of stores or restaurants actually have their own satellite network for music and/or ads in their stores, and which ones use CDs? Also, for the ones that actually have their own satellite network, are these carried by Sirius/XM, Muzak, or some other source? Finally, is there a website that would list these networks and what their formats are? Thanks for any information.


These stations that you hear , Subway channel etc. are known as SCPA or sub carriers that are piggy backed on a major radio networks, or cable TV's satellite upload/download signal. Most of them have quality of a great AM radio, and rely on the signal of the major uplink that's transmitting.... for instance...if the major station or network that's transmitting on satellite goes off, so does the Subway,Hobby Lobby, whatever channel if it's on the same transponder.
You will need a need an SCPA receiver, and satellite dish if you have enough space to receive these retail store's frequencies.
There are magazines that list and cover what's going up in the milky way by frequency. Barnes and Nobles does carry these books at times in the magazine rack.

 

[Neel]

From what I can tell- Home Depot, Lowe's, the smaller Walgreens express stores all use Muzak. You can usually tell if their store ads interrupt in the middle of the song then it is most likely Muzak.

My old company, Ralphs Grocery used to use Muzak and then when Kroger bought them, they switched to Interstore Broadcasting or something like that. The advantage was that the ads would not interrupt the music and it was cheaper. However, the playlist was small and very repetitive.

The Subway here just plays the regular radio.

 

[johnbasalla]

If you search for "music in restaurants" or something like that, you'll find that there are a number of people interested in the music played while they eat their McDonalds hamburger. It's always interesting to listen to what's going on. There is at least one service where they mix/ or did mix generic smash hits with good-sounding non-hits that have a similar sound, and are catchy, but just didn't make it. In the 1990s an artist by the name of Gregg Tripp had a very Beatlesque single out called "Time". This was a hot tune that was only played on a well-formatted college/non-com in my area. What a pleasant surprise when I heard it blasting out of the speakers in a McDonalds restaurant. Another one was "Jump Right In" by The Urge. This did enjoy some action on Alternative stations, but not a lot. One time in a more fancy restaurant I heard "Bus Rider"... A B-side by The Guess Who. I was listening intently because they say G..damn in it. But it was faded right before that line came up. I have a feeling that that restaurant may have had someone make their own music CD's.

 

[Radio_bored-Op]

sidebar:

quick inquiry:
how ................ "illegeal" is it , for
as posted(above) for the "local" subway to
'just' play the local-FM stations....in the store,
oh, yea - w/ out a piece of paper, saying
that is okay ...

just curious

 

[kenglish]

They'd probably need an ASCAP or BMI (whoever is doing them nowadays) performance license for the music, and I don't think the local station would object to the "free publicity" at all .

 

[RadioFanBoy]

I know a lot of Subways in my area have ditched "Subway Radio" and have gone back to playing the local FM's in their stores.

 

[luperm]

Muzak, DMX, and Music Choice provide such services. Those companies have canned feeds that you can choose from. They can be delivered by satellite or on proprietary CDs (which are imported into a special digital player). The players and satellite receivers have the ability to insert local messages. You can also have custom music programmed for your business. Stores like The Gap and Starbucks do that. I imagine that would be pretty expensive.

FM subcarriers and tape cartridges are not used anymore.

There are also "commercial" feeds of many Sirius/XM channels that do not have any announcers or liners. They are delivered through DirecTV.

Technically you need a ASCAP/BMI license to play a commercial radio station in a place of business.

 

[JohnnyElectron]

Wasn't there the old "two-speaker rule" where you could play the local AM/FM station if you were a small business with two or less speakers in your establishment, or did that rule go down the drain? I notice every Subway here using local FM's and just 2 speakers.

You CAN buy an XM/Sirius commercial package.

 

[Sam The Record Man]

I'd love to know just how many businesses actually get the licenses necessary to play terrestrial radio in their shops. It must be a tiny, tiny percentage.

I know, for example, that all the TCBY yogurt shops in Memphis that I've visited listen to the local hot AC station (FM 100). I doubt the company is paying for that. Who would enforce that, anyway? The station gets captive ears and the advertisers get a little more exposure.

 

[CTListener]

Wasn't there the old "two-speaker rule" where you could play the local AM/FM station if you were a small business with two or less speakers in your establishment, or did that rule go down the drain? I notice every Subway here using local FM's and just 2 speakers.

You CAN buy an XM/Sirius commercial package.

I understand those XM/Sirius commercial feeds run wall-to-wall music with no DJ patter or promos for other channels. However, I've been in several restaurants that have been running the same Sirius XM programming I get on my own receiver -- a McDonald's that pipes in The Blend, a pizza place that pipes in '60s on 6, etc.

 

[nd2023]

It would be hard for the copyright police to enforce every store in every town. They most likely just enforce in the big cities where it's easy to walk down the street into each store and find out if the radio is playing. But there is no point to enforcing that rule, since ASCAP/BMI will most likely get no revenue at all when the store turns off the radio. When the radio is played in a store, it indirectly increases their revenue (ratings go up, more people exposed to a song could lead to a sale of the song). The radio stations are already paying the public performance royalty for their air signal and their stream.

 

[Radio_bored-Op]

ok legal issue aside for a momento:
it is fuuny, when . . . .say, the subway resturant
plays 93.1 FM, . . . (for example),and a spot for
. . McDonald's comes up . . haha!

 

[CrankyYankee]

My understanding of the proper way to play a radio station in a business is that the station must be coming from a radio and not piped through a p-a system throughout the store. A store in a town where I used to live got nailed by ASCAP once for pumping a local station around the store via their p-a system. The solution was to have a bunch of radios around the store all tuned to the same station. Sirius/XM wants to know if their signals are in any way enhancing the business climate of a store where they are on, so that's why they want to know if you intend to use their service in a store or business. BTW: The same thing goes for cable TV in a business setting. If the service can be see by the public, the cable customer should sign up as a "business' subscriber. My understanding is that there's usually no extra charge to be listed as a business customer. If the TV is only in, say, a break room out back where the public is not allowed, the subscriber could be listed as a normal or regular sub.