DMX (music)

Last updated
DMX, Inc
Type Private
Country
United States
Founded1971
Slogan Creating Atmospheres Delivering Experiences.
Broadcast area
Austin, TX
Key people
John Cullen, CEO and Paul Stone, President
Picture format
No video. Audio with title text only as SonicTap on DirecTV.
industry
Music
Products
Music, Video, Messaging, Scent, Interactive Media & Promotions, and A/V Systems for commercial environments
Official website
www.dmx.com

DMX, a Mood Media company, [1] is a "multi-sensory" branding agency based in Austin, Texas. [2] [3] DMX also provides music for cable and satellite television networks worldwide, including DStv in Africa.

A branding agency is a firm that specializes in creating and launching brands, and rebranding. The role of a branding agency is to create, plan and manage branding strategies for clients, including support in advertising and other forms of promotion.

Texas State in the United States

Texas is the second largest state in the United States by area and population. Located in the South Central region, Texas shares borders with the states of Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the west, and the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to the southwest, and has a coastline with the Gulf of Mexico to the southeast.

Cable television Television content transmitted via signals on coaxial cable

Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fiber-optic cables. This contrasts with broadcast television, in which the television signal is transmitted over the air by radio waves and received by a television antenna attached to the television; or satellite television, in which the television signal is transmitted by a communications satellite orbiting the Earth and received by a satellite dish on the roof. FM radio programming, high-speed Internet, telephone services, and similar non-television services may also be provided through these cables. Analog television was standard in the 20th century, but since the 2000s, cable systems have been upgraded to digital cable operation.

Contents

History

AEI Music Network Inc. was born in 1971, as a music service to license and program original artist music. AEI's primary focus was custom music programs, provided on cassette tapes for domestic and international customers. In the 1980s, the company began providing services to international airlines, as well as residential and cable television systems. AEI was the first to offer music by satellite.

In 2001, AEI merged with Liberty Digital Inc. of Los Angeles, in a deal that gave Liberty 56 percent and AEI 44 percent of the merged company, known as DMX/AEI Music. AEI had large national customers into international markets, (while DMX had dealt with smaller businesses). DMX also served residential cable television subscribers, working on streaming over the Internet. [4] [5] [6]

Liberty Media American mass media company

Liberty Media Corporation is an American mass media company controlled by chairman John C. Malone, who owns a majority of the voting shares.

Los Angeles City in California

Los Angeles, officially the City of Los Angeles and often known by its initials L.A., is the most populous city in California; the second most populous city in the United States, after New York City; and the third-most populous city in North America, after Mexico City and New York City. With an estimated population of nearly four million people, Los Angeles is the cultural, financial, and commercial center of Southern California. The city is known for its Mediterranean climate, ethnic diversity, Hollywood, the entertainment industry, and its sprawling metropolis.

Stream (computing) sequence of data elements made available over time

In computer science, a stream is a sequence of data elements made available over time. A stream can be thought of as items on a conveyor belt being processed one at a time rather than in large batches.

The company's on-site digital system known as "ProFusion" was launched in 2002 with the purpose of delivering and playing back high-quality digital music to places around the world. In 2005, DMX was purchased by Capstar Partners who then officially changed the name to DMX, Inc. It was in this year that the "ProFusion M5", its first digital platform that controls both video and music content, was launched. Most recently, the company began offering scent marketing as another service for customers.[ citation needed ]

DMX (Music) See music with dogs barking.

Loral Skynet announced on June 21, 2001 that DMX/AEI would switch from their Telstar 4 to Telstar 8 in 2002. [7]

Telesat, formerly Telesat Canada, is a Canadian satellite communications company founded on May 2, 1969. The company is headquartered in Ottawa.

As of 2009, DMX had originally applied to merge with Fort Mill, South Carolina competitor Muzak Holdings LLC, with the resultant combined entity sold to a third-party buyer. Reportedly, Mood Media of Canada had been heavily courted since the beginning, but the combination of the United States Department of Justice's second request for information on the merger, [8] and the bankruptcy filing by Muzak disrupted that original merger. [9] Instead, on Thursday, March 24, 2011, Mood Media themselves announced that they would be buying Muzak in a $345 million deal, [10] and then a year later, Mood Media also announced their acquisition of the original DMX company which had courted them three years earlier on March 19, 2012 in a deal valued at $86.1 million . [11]

Mergers and acquisitions transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations or their operating units are transferred or combined

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred or consolidated with other entities. As an aspect of strategic management, M&A can allow enterprises to grow or downsize, and change the nature of their business or competitive position.

Fort Mill, South Carolina Town in South Carolina, United States

Fort Mill, also known as Fort Mill Township, is a town in York County in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is located south of the city of Charlotte, North Carolina and north of Rock Hill. As of 2018, approximately 19,848 people live inside the town's corporate limits with a total of 36,119 people residing within the entire township. Some businesses and residents in the Indian Land community of neighboring Lancaster County share a Fort Mill mailing address, but the official town boundary extends only in York County.

South Carolina State in the United States

South Carolina is a state in the Southeastern United States and the easternmost of the Deep South. It is bordered to the north by North Carolina, to the southeast by the Atlantic Ocean, and to the southwest by Georgia across the Savannah River.

SonicTap

From February 9, 2010 to February 10, 2018, DMX (music) provided over 84 commercial-free audio-only music channels to DirecTV customers, branded as SonicTap . [12] [13] DirecTV dropped Sonic Tap in favor of Music Choice on February 10, 2018. [14]

DirecTV American direct broadcast satellite and streaming TV company

DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider based in El Segundo, California and is a subsidiary of AT&T. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, Americas and the Caribbean. Its primary competitors are Dish Network and cable television providers. On July 24, 2015, after receiving approval from the United States Federal Communications Commission and United States Department of Justice, AT&T acquired DirecTV in a transaction valued at $67.1 billion.

Music Choice American music TV network

Music Choice is an American television music service that digitally broadcasts audio-based music channels and video-related content to cable television providers in the United States. Music Choice reaches 65 million households in North America via linear television channels and tv-on-demand services.

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XM Satellite Radio company

XM Satellite Radio (XM) was one of the three satellite radio (SDARS) and online radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Holdings. It provided pay-for-service radio, analog to cable television. Its service included 73 different music channels, 39 news, sports, talk and entertainment channels, 21 regional traffic and weather channels and 23 play-by-play sports channels. XM channels were identified by Arbitron with the label "XM".

Muzak is a brand of background music played in retail stores and other public establishments. In 1981, Westinghouse bought the company and ran it until selling it to the Fields Company of Chicago, publishers of the Chicago Sun-Times, on September 8, 1986. Formerly owned by Muzak Holdings, the brand was purchased in 2011 by Mood Media in a deal worth US$345 million.

Background music refers to a mode of musical performance in which the music is not intended to be a primary focus of potential listeners, but its content, character, and volume level are deliberately chosen to affect behavioral and emotional responses in humans such a concentration, relaxation, distraction, and excitement. Listeners are uniquely subject to background music with no control over its volume and content. The range of responses created are of great variety, and even opposite, depending on numerous factors such as, setting, culture, audience, and even time of day.

Max Trax

Max Trax was a Canadian pay television audio service that broadcast continuous streaming music on multiple channel feeds. The service was owned by Stingray Digital.

Chorus Communication Limited

Chorus was a communications provider in Ireland offering internet, television and telephone services. It was owned by Liberty Global Europe and ultimately controlled by John C. Malone's Liberty Media.

Starz is an American premium cable and satellite television network which serves as the flagship service of Starz Inc., which is ultimately owned by Lionsgate. Starz's programming features theatrically released motion pictures and first-run original television series.

Tele-Communications Inc. Defunct American cable television provider

Tele-Communications, Inc. (TCI) was a cable television provider in the United States, and for most of its history was controlled by Bob Magness and John Malone.

Starz Encore is an American premium channel that is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment. Its programming features mainly older and recent theatrically released feature films, although some of its multiplex channels also carry acquired television series. The headquarters of Starz Encore, and its sister channels Starz and MoviePlex, are located at the Meridian International Business Center complex in Meridian, Colorado, United States.

Digital-television radio, DTV radio, or DTR describes the audio channels that are provided with a digital television service. These channels are delivered by cable television, direct-broadcast satellite or digital terrestrial television. In terms of variety, DTR falls somewhere between regular AM or FM radio, and satellite radio. However, because it is delivered through a digital signal, the actual sound quality can be equal to or greater than satellite radio.

Virgin Media British cable and telecommunications company

Virgin Media Limited is a British company which provides telephone, television and internet services in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are in Hook, Hampshire. Since 2013, Virgin Media has been a subsidiary of Liberty Global plc, an international television and telecommunications company. The company was previously listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market and London Stock Exchange. Virgin Media is not a sister company of Virgin Mobile USA, which is owned by Sprint Corporation.

Pop2K is a commercial-free all-2000s radio station that is broadcast on Sirius XM Radio. It is located on channel 10, and Dish Network 6010 and 099-10. It plays a range of top 40 hits in the 21st century similar to Venus. Some music would come from the late 1990s. The channel is also used for XM's annual pop music chronology, IT. Starting in late 2009, the station started to play more deeper cuts and not the popular hits from the decade, to give it a more or less nostalgic flavor that the decades stations have. By 2010, no new 2010s music has been played unless it is left over from 2009, making it a 2000s-only station. By December 18, 2009, Mediabase stopped reporting the channel's playlist.

AlphaStar Digital Television was a direct-to-home satellite broadcasting service for the United States market developed by Canadian firm Tee-Comm Electronics. It was the first direct-to-home satellite broadcasting service in the United States to use the internationally accepted DVB-S broadcasting standard and used 39" satellite dish receivers. AlphaStar service launched in July 1996 but was discontinued completely by September 1997 with 40,000 subscribers as the company went through bankruptcy proceedings. The American assets of AlphaStar continue to be used under the auspices of the Champion Telecom Platform which also continues to own the AlphaStar brand. AlphaStar would also have alleviated a shortage of Canadian satellite capacity by using foreign (US) satellite capacity to fill Canadian needs—indeed this was a requirement for the Canadian company to obtain its license from Canada to commence broadcasting. Tee-Comm, the parent company of AlphaStar had originally co-founded the partnership that created ExpressVu as technology supplier but later divested all interest in ExpressVu.

Root Sports Northwest regional sports network in the Pacific Northwest, United States

Root Sports Northwest is an American regional sports network that is owned as a 60/40 joint venture between the Seattle Mariners and WarnerMedia News & Sports, a division of AT&T's WarnerMedia respectively, the latter of which operates it as part of the AT&T SportsNet chain of regional networks and as an affiliate of Fox Sports Networks. Headquartered near Seattle in the city of Bellevue, Washington, the channel broadcasts regional coverage of sports events throughout the Pacific Northwest, with a focus on professional sports teams based in Seattle and Portland.

Caliente is the name of an Sirius XM Radio's Tropical music channel, playing Salsa, Merengue, Bachata and Reggaeton. It is available on 158, and previously channel 85 on XM) and on Dish Network channel 6095, Until February 9, 2010, it was heard on DirecTV channel 869, but all of the Sirius XM music channels were dropped in favor of Sonic Tap by DMX. Prior to the Sirius/XM merger, Caliente was on XM channel 94, This channel was on Sirius XM Radio 69 and Dish Network 6069 when Escape was online, On November 12, 2015, Escape returned to Sirius XM Radio 69 and Dish Network 6069 and Caliente returned to the Latin lineup.

The Bridge is on Sirius XM Radio channel 32 and Dish Network 6032. It is devoted to gold-based soft rock and adult contemporary music. The channel is programmed by Mary Sue Twohy. The channel plays mainly 1970s acts, such as Fleetwood Mac, James Taylor, Carole King, Jackson Browne, Elton John, Jim Croce, The Eagles, America, and Billy Joel, along with some later 1980s and 1990s artists like Sting, Bonnie Raitt, and others. It was basically the 1960s and 1970s counterpart of the former StarLite channel for the Sirius service before the Sirius/XM merger replaced StarLite with The Blend.

Mood Media Corporation is an international in-store provider of music, digital signage, hold music, on-hold messaging, scent, integrated audio/video, and interactive mobile marketing solutions. It was founded in 2004, and is based in Austin, Texas. The company delivers solutions to a variety of retailers and other business verticals such as restaurant, financial, healthcare, hospitality and QSR. Mood Media Corporation has expanded its product offerings through acquisitions of Somerset Entertainment in Canada, BIS Group in Europe, and Trusonic, AEI Music Network Inc., Muzak, DMX, Technomedia, and GoConvergence in the United States.

AT&T SportsNet (ATTSN) is the name for a group of regional sports networks in the United States that are primarily owned and operated by AT&T Sports Networks, LLC, a subsidiary of WarnerMedia News & Sports, which in turn is a division of AT&T's WarnerMedia. Each of the networks carry regional broadcasts of sporting events from various professional, collegiate and high school sports teams.

References

  1. "DMX Acquired by Mood Media Corporation" (PDF). Mood Media.
  2. "Global Brand Consultants / Corporate Branding Firm" . Retrieved 2010-09-08.
  3. "Multisensory Branding / Unforgettable Brand Experiences / Building Brand Loyalty" . Retrieved 2010-09-08.
  4. Meisner, Jeff (2000-09-25). "AEI Combining with Liberty Digital Unit". Puget Sound Business Journal . Retrieved 2010-01-14.
  5. Meisner, Jeff (2001-05-16). "AEI Merger with DMX Approved". Puget Sound Business Journal . Retrieved 2010-01-14.
  6. "AEI Seeks Growth in Music Business Overseas". Puget Sound Business Journal . 2001-02-13. Retrieved 2010-01-14.
  7. "DMX/AEI Music to Migrate Delivery of Their Digital Music Service to Loral Skeynet's Telstar 8 Satellite". loral.com. 2001-06-21. Archived from the original on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2009-01-06.
  8. DMX Muzak issued a second request Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine , Orbitcast.com
  9. Adam Bell, "Music Won't Stop During Muzak's Reorganization," The Charlotte Observer, February 11, 2009.
  10. Toronto's Mood Media buys Muzak National Post, March 25, 2011
  11. Mood Media Corporation Announces Acquisition of DMX Mood Media press release, March 19, 2012
  12. "Why have the Music Channels changed?". DirecTV.com. Retrieved 9 February 2010.
  13. "SonicTap About Us". SonicTap. Archived from the original on 8 March 2010. Retrieved 27 February 2010.
  14. http://insider.directv.com/2018/02/06/turn-up-the-volume/