1 of 1- torontomike
- Member
Offline
MuchMusic Launched 40 Years Ago Today
MuchMusic launched 40 years ago today. There's a great Christopher Ward book about the station, and there's a solid documentary called 299 Queen St. West that's sitting on a hard drive and unavailable due to music licensing issues, but neither does a very good job covering the MuchMusic origin story. So I collaborated with Ed from Retrontario to produce a very thorough and definitive podcast episode about for origin of Much.
It's here if you want to dive in.
- In Phase
- Member
Offline
Re: MuchMusic Launched 40 Years Ago Today
I was there for the launch of MuchMusic. These were exciting times in Canadian television as the "Specialty channels" were just starting to explode. TSN also launched on the same day.
Of course, "Much" started its life at 99 Queen Street East, the home of Citytv. However, the production space was actually located on the 4th floor of the building immediately to the east (111 Queen St). An opening on the 4th floor was created between the two buildings.
MuchMusic was distributed across the country via satellite. The original uplink (and that of TSN) was provided by Telesat and located at the base of the CN Tower, near the loading docks. It relocated to Leslie Street when Skydome was built.
Given that audio played a big part of MuchMusic, efforts were undertaken to ensure the service had the best audio quality possible. To that end, their colleagues up at CHUM radio were tapped to provide guidance on audio processing (Dorroughs at the time). Also, equipment was installed on the satellite uplink to provide the widest bandwidth and dynamic range. The cable companies across Canada were notified of this and advised that they could not use the usual off-the-shelf gear as on other satellite delivered services (like TSN). Unfortunately, shortly after launch, numerous cable companies called to complain about audio distortion. It turned out they had ignored the advice provided and installed the usual gear. So many cable co's did this that MuchMusic had no choice but to revert back to the "usual" configuration as it was the most expedient solution. So Much for trying.....
Moving to 299 Queen Street West in 1987 (along with Citytv) provided the opportunity for MuchMusic to reach its full potential, not only as the "Nation's Music Station", but establish the corner of Queen and John in Toronto as "the place to be"
- paterson1
- Member
Offline
Re: MuchMusic Launched 40 Years Ago Today
I signed up for both Much Music and TSN on day one with Maclean-Hunter cable TV. Initially I thought TSN was pretty good but disappointed with Much Music.
For the first few months I found Much amateurish, the VJ's seemed at times overwhelmed and not prepared for their live breaks. The videos themselves were ok, but a lot of bands and songs I had never heard of before. Much really wasn't what you would call a hit music station at first. I had stereo sound right from the start since Maclean-Hunter ran the audio of the network on their FM lineup.
In a few months Much was improving, becoming a little more mainstream and not as many technical flubs.
Agree with In Phase, the move to 299 Queen St. made a big difference and Much Music really started to shine. All of those bands six months before that were unfamiliar were also starting to be heard on radio.
Much's influence can't be overstated for it's influence on music, fashion, attitude and it's live in studio set up that they, and City tv pioneered. Their live concerts were excellent, and the 299 Queen St location became a hang out for young people and music lovers. With their unique set up, the public could watch interviews and the VJ's from the street.
The station was a boom for cancon and new Canadian artists. Much wasn't burdened with the negative view of Canadian music that many radio stations still had 13 years after the regulation came in for radio.
Much Music gave Canadian artists and their music lots of airplay, exposure and interviews. They were doing what radio was not, and leaving them to catch up. It seemed like almost overnight Canadian artists were filling arenas, and selling truckloads of records thanks to Much Music and shows like CBC's Video Hits. And these artists were also starting finally to get airplay on radio.
Much had a good run, and like everything else, nothing lasts forever. But for about 20 years, the video channel really was The Nation's Music Station.