About Ici Musique

Ici Musique

Ici Musique is the national French-language music radio network of Radio-Canada — the French equivalent of the English CBC Music, though with a different programming focus. Launched in 1974 as Le FM de Radio-Canada with stations in Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec City, and Chicoutimi, it is the country's leading francophone public music service, covering the majority of Quebec, all provincial capitals, and large cities such as Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver. It has carried the Ici Musique name since June 2014.

Overview

Ici Musique is a national French-language public radio network owned and operated by the Société Radio-Canada, the French-language arm of the CBC. It is the francophone counterpart of CBC Music, broadcasting a mix of classical, jazz, world music, folk, and French-language song, commercial-free.

The network's flagship station is CBFX-FM (100.7) in Montreal, transmitting 100,000 watts from the Mount Royal candelabra tower, with studios at Maison Radio-Canada. The network now covers the majority of Quebec, all provincial capitals (some served by rebroadcasters), and other large cities including Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver.

History

The network was launched in 1974 as Le FM de Radio-Canada (also described in its first years as La Chaîne Culturelle), with stations in Montreal, Ottawa (CBOX-FM, signed on September 12, 1974, as CBOF-FM), Quebec City (CBVX-FM), and Chicoutimi. The flagship CBFX-FM had begun as VE9CB in 1946 and moved to 100.7 MHz in 1971, boosting to 100,000 watts and stereo in preparation for its flagship role.

The network grew slowly: for a long time its only full-fledged stations outside Quebec were in Ottawa and Moncton. It was rebranded La chaîne culturelle in 1997, then Espace musique in September 2004 as part of a major repositioning of the CBC's French services. The Espace musique relaunch moved high-brow cultural programs to Première Chaîne and adopted a more populist approach across classical, jazz, world, and folk music plus French-language song. The rebrand was controversial — the previous largely classical format was regarded by some cultural commentators as superior to its English counterpart — but Bureau of Broadcast Measurement ratings soon after suggested the service had become more popular.

In June 2014, the network became Ici Musique as part of Radio-Canada's "Ici" rebranding. Local morning programs that had aired across the network, such as Beau temps, mauvais temps on CBOX-FM, were cancelled in June 2014 due to CBC/Radio-Canada budget cuts.

Programming

Ici Musique's programming centres on classical music, jazz, world music, folk, and chanson francophone, with specialty shows on new music, film scores, and cultural affairs. The network has a consistent national schedule; the former local morning programs were dropped in 2014. The network also carried some content from Bande à part, Radio-Canada's former French-language indie music service (1996–2013).

Coverage and Audience

Ici Musique reaches the majority of Quebec, all provincial capitals, and major francophone audiences in Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver through its transmitters and rebroadcasters. It streams nationally on the OHdio platform and website. The audience is francophone music lovers with a strong appetite for classical, jazz, and chanson.

Ownership

Ici Musique is owned and operated by the Société Radio-Canada, a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, a Crown corporation.

The Crown-corporation model gives the network its commercial-free character and its national mandate — and its vulnerabilities. The June 2014 cancellation of the network's local morning programs, including Beau temps, mauvais temps on Ottawa's CBOX-FM, was a direct consequence of the 2014–2015 CBC/Radio-Canada budget cuts, part of a decade-long pattern of parliamentary appropriation reductions that hit the French services alongside the English ones. The earlier 2007 elimination of local news and arts-calendar inserts on the English network had the same cause.

The network's distribution reflects the economics of serving a linguistic minority outside Quebec. For decades, the only full-fledged stations beyond Quebec were in Ottawa and Moncton; the gradual build-out to Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, and every provincial capital — some markets served only by rebroadcasters — was a slow, capital-intensive process. In smaller centres, the network depends on rebroadcasters rather than originating stations, and the schedule is overwhelmingly national.

The 2014 "Ici" rebranding — which gave the network its current name — was itself controversial in Quebec, where commentators saw the demotion of the historic "Radio-Canada" brand as a diminishment of the French services. But the Ici Musique name has now outlasted the controversy, and the network remains what it has been since 1974: the francophone public's national music service, commercial-free, from classical to chanson.

The flagship CBFX-FM's 100,000-watt signal from the Mount Royal candelabra tower is among the most powerful FM facilities in Canada, and the Maison Radio-Canada studios on René Lévesque Boulevard place the network at the physical centre of Montreal's French-language media district, alongside Ici Première's CBF-FM.

The network's prehistory begins even before 1974. In 1972, La Chaîne Culturelle (The Cultural Network) launched on four CBC-owned FM stations — CBF-FM Montreal, CBOF-FM Ottawa, CBV-FM Quebec City, and CBJ-FM Chicoutimi — airing mostly classical music with jazz and arts programming. The flagship's own story is older still: Montreal's CBF-FM began experimental broadcasts as VE9CB on 98.1 MHz on March 13, 1946, received a full licence as CBF-FM on 95.1 MHz in 1948, and in 1971 swapped frequencies with CBM-FM to land on 100.7 MHz — boosting to 100,000 watts and stereo in preparation for its flagship role. The 1974 launch of Le FM de Radio-Canada formalized the French FM network with stations in Montreal, Ottawa (CBOX-FM, signed on September 12, 1974, as CBOF-FM at 102.5 MHz with 84,000 watts from Camp Fortune), Quebec City, and Chicoutimi.

Growth was slow for decades: for a long stretch, the only full-fledged stations outside Quebec were in Ottawa and Moncton. The network gradually extended to cover the majority of Quebec, all provincial capitals (some via rebroadcasters), and major cities including Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver.

The September 2004 relaunch as Espace musique was the network's most turbulent moment. For about two weeks in late August and early September 2004, the network officially had no name at all — it "stunted" with a continuous stream of classical music and jazz, hourly newscasts simulcast from Première Chaîne, and announcements that la Chaîne culturelle had closed and would relaunch as Espace musique on September 7. The repositioning moved high-brow cultural programs to Première Chaîne and aimed Espace musique at a broader audience across classical, jazz, world, and folk music plus French-language song. Cultural commentators who considered the old largely classical format superior to its English counterpart cried foul — but Bureau of Broadcast Measurement ratings taken soon after suggested the service had indeed become more popular.

The June 2014 arrival of the Ici Musique name came with Radio-Canada's broader "Ici" rebranding, and with austerity: local morning programs that had aired across the network — such as Beau temps, mauvais temps on CBOX-FM, hosted by Jhade Montpetit — were cancelled in June 2014 amid cuts to the 2014–2015 CBC/Radio-Canada budget. The network's French-language indie counterpart, Bande à part (1996–2013), also ended in this era, leaving Ici Musique as Radio-Canada's sole national music network.

Today the network's flagship CBFX-FM transmits 100,000 watts from the Mount Royal candelabra tower, with studios at Maison Radio-Canada on René Lévesque Boulevard alongside Ici Première sister station CBF-FM — a physical symbol of the French services' Montreal heart.

Digital Presence

Ici Musique streams live on Radio-Canada's OHdio platform and website, with podcasts and on-demand programs. The network maintains active social media accounts in French. Its official listening portal is listed in the frontmatter. The network's history — from the 1974 Le FM de Radio-Canada launch through La chaîne culturelle, Espace musique, and the 2014 Ici rebrand — is documented on Wikipedia's Ici Musique page and in Radio-Canada corporate records.