Troubleshooting

Identify the Musicalism player — usually in a back office or IT cabinet. You should see a green light or an active display screen. If not, press the power button once (on rack-mounted players it’s on the rear). Wait a few minutes for the player to load music. Music should then start automatically, as long as it’s scheduled to play at the current time of day.

The player should be connected to your sound system with an audio cable (typically a 3.5mm jack plug). Check that one end is plugged into the player and the other into your sound system amplification. Cables sometimes get unplugged — for example when someone connects a temporary source, or after AV work. Make sure the cable is plugged into the correct audio socket on the player and that it’s secure at both ends.

Try opening any website from a computer on the same network as the player. If the connection is not working, contact your IT administrator. If it is working, move on.

Connect a pair of headphones to the audio output socket on the player. Do not put the headphones on or in your ears — keep them in your hands, as the output may be loud. You should be able to hear the music. If you do, unplug the headphones and reconnect the audio cable to the player, then continue to the next step. If you don’t hear anything and music is scheduled to play now, contact our helpdesk.

Check that the rest of your audio system is powered. Your amplifiers usually show a red or green light when on. If not, switch them on and allow about 20 seconds for the system to fully power up.

Check the amplifier volume controls. If you’re unsure about this equipment, contact your technical team or AV installer. Once the volume is right, leave the setting in place.

Check the main volume for your sound system — it may have been turned down by mistake. If your venue has multiple zones (bar, restaurant, reception, spa…), each one may have its own wall volume control.

If you have a zone selector that allows multiple audio inputs, check it’s set to the correct source — often labelled “Music”.

If you have multiple zones (bar, restaurant, reception, spa…), each zone may have its own local audio controls, usually on a wall. Check that the relevant zone (A, B or 1, 2, 3, 4…) has the correct source routed to it. The source is often labelled “Music”.

If there’s no local source control, the source selector may be on the amplifier itself, often in a back office or comms room. Confirm it’s set to the correct input — usually labelled “Music”.

Check that the audio cable from the Musicalism player is still connected to the amplifier. Players sometimes get unplugged when someone temporarily connects a different source.

If the source is correct and the player is connected, check that the right playlist is currently playing. On a tablet player, open the player tab from the bottom menu and confirm the playlist matches what you expect — use the “Revert” button to return to the normal weekly schedule. On a PC player with a monitor or touchscreen, select the channel that supplies the zone in question and use “Revert back to playlist” to restore the schedule.

Check the local volume control for the affected zone — it may have been turned down or off.

If the zone has an audio source selector, make sure it’s set to the correct source (often labelled “Music” or the name of the zone).

Locate the Musicalism player that delivers music to the affected channel. If you have multiple players, the channels each one delivers will be labelled on the front or rear. A green light on the front indicates it’s powered on. If not, press the power button on the rear once and wait for the player to load.

For multi-output players, each audio output socket is configured to deliver either one or two channels. For example, a 3-channel player is typically set up so that channels 1 and 2 are both delivered from the green output socket and channel 3 from the blue output socket.

The phono plugs on the other end of the cable connected to the green port must be plugged into different input channels on your sound system. If you connect both phono plugs to the same input, you’ll hear channels 1 and 2 mixed together in that zone.

Identify which output socket plays the channel you’re investigating — it should be labelled on the back. Plug headphones into that socket (keep them in your hands, not on your ears, as the level may be loud). On multi-channel players, you may hear one channel in the left earpiece and another in the right — that’s normal. If you hear the right tracks, reconnect the audio cable and continue. If you don’t hear anything and music should be playing at the current time, contact our support team.

As a final check, confirm the amplifier is switched on (a red or green light), allow about 20 seconds for the system to power up, and verify the amplifier’s volume is set correctly. If you’re unsure about the equipment, please contact your AV installer.

If only one or a few speakers in a zone are distorting while others play correctly, the issue is likely with those specific speakers — contact your AV supplier. If the distortion is heard through all speakers in the zone, continue to the next step.

If it happens only on certain tracks, the cause may be your sound system’s EQ setup, gain or limiter settings — contact your AV supplier. If it’s one specific track only, contact our helpdesk and include:

• Location and audio zone
• Track name and artist (if known)
• Date and time the track played (if name is unknown)

If every track is distorting, continue to the next step.

Connect headphones to the player’s output socket — keep them in your hands, not on your ears.

• If you hear distortion in the headphones — contact our helpdesk.
• If the headphones sound clean — playback from the player is OK and the issue lies further down the audio chain. Contact your AV supplier.

For multi-channel players, identify the correct output socket first (labelled on the back). You may hear one channel in each earpiece — that’s normal. When you’re done, unplug the headphones and reconnect the audio cable.

If you hear a track you’d like removed from your playlists, please collect the following before emailing us:

• Track name and/or artist, if known
• If the track is unknown, any details you remember — content, lyrics or style
• Approximate date and time the track played
• Location or channel where you heard it, if you have multiple music zones
• Reason you don’t want the track — so we can learn from it

Once we receive your request, our music team will identify and remove the track within 1–2 working days. Your player must be connected to the internet for the playlists to update.

Our music team regularly updates the tracks on your player. Contact your Account Manager to find out when your next update is due. If a particular update hasn’t completed, contact our support team and include the dates when you were expecting the changes to take effect.

Updates download to the player over the internet. If the player is offline, the update won’t reach it. Run through the “My music player is offline” checks first, then retry.