ABOUT US

Accent Music Service was started in 1965 by Mr. Paul Smallen, the owner of two radio stations, WEOK & WPDH.  It was used as another profit generator to help offset the cost of the radio transmitting equipment. In those early days, Muzak was broadcast on a sub-carrier frequency of the FM signal. In fact the FM transmitter was kept on at night primarily to fulfill the night requirements of the Muzak customers (no overnight DJ’s)!  The original Accent office was above a barber shop on Main Street in Downtown Poughkeepsie.  The name was chosen because of its obvious music reference and more importantly, it would appear at the top of the listings in the yellow pages.

Mr. Robert Dyson purchased the radio stations and Accent Music Service in 1970. The radio station sales people had the responsibility of selling not only advertising air time, but also background music as well.  The arrangement worked at the time. Over the next 10 years the radio stations grew to be the area powerhouses they are now.  Accent also grew, continuing to build its client base every year. During this time of growth, Accent Music Service started to offer sound system installation, Drive Thru intercom service, and Closed Circuit Television sales and installation. The name was changed to Accent Communications Systems to more accurately reflect these changes.  Another background music service called Highland Music was acquired shortly thereafter and absorbed into the ever growing Accent Communications Systems.

During the 1980’s ACS became more independent from the radio stations. Although still in the same building, it was run with its own manager, sales team, and technicians.  That independence was furthered with a major change in technology, namely the move to satellite technology to transmit the Muzak signal.  The FM sub-carrier had limited bandwidth and could only offer 3 channels. With satellite, Muzak could offer 17 channels of music making it more appealing to a wider range of businesses. By the end of the 90’s, the FM sub-carrier was no longer utilized severing the final ties with the radio stations.

In 1998 Mr. Robert Peplow was hired as General Manager of ACS. Robert brought over 10 years of commercial sound contracting experience with him.  Over the next 5 years, sweeping changes were made to improve efficiency, provide excellent customer service, and achieve the level of professionalism national clients expect. In 2003, Robert Peplow purchased ACS from Robert Dyson per his recommendation. Janet VanWhy, part of Dyson’s senior management team from the radio station, was instrumental in transitioning the ownership.

In the fall of 2008, Robert Peplow purchased a building and moved ACS across the Hudson River to Highland where it is today. The larger facility and more central location has allowed the company to grow and better serve its clients.

Today ACS provides service to national clients such as Lowes, Home Depot, Hannafords, McDonalds, Burger King, Applebees, Shoprite and is proud to offer Hudson Valley Businesses these same products and services. We offer personal friendly service, a highly qualified technical staff, over 80 channels of commercial free business music, and of course, the pride of ownership only a local business can have. Local service on a national level, that is what Accent Communications Systems is all about.