Kollekt.fm’s Atmosphere will find the right tunes for every company

First it was a music service with which consumers could discover and recommend playlists. Now Kollekt.fm launched a new service for businesses and brands, called Atmosphere. The service matches you with a music expert that will set up music playlists for your stores.

Finding the right music

When you enter a store or a restaurant, you want the place to look good. Equally important is if the place also sounds good. Just like its appearance, the music you hear contributes to the overall feeling you experience in the shop. Atmosphere could be a new way for stores to improve their customer experience, as one of their curators could help you find the right tune for your brand. Prices for the service vary, because the curator decides his price. Usually they cost between €150,- and €300,- a month.

Atmosphere’s curator pool

Atmosphere’s curator pool consists of a selected group of artists, dj’s, and other music lovers. Based on your wishes, Atmosphere matches you with one of its curators. The idea is that a curator sets up a playlist of around 100 different tracks every month, that fits the “Music Identity” of your company. Rolf Dröge, CEO of Kollekt.fm: “Companies often do not know what kind of music attracts their customers, and how they can find music that fits with their company identity. Our curators have years of experience in doing exactly this.”

Ideas pop up unexpected

How did Kollekt.fm get the idea of music playlists as a B2B service? It actually happened quite coincidentally. At the time that Kollekt.fm was still a music service for consumers only, a café in Amsterdam called Coffee & Coconuts was interested in using the App to set up playlists for inside the café. That made the Kollekt.fm team develop the idea of music as a service for companies, which became Atmosphere. Dröge: “You should always keep your eyes open for possibilities crossing your way.”

The next challenge

Before the official launch of the service, Atmosphere was already being used by among others restaurant Wagamama, eco friendly supermarket Marqt, and eyewear company Ace & Tate. Now the startup is working on a marketing strategy to get more businesses to find out about them. Atmosphere will launch a blog soon, in which they will get deeper into topics such as the effects of music on the brain, and how branding works in relation to music: “We are very interested in the scientific knowledge about branding in a musical context. In our blog we will share new insights and ideas”, Dröge reveals.

The right mindset to grow

With the blog, Atmosphere hopes to attract more customers and curators, but Kollekt.fm is also developing new ways to improve its service. Dröge: “We are developing software that enables us to have more contact moments with the customer. It is very important for us to get feedback from them. This will help us improve the service.” Contrary to Kollekt.fm’s music service for consumers, Atmosphere has the license rights of all the music in the playlists that the curators compose. This makes it an independent service and enables them to use the music for commercial purposes. Dröge sees the new service as an important step forward. His advice to other startups: “It is always important to keep your eyes open, and see possibilities. When you want to grow, you need to have patience, be curious and not be afraid to try something new.”