Audio specialists predict the top audio production trends for 2024.
What will happen next year is anyone’s guess. As it’s the time of year to make predictions, we look at the trends shaping our business in the world of audio-production. Time will tell, but as audio specialists we plan to be at the forefront of audio production, looking to continually develop our service to offer our clients the best and latest in audio production technology.
We will look at two areas in particular –bespoke music production and in-store radio production – while highlighting other audio production opportunities that clients should think about.
Before we look at trends in bespoke music production and in-store radio, it is worth highlighting the essential difference between these two forms of entertainment. Both are used in commercial settings, but they serve distinct functions and offer different levels of engagement.
Bespoke music channels focus on curated playlists that reflect your brand image and appeals to your specific audience demographic. Their purpose is to create a consistent and controlled background ambience often without any interruptions like announcements or advertisements.
In-store radio production is more interactive and can engage with customers directly. They are a mix of entertainment, information, marketing offers and promotions. The content is more varied than bespoke music channels.
Bespoke or customised brand music channels
In recent years, we have found more clients have moved away from generic playlists. Much of our work these days centres on creating unique, brand-specific music channels.
Clients in retail and hospitality as well as fitness and leisure centres place a high importance on brand identity and customer experience and are keen to use this relatively new medium to engage with customers and enhance their time in store, or while dining or working out.
We expect to see further demand from retail stores, hotels, and restaurants for customised brand music channels next year. There is little doubt that music can create a distinct ambiance and, in the right setting, complement a brand and foster a positive customer experience, resulting in repeat custom.
But bespoke music production or customised brand music channels are not just for retail and hospitality. We also predict more demand from corporate clients intent on improving office life. Who enjoys working in a library? Offices should be vibrant but at the same time respectful of people’s need to concentrate. Brand music channels can create such an environment. At the right level and right tone, brand music channels can boost office morale, productivity, and reinforce corporate culture.
Event organisers and entertainment venues are also recognising the power of custom music channels to improve the thematic experience of events, exhibitions, seminars, workshops, and venues. This can be good for attendees, exhibitors and hosts alike, contributing positively to the overall customer experience.
In the modern comms world, engagement is the buzz word, the be all and end all it would seem. Clients tells us that customer engagement is important to them and the main reason they want to have their own brand music channels.
Customer engagement with brand music channels
What we have seen so far and expect to see more of next year and in the years to come fall into two broad categories.
- In-store experience
First, a desire to improve in-store experience. When retail is facing challenges on so many fronts, retail clients are keen to enhance their offer. Music plays a big part in creating a friendly and welcoming atmosphere, influencing customer mood, and purchasing decisions. In other venues such as restaurants, hotels, leisure and fitness centres, brand music channels can transform the environment and build brand loyalty.
- Extension of digital platforms
It is possible to integrate your custom music channels into websites and mobile apps enabling customers to connect with your brand even when they are not in-store or sitting down to dinner at their favourite restaurant.
Collaborating with popular streaming platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, or SoundCloud to extend your brand reach is also possible, while you can also share music or playlists on social media.
And don’t forget your website and online digital advertising campaigns to maintain consistency and enhance brand identity across all your platforms.
Music plays a big part in our lives and curating music that resonates with your audience is a terrific way to express your brand identity and improve customer experience that will differentiate you from your competitors.
We anticipate more companies will turn to the power of customised music channels and will require audio specialists such as AVC Immedia to create their unique music output.
Recognising the customer environment
As you expect, we have a good ear for music. But what matters most is what reflects your brand and audience. Only by understanding your business, your customers, and the environment in which you operate, can we create a brand music channel with a distinctive audio experience.
Whether subtle background music or louder, more expansive sounds depend on what best reflects your customers, environment, and digital channels.
In-store radio production
Now let’s look at another area of audio production that we expect to grow in 2024: in-store radio production.
We are becoming accustomed to brands playing their own radio stations to promote their brand messages. This is all about creating a unique in-store atmosphere and using it to address a captive audience with the latest in-store promotions and special offers.
Customised in-store radio can pay for itself with targeted advertising where suppliers pay for vital airtime to reach customers intent on buying. Curated playlists and branded jingles are all part of an effective in-store radio channel that audio specialists can create.
As more retailers and hospitality venues turn to in-store radio, we expect to see more local content, including local news, weather, traffic, and community updates, including sponsorship opportunities and announcements.
Don’t discount interactive content such as customer shout-outs, competition winners, and song requests as more businesses turn to in-store radio production as a key marketing medium.
An increasing number of companies that have in-store radio will integrate with their digital tools, using apps and social media for song requests, customer feedback, birthday announcements and other interactions.
Supporting clients in-store radio stations
This is a whole subject and one that we will come back to in future blogs. However, as more companies are attracted to the idea of having their own in-store radio station, we anticipate our workload will increase as we advise clients on brand and audience alignment, content creation and curation, broadcasting and technical set-up, compliance, copyright and licencing, training, and staffing, and marketing and promotion.
There is much to think about when planning a radio station, yet we expect to see more in-store radio channels next year as clients use them to enhance customer experience and increase overall revenue.
What else will happen in audio-production?
We believe the trend towards more personalised, brand-centric audio in music and radio production will continue to evolve next year. We also predict an increase in demand for other services that will shape the audio production landscape. Here are a few to watch out for:
Immersive audio: Immersive audio experiences will grow with the rise of virtual and augmented reality. Creating 3D audio content that enhances virtual environments, making them more realistic and engaging, will enhance productions.
Podcast production services: The popularity of podcasts will continue to grow and therefore boost demand for specialised services in podcast production, including recording, editing, and sound design.
AI-driven audio content: We couldn’t get through an entire blog without mentioning AI. Watch out for ways in which AI will create personalised audio content and improve the already exceptional standards in sound quality.
Sound branding consultancy: The entire sound or audio branding experience will become a speciality; much the same way as corporate and brand identity became such a powerful marketing tool.
Interactive audio for gaming and apps: As gaming and mobile apps integrates with more interactive elements, the demand for specialised audio production services that cater to these interactive experiences will grow.
Audio restoration and archiving services: Preservation of historical audio content through restoration and digitizing old audio recordings will become mainstream and, indeed, a necessity to capture and preserve our past.
That’s our predictions for audio production in 2024. It will be interesting to look back a year from now and see how much has come to pass, what has been the biggest game changer and what progress has been made on a number of these fronts. One thing that is clear is that audio production will move towards creating unique sound identities for brands, enhancing customer engagement through tailored audience experiences.
We are at the beginning of an explosion in bespoke music and in-store radio production, and as technology evolves, it is an exciting time to be at the forefront of audio production.