On today’s episode of the IMRO Podcast, we have insights and expertise from Brian d’Souza.

Brian is an award-winning sound artist, DJ, music producer and live performer with a masters in music psychology and sound design

In 2007, he founded the playlist curation and music strategy company Open Ear, going on to work with thousands of brands around the globe including Nike, Google, Dr. Martens, Selfridges, UEFA, Tate Modern, and many more.

In a wide-ranging conversation with Danny Carroll, Brian talked about the psychological benefits of music, his experience of establishing a brand identity via playlisting and some of the dos and don’ts for businesses using music.

1:00 - Brian Introduces himself discusses his background in psychology and music

3:25 - Research into music in business

6:00 - Establishing brand identity via music

9:20 - Discussion of brands Brian has worked with.

13:00 - Playlisting for Dr. Marten’s

15:00 - This isn’t background music, it’s foreground music

17:00 - Involving store staff in the music curation process

19:20 - Curating for key dates around the year, keeping it topical

21:00 - A sense of locality in music choices

22:30 - Doing a course in sound therapy and exploring the relaxing benefits of music

26:30 - Mistakes businesses make around music in their premises - speakers and architecture

31:55 - Musical mistakes - Christmas music

34:00 - Increasingly broad-minded listeners due to accessibility of music in the digital age

36:30 - Brian’s current projects and utilising sound therapy techniques

38:00 - Final recommendations for businesses

Find out more about Brian's work here: https://www.briandsouza.in/

www.ambientflo.com

& support his music here: auntieflo.bandcamp.com