Free music direction for your venue
The right music for your café, shop, restaurant or hotel.
Hear a playlist made for your kind of place, answer five quick questions, and get a first direction for your sound in about a minute. Then a full music brief, reviewed by Ben, and a clear way to play it legally. Free.
A sonic identity, not a playlist
Most brands have visual guidelines. Almost none have thought seriously about sound.
That's not because sound doesn't matter. It's because the expertise to get it right has only been available to brands with the budget for a music supervisor.
Sound Conductor makes that practice accessible — to every café, shop, restaurant and hotel. Not by automating taste, but by putting it within reach.
How it works
How does it work?
- 01
Listen
Pick your kind of place and hear the Soundscape Ben keeps for it.
- 02
Five quick questions
Who you welcome, how people should feel, how many sites, what you need most.
- 03
Your first direction
A name for your sound, one clear paragraph and the playlist that fits — in about a minute.
- 04
Go further, then play it
A full music brief reviewed by Ben, and a plan to play it legally in your space.
Who it's for
Who is Sound Conductor for?
Cafés, restaurants, bars, shops, salons, spas and hotels that know music matters but haven't had the expertise to act on it. Brand and creative directors who've finished the visual identity and know something is still missing. Event producers, venue programmers and music people who want to think seriously about what they're building.
And anyone who has ever handed the aux cable to whoever happened to be in the room — and known that wasn't good enough.
Listen first
Soundscapes: playlists for every kind of place
Eleven playlists Ben curates and keeps up to date, one for each kind of venue. Play the one closest to yours for ideas — then make it your own in the app.
Café Culture
Cafés, bakeries, brunch spots
Play on Spotify →Fine Dining
Restaurants and upscale dining rooms
Play on Spotify →Bar & Night
Wine bars, cocktail lounges, late-night venues
Play on Spotify →Contemporary Fashion
Independent boutiques and concept stores
Play on Spotify →Urban Fashion
Streetwear, sneakers, youth-led retail
Play on Spotify →Concept & Lifestyle
Bookshops, homeware, galleries, boutique hotels
Play on Spotify →Beauty & Cosmetics
Beauty retailers, nail and skin studios
Play on Spotify →The Salon
Hair salons and barbershops
Play on Spotify →Spa & Wellness
Spas, yoga and wellness studios
Play on Spotify →Gym & Activewear
Gyms and fitness studios
Play on Spotify →Grocery Star
Delis, food halls and premium grocers
Play on Spotify →
For listening and ideas. Playing music to customers needs a business licence — see the questions below.
Three depths, all free
What do I get, and what does it cost?
Every depth is free. The app suggests the right one from your answers, and you can go deeper at any time.
Standard
Free · A single site that wants the right mood
- → The Soundscape for your type of business
- → Three reference artists and what to avoid
- → One step to take this week
Sound Strategy
Free · A few sites, or music that should feel consistent
- → A full sound strategy in plain English
- → Artist references with reasons
- → Music for each part of the day
- → Reviewed by Ben
Deep Dive
Free · Brands that want a sound of their own
- → A complete report on your sound, with a presentation deck
- → 15 reference artists, from familiar to discovery
- → Music for each part of the day
- → Reviewed personally by Ben
Making it play
Who puts the music in place?
Your direction is yours to keep. A programme that plays all day, every day needs at least 300–400 tracks, refreshed by about 20% every month, so it never feels repetitive to your staff or your customers. Choose who builds and runs it.
Sound Conductor builds it for you
A paid service: Ben's team builds your full programme and keeps it fresh, on a licensed platform, under your own brand if you like.
You build it yourself
Take your direction and build the programme on your own, with a licensed business music service.
A provider of your choice
Hand your direction to the music provider you already work with, or one you choose.
From Ben
Who is behind Sound Conductor?
I've spent more than 25 years as a music supervisor — on set and in post-production rooms with directors, in the French Touch era in Paris and at the Rex Club, licensing music in New York, in the Ibiza underground, and at Mood Media International, programming music for more than 150 brands. Along the way I built a method: a way of thinking about sound that goes well beyond picking good records.
Sound Conductor is that method, turned into a tool. It asks the right questions, it draws on a knowledge of artists I have built over decades — and I review every report myself.
It's free. If you take your direction and run with it yourself, that's completely fine — it's yours. And if you'd like help bringing it to life — building the full programme, keeping it fresh, keeping your sound coherent as you grow — that's where we work together. The tool opens the door. What happens next is up to you.
— Ben Dumazot
“I trust Ben’s taste completely.”Brands Ben has programmed for include
- Burberry
- L'Occitane
- McDonald's
- Jil Sander
Questions
Questions business owners ask
Can I play Spotify or Apple Music in my shop or café?
No. Personal Spotify and Apple Music subscriptions are for private listening only — their terms don't cover playing music to customers. A business needs a licensed business music service, or the right public-performance licences. Soundscapes are for listening and ideas; your report shows a legal way to play the music in your space.
What music can I legally play in a business in France?
Playing recorded music to customers in France means paying SACEM (for authors and composers) and the SPRE fee (for performers and producers), usually collected together. "Royalty-free" music doesn't remove the SPRE fee — French courts confirmed this in the Saint Maclou case. A licensed business music service, or Sound Conductor, can set this up with you.
How many songs do I need for my shop, café or restaurant?
A programme that plays all day, every day needs at least 300–400 tracks, with about 20% refreshed every month. That's the minimum for it never to feel repetitive — first to your staff, who hear it all day, and so to your customers. A list of 40–50 songs repeats within hours. Your Sound Conductor report gives you the starting tracks and the direction the full programme grows from.
How do I choose music for my restaurant or shop?
Start from your customers, not your own taste: who you welcome, how they should feel, and how that changes from morning to evening. Set the energy for each part of the day, keep lyrics and volume in check, and decide what should never play. Sound Conductor walks you through exactly these questions and turns your answers into a direction.
Is it free?
Yes. Listening to the Soundscapes, your first direction and all three depths of report (Standard, Sound Strategy and Deep Dive) are free. You only pay if you'd like Sound Conductor to build and run your music programme for you.
How long does it take?
About a minute for your first direction. The full brief takes 10–20 minutes depending on the depth you choose, the report is ready in a few minutes, and Ben reviews every report personally and follows up within two working days.
Who is behind Sound Conductor?
Sound Conductor is Ben Dumazot, a music supervisor with more than 25 years of experience — on set and in post-production with directors, the French Touch era in Paris and the Rex Club, music licensing in New York, the Ibiza underground and Mood Media International. He has programmed music for more than 150 global brands, including Burberry, L'Occitane, McDonald's and Jil Sander. The free tool encodes his method and his hand-curated artist knowledge; Ben reviews every report himself.
Does it work outside France?
Yes. Sound Conductor works in English and French, reads your city to reflect the local scene, and the licensing advice adapts to where you are.
Early access
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