The bespoke UFC Ultimate Sound streaming music platform developed by Tuned Global and ACX Music
It turns out there’s an interesting niche for custom-built streaming music platforms — one that giants like Spotify can’t readily cater to. Tuned Global and ACX Music are two companies building this newfound market – we interview the CEOs of both companies in our latest podcast episode.
It was once unthinkable that 100 million people would pay for a monthly music streaming subscription. Spotify now has 165 million premium customers alone, while Apple reports more than 660 million subscribers across its broader range of subscription services. Even YouTube Music has 50 million premium subscribers, a number once unthinkable for even the music industry’s biggest optimists.
This is good news for the music industry, especially for those who have traversed the valley from CDs to downloads to streaming. But with all that weight, today’s streaming music elephants are less nimble when it comes to bespoke platform iterations. Smaller, bespoke iterations make less sense for mega-platforms like Apple Music, but big brands, fitness companies, and other partners are now demanding platforms tailored to their purpose. This in turn opens up a whole new opportunity for smaller platform developers.
Case in point: the UFC. Last year, Digital Music News first reported on the UFC’s groundbreaking streaming platform, UFC Ultimate Sound, developed by ACX Music Globally tuned. The niche platform revolved around their cherished fighters and devoted fans, with music being an integral part of the app-based experience. One thing UFC Ultimate Sound definitely wasn’t about was a major streaming platform like YouTube.
Instead, the iteration was homemade and self-contained. For $5.99 per month (after a 30-day free trial)*, UFC Ultimate Sound subscribers can enjoy playlists curated by “music professionals” and fighters themselves, with the overarching goal of bringing fans and athletes together. Users have the ability to filter and track mixes of their favorite competitors along with similarly obsessed fans.
“It’s about bridging the gap between fans and their favorite sport,” said Svein Arne Sørgård, CEO of ACX Music. “With UFC Ultimate Sound, we can finally connect fans and fighters on a new level. Music brings people together and we gave them a place to meet.”
This type of bespoke streaming partnership is nothing new for Tuned Global, a company that DMN has partnered with to expand the niche streaming space. Regardless of whether the deals are for a global brand or a fitness company, a dedicated streaming service aims to target an audience. That means not They try to connect with everyone, which is why platforms like Spotify or YouTube make little sense for tailor-made applications.
In our latest podcast, we spoke to the heads of Tuned Global (CEO and co-founder Con Raso) and ACX Music (the aforementioned Sørgård).
Both gave us serious insight into the direction this space is taking and why we’re likely to see more niche apps like UFC Ultimate Sound in the months and years to come. And how amazingly fast these platforms can be built – that is, once the license is released.
*Correction: In our previous post, we reported that UFC Ultimate Sound was available for $9.99 per month after a 2-week trial. The updated price is $5.99 per month after a 30-day trial.