What ATS Studios does

ATS Studios is a France-based, privately held audio production and sound communication company headquartered in Lyon, founded in 1985. It serves French-speaking businesses with two core service lines: 'Accueil Téléphonique' (professional telephone greetings covering pre-answer messages, custom IVR/SVI, on-hold music, answering machines, and professional mobile answering) and 'Communication Sonore' (sound identity/branding, custom playlists, radio spots, podcasts, voice-over, sound design, animated tutorials, and sound QR codes). The company claims market leadership in French telephone sound identity since 1995 and operates with a fully in-house creative team including composers, sound engineers, voice actors, corporate journalists, and a Creative Director.

Production capacity is anchored by a 1,200m² Studios Palace facility acquired in 2023 and three additional digital studios opened in 2019, supplemented by the 2017-acquired Brandy Sound subsidiary. The technology stack is largely studio-based and human-driven, with proprietary methodologies (a 5-step sound identity creation process, an immersive Sound Workshop, and a color-to-sound algorithm for the '5ème Sens du Vin' vertical) and a centralized multi-branch audio programming tool delivered through a partnership with Tshoko that gives access to 52 million HD tracks.

Revenue is generated primarily through project-based professional services billed on multi-year contracts with quote-based pricing, supplemented by recurring royalty-free music library access and channel sales via a partner network of telephony operators, installers, and integrators. Go-to-market combines direct enterprise sales with a channel/reseller motion and content-led demand generation (blog, podcasts, white papers, trade shows). No external funding rounds, revenue figures, or AI/ML capabilities are disclosed in the available data.

Name

ATS Studios

Legal name

ATS Studios

Website

https://ats-studios.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

ATS Studios is a Lyon-based audio production and sound communication company founded in 1985 that creates professional telephone greetings, sound identities, podcasts, and sound design for French-speaking businesses across retail, hospitality, government, and wine verticals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Lyon

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Custom Audio Production: Custom composition and production of telephone greetings, sound identities, jingles, podcasts, radio spots, voice-overs, and sound design for businesses.
2. Telephone Greeting Solutions: Professional telephone greeting systems including pre-answer messages, IVR, music on hold, and answering machines for businesses.
3. Music Library Access: Access to ATS Studios' music library with royalty-free tracks for use in telephone waiting messages and point of sale environments.
4. Sound Branding Consulting: Strategic consulting services for developing and deploying comprehensive audio identity across multiple communication channels.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

ATS Studios is a Lyon-based professional audio production studio that creates bespoke sound assets for businesses, including professional telephone greetings (pre-answer messages, custom IVR, hold music, answering machines) and broader sound communication services (sound identity, playlists, radio spots, podcasts, voice-over, sound design, sound QR codes). It sells these as custom production projects and multi-year contracts to French enterprises, retailers, banks, public-sector bodies, and hospitality groups, leveraging its in-house composers, sound engineers, voice actors, and a 52-million-track partnership with Tshoko.

Product overview

ATS Studios is a French audio production and sound communication company founded in 1985, offering two core product lines: Professional Telephone Greeting solutions (Accueil Téléphonique) including pre-answer messages, custom IVR, telephone waiting music, answering machines, and mobile answering services; and Sound Communication services (Communication Sonore) encompassing sound identity/branding, music playlists, radio spots, podcasts, voice-over, sound design, animated tutorials, and sound QR codes. The company also operates the Le 5ème Sens du Vin innovation translating wine characteristics into music, and manages MobilitebyATS for remote message management. ATS Studios serves businesses across France through multiple production facilities including Studios Palace (acquired 2023) and Brandy Sound (acquired 2017).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Accueil Téléphonique (Professional Telephone Greeting) Professional telephone greeting and waiting-message solutions including pre-answer messages, custom IVR (SVI), telephone waiting music, answering machines, and professional mobile answering services, designed to strengthen a business's professional image on inbound calls.
• Communication Sonore (Sound Communication) Comprehensive sound communication services including sound identity/branding, music playlists, radio spots, podcasts, voice-over, sound design, animated tutorials, and sound QR codes that help businesses diversify their communications and engage audiences through sound.
• Identité Sonore (Sound Identity) Custom sound branding and audio signature creation giving businesses a unique sonic identity aligned with their brand values, produced through ATS Studios' proprietary 5-step methodology (meeting, sound workshop, cold debrief, composition, presentation with adjustments).
• Playlist (Custom Music Playlists) Customized music playlists for retail environments and points of sale, created in partnership with Tshoko, featuring over 52 million HD tracks plus integration of internal messages and personalized sound design.
• Spot Radio (Radio Advertising Production)

Quantifiable outcome

• 73% of clients report improved mood in environments with appropriate music
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Studios PalacecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Acquisition of Studios Palace in 2023, a 1200m2 production facility that expanded ATS Studios' recording and production capabilities. The facility features multiple recording studios and hosts specialized talent including sound designers and composers.
• Brandy SoundcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Acquisition of Brandy Sound in 2017, expanding ATS Studios' capabilities in sound branding and audio production services.
• TshokocoreTechnology or IntegrationStrategic partnership for point of sale sound solutions. Tshoko and ATS Studios offer a complete turnkey solution for professionalizing retail audio with customized playlists, integrated audio messages, personalized sound design, and a jukebox option. The partnership leverages access to 52 million HD tracks combined with ATS Studios' expertise in professional audio production.
• Groupe ConvergenceminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorKey partnership for business telephony, where Groupe Convergence integrates ATS Studios' telephone greeting solutions into their telecommunications offerings for business customers.
• BS TraiteurminorOthersCatering partner for company events and afterwork gatherings, providing food and beverage services for corporate events at the studios.
• Marco BusettacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreative Director leading the sound identity creation process. Coordinates composers and sound engineering teams to transform strategic briefs into musical compositions that reflect brand essence.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• MassiveMusic: MassiveMusic (Amsterdam, part of Songtradr) is one of the largest global sound branding agencies, building sonic identities, music strategy, and audio brand systems for enterprises. It is a direct peer in the sound identity and audio branding category, with greater international scale than ATS Studios.
• Antfood: Antfood is a Brooklyn-based music and sound design studio that produces sonic branding, original composition, and audio production for advertising and brand work. It is comparable to ATS Studios as a mid-sized creative audio production house serving brand-direct and agency clients.
• amp (amp.sound): amp is an Amsterdam-based sound branding agency creating sound logos, brand music, and audio strategies for global brands. It competes in the same enterprise sonic-identity category and represents the international, mid-sized agency model that ATS Studios could scale toward.
• Sixième Son: Sixième Son is a Lyon/Paris-based sound identity agency that creates sonic logos, brand sound design, and audio branding strategy for major French and international brands. It is the most direct domestic competitor to ATS Studios, operating in the same French sonic-branding niche with a comparable B2B agency model.

Others

• Jamendo Licensing: Jamendo Licensing (Luxembourg) provides royalty-free music licensing for businesses, retail, and media use. It is adjacent to ATS Studios' Bibliothèque Musicale and Tshoko-powered playlists as a competing source of rights-cleared music for commercial environments.
• Tshoko: Tshoko is a French B2B music platform for retail, hospitality, and point-of-sale sound environments with a catalog of HD tracks. It is simultaneously a strategic partner of ATS Studios (centralized programming tool, 52M-track access) and an ecosystem participant in the same ambient music-for-business category.

Broad incumbents

• Stingray Digital: Stingray (Montreal) operates music-for-business, in-store media, and commercial audio services including Stingray Music for retail environments. It overlaps with ATS Studios' retail/hospitality playlist and sound deployment offering but at much greater scale and across broader geographies.
• Mood Media: Mood Media is a global leader in in-store music, sensory marketing, and digital signage for retail and hospitality. It addresses the same retail/hospitality ambient-sound customer need ATS Studios serves via playlists and sound design, but at vastly larger scale and as part of a broader multisensory marketing portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ATS_Studios

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ATS Studios