Harrow Music Service

What Harrow Music Service does

Charanga Ltd, which trades under the brand Harrow Music Service, is a UK-based music and arts education technology company founded in 1997 by Mark Burke and Paul Fletcher and operating as part of Ovation Education from its Brighton headquarters. The company operates a cloud-based teaching and learning platform hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS) European data centres in Ireland, delivering configurable curriculum-aligned resources, content-building and personalisation tools, music technology, online learning capabilities, and CPD and teacher training. It serves primary (ages 5-11) and secondary (ages 11-18) schools, music services and hubs, and government education departments across 64 countries, with named deployments in the UK, Wales, Scotland, the US, Australia (South Australia), New Zealand, South Africa, Denmark, and the Czech Republic.

The platform is organised around two flagship programmes: Musical School for primary education and Charanga Secondary for secondary education. Core technical components include the YuStudio cloud-based digital audio workstation (DAW) used by over 100,000 students, the Yumu secure student workspace (over 2.5 million weekly student users), Music Notepad for notation, Quickbeats for rhythm and beat creation, VIP Studio Sessions covering six contemporary music genres, Music and the Modern World curriculum units, and the My Workspace teacher area. The Secondary Music Suite extends the platform through integrations with MusicFirst, Rising Software, and Focus on Sound. The platform holds GDPR, COPPA, FERPA, ISO 27001 (via AWS), Cyber Essentials, and WCAG AA compliance certifications and supports a dedicated SEND pathway.

Charanga monetises primarily through subscription-based licensing sold to schools, music services, and educational authorities, supplemented by 30-day free trials of Musical School and Charanga Secondary. Distribution combines direct sales to schools, channel sales through music services and hubs, and government procurement, most notably the Welsh Government-funded Charanga Cymru (free access to all Welsh schools with over 90% adoption) and a partnership with the Government of South Australia Department for Education. Co-development partnerships with cultural institutions including the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Royal Shakespeare Company, Trinity College London (Arts Award), Youth Music, and Young Sounds UK extend the platform into orchestral music, Shakespeare education, formal qualifications, and support for disadvantaged young people.

Name

Harrow Music Service

Legal name

Charanga Ltd

Website

https://harrowmusicservice-elearning.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Charanga Ltd (Harrow Music Service) operates a cloud music education platform serving primary and secondary schools in 64 countries. It offers curriculum content, the YuStudio DAW, and Yumu workspaces via subscription licensing, with government procurement enabling national-scale adoption.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Music Education Software

NAICS

Educational Services (611), Educational Support Services (611710), Exam Preparation and Tutoring (611691)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Online / Virtual Music Instruction & Platforms (EDAMANAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Music Education & Practice Software (Ear training, tutors, metronome tools) (MPAIAIAJ), Music Exam Prep & Certification (ABRSM, Trinity, RCM, AP Music Theory) (EDAMANAJ), Music Production Workflow & Project Management Tools (Session management, asset/versioning) (MPAIAIAK)

Keywords

• Music education platform
• School music curriculum
• Digital audio workstation
• Music teaching software
• Primary music resources

Headquarters

HQ city

Brighton

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Subscription Licensing: Schools and music services access Charanga's platform through subscription-based licences. Each subscription includes a designated Lead Teacher for oversight. Access is provided for a specified, agreed-upon length of time with annual or multi-year billing.
2. Free Trials: 30-day free trials offered for both Musical School and Charanga Secondary with no payment details required. Fully-functional trial period to drive conversion to paid subscriptions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Harrow Music Service (operating the Charanga platform) provides cloud-based music education software subscriptions to schools, music services and government education departments. Its core offerings are Musical School (a primary music resource for ages 5–11) and Charanga Secondary (a secondary music programme for ages 11–18), supported by the YuStudio cloud-based DAW, the Yumu student workspace, curriculum-aligned teaching resources, creative tools, and CPD & Training for teachers.

Product overview

Charanga is a platform-plus-modules music education ecosystem operated by Harrow Music Service. It consists of two core programmes — Musical School (for primary students aged 5–11) and Charanga Secondary (for secondary students aged 11–18) — both built around the cloud-based YuStudio DAW and the Yumu secure student workspace. Teachers use My Workspace to manage resources, lessons, and student groups. The platform also includes curriculum-specific modules (VIP Studio Sessions, Music and the Modern World, Charanga Sing), creative tools (Music Notepad, Quickbeats), a Bonus Library of supplementary resources, Arts Award integration with Trinity College London, and a dedicated SEND pathway. CPD & Training and Charanga Connect provide ongoing professional development. The Secondary Music Suite extends the platform through partnerships with MusicFirst, Rising Software, and Focus on Sound.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Charanga Musical School: Multi-award-winning primary music resource for students aged 5-11 with lessons, customisable library of songs, creative tools, and interactive teaching resources.
• Charanga Secondary
• Yumu
• YuStudio
• Quickbeats
• Music Notepad
• Charanga Cymru
• Charanga International

Products and services

• Musical School Multi-award-winning primary music subscription resource for students aged 5–11, providing week-by-week lessons, a customisable library of songs, creative tools, and interactive teaching resources including Charanga's Schemes, Freestyle library, Instruments, Charanga Sing, SEND support, and Yumu student workspace.
• Charanga Secondary Secondary music subscription programme for students aged 11–18, featuring the YuStudio cloud-based DAW, ready-made curriculum resources (Music and the Modern World, VIP Studio Sessions), a Bonus Library, and Yumu student workspaces — with no seat limits on software access.
• 30-Day Free Trial Programme Self-serve 30-day free trial of the Musical School and Charanga Secondary programmes, with no payment details required, designed to drive conversion to paid annual subscriptions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 96% of users report positive impact on quality of teaching and pupil attainment
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core, regional and minor.

• Welsh Government / National Music Service for WalesflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Charanga Cymru platform launched 2022, funded by Welsh Government. Fully bilingual digital music platform for all Welsh schools and music services. Supports delivery of Wales' National Plan for Music Education with over 90% school adoption rate.
• Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCharanga partners with Scotland's national orchestra to help more young people experience live orchestral music. Teachers and students access bespoke educational materials alongside RSNO's most popular digital education resources directly from the Charanga platform, bringing world-renowned orchestra expertise into classrooms globally.
• Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGroundbreaking collaboration to launch the Shakespeare Curriculum - 'the most important development in the teaching of Shakespeare in a generation'. Charanga builds bespoke digital platform distilling RSC's award-winning teaching approaches. First expansion into arts education beyond music.
• Youth MusiccoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCharanga is a proud supporter and sponsor of Youth Music, providing free YuStudio licences to all Youth Music-funded partners with current grants. Partnership supports disadvantaged young people aged 0-25 in making, learning and earning in music. Originally established during COVID-19 to overcome barriers to music-making.
• Trinity College London (Arts Award)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership supporting young people achieving Arts Award qualifications. Charanga provides resources for Discover, Explore and Bronze awards including interactive digital portfolios for students, partnership discounts and support webinars.
• Young Sounds UKcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDevelopment of Individual Learning Plan (ILP) tool supporting young people's independent music learning and progression. Inspired by Young Sounds UK's Furthering Talent programme supporting students from low-income families continuing music education.
• Government of South Australia Department for EducationcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorStrategic partnership to support primary and instrumental music education in South Australia schools. Regional adaptation of Charanga platform for Australian curriculum requirements.
• Danske Ensembler, Orkestre og Operainstitutioner (DEOO)regionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership to help build cooperation between music and arts stakeholders and formal music education in Danish schools.
• Czech Republic Education PartnersregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFollowing EU-funded programme, Charanga works with Czech partners to develop digital content for music curriculum and embed Czech Charanga platform into primary and music schools.
• Amazon Web Services (AWS)coreTechnology or IntegrationCharanga's data centre provision and cloud support services. AWS reached 85% renewable energy use across data centres in April 2022 and is on path to 100% renewable energy by 2025. AWS services comply with ISO 27001.
• Ovation Education (Parent Company)flagshipOthersCharanga is an Ovation Education company. Additionally, Charanga Terms state Charanga is an Achieve Partners company.
• Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA)minorOthersLicences the copying and sharing of certain content. Most UK schools already have Education Licence from CLA in place.
• Printed Music Licensing Limited (PMLL)minorOthersLicences the photocopying of printed music and digitally downloaded printed music. Most UK schools have Schools Printed Music Licence (SPML) in place.
• Christian Copyright Licensing International (CCLI)minorOthersProvides licences to churches and schools for various uses of certain content including Collective Worship Copyright Licence and Music Reproduction Licence.
• Performing Right Society (PRS)minorOthersLicences performances of music in public venues. Schools report performances to PRS as part of licence obligations.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Ableton: Ableton is a leading professional DAW with a growing education program. While not a direct school-wide platform, it competes for the same music technology budget and student mindshare at the secondary and post-16 level.
• MakeMusic (SmartMusic): MakeMusic's SmartMusic is an established K-12 music education platform focused on instrumental practice, assessment, and method books. It competes with Charanga Secondary in instrumental teaching workflows and serves a similar teacher audience at scale.

Direct peers

• Noteflight: Noteflight is a cloud-based music notation and composition platform widely used in schools. It directly overlaps with Charanga's Music Notepad and YuStudio notation features and serves the same music educator buying centre.
• BandLab for Education: BandLab for Education offers a free, browser-based DAW and social music creation platform for schools. It is the most aggressive free-tier competitor to YuStudio and overlaps in target customers (K-12 music teachers).
• Rising Software (Music Reader / Music Goals): Rising Software produces music education software (Music Reader, Music Goals) used in UK secondary schools. Like Focus on Sound, it integrates into Charanga's Secondary Music Suite but is also a competing standalone resource.
• Focus on Sound: Focus on Sound provides interactive music theory and listening resources used in UK secondary schools. It integrates into Charanga's Secondary Music Suite but is also a partial substitute for parts of Charanga Secondary's curriculum content.
• MusicFirst: MusicFirst is a K-12 music education platform offering cloud-based DAWs, curriculum, and assessment tools. It is the closest US-headquartered direct competitor to Charanga's Musical School and Charanga Secondary, and notably already integrates with Charanga's Secondary Music Suite.
• Soundtrap (by Spotify): Soundtrap is a cloud-based DAW with a dedicated education tier used widely in schools. It competes head-on with YuStudio on browser-based music creation, but lacks Charanga's full curriculum, assessment, and teacher CPD stack.

Regional players

• Twinkl: Twinkl is a UK-based digital educational resources marketplace with music teaching resources. It targets the same UK primary school teacher buyer as Charanga Musical School, though with a broader cross-curricular rather than music-specialist focus.

Emerging players

• MuseScore: MuseScore is a free, open-source music notation platform increasingly used in schools. It competes with Charanga's Music Notepad on price (free vs. subscription) and is a credible alternative for budget-constrained schools.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/harrow-music-service

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries4 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 Harrow Music Service