Special Requests

What Special Requests does

Special Requests is a privately held, founder-operated music promotion service established in 2016 by Alvin Collis in Maidenhead, United Kingdom. The company promotes cutting-edge electronic music releases to a subscribed network of worldwide influential DJs, tastemakers, and specialist radio presenters, securing club plays, festival support, radio plugging, interviews, and guest mixes for independent labels and artists. Its core proposition is a personal, quality-over-quantity alternative to volume-based promotion, with services bundled as integrated campaigns delivered directly to clients without intermediaries.

The business operates on a professional services revenue model, charging per-campaign fees to independent record labels and electronic music artists. Its customer base spans notable independent labels including Heavenly Recordings, Domino Recording Co., Mute Records, Phantasy Sound, Bella Union, Skint Records, Exploited, DEEWEE, and PRAH Recordings, alongside artists such as Metronomy, Roman Flügel, Factory Floor, and Galaxians. Distribution is direct-to-client via founder-led relationship management, with marketing reliant on a website portfolio showcasing current and past campaigns plus industry word-of-mouth.

Special Requests is not a technology company; it has no proprietary platform, software products, or AI/ML capabilities, and the value delivered rests on the founder's three decades of music industry experience (including prior A&R and club promotion roles at the Wall of Sound label) and the curated DJ/tastemaker network. The company has no disclosed funding, parent company, or subsidiary structure, and operates with 1–10 employees as a boutique niche player in the independent electronic music ecosystem.

Name

Special Requests

Website

https://specialrequestspromo.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Special Requests is a UK-based, founder-led boutique promotion service that plugs electronic music releases from independent labels and artists to a subscribed worldwide network of influential DJs and tastemakers via club and radio promotion campaigns.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Music Promotion Services

NAICS

Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418), Other Services Related to Advertising (54189)

SIC

Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Brand Partnerships & Music Placement Services (Non-Exclusive Brand Deals) (MPAIALAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Backstage, Artist & Sports Access (HSACAMAE)

Keywords

• Music promotion services
• Electronic music promotion
• Radio plugging
• DJ promotion campaigns
• Club and festival promotion

Headquarters

HQ city

Maidenhead

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Music Promotion Services: Special Requests generates revenue by providing music promotion services to independent labels and artists. The company promotes electronic music releases to their network of worldwide influential DJs, tastemakers, and radio platforms, charging fees for campaign execution that include DJ plugging, radio promotion, and securing support plays at clubs, festivals, and radio stations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Special Requests is a music promotion and plugging service that promotes cutting-edge electronic music releases from independent labels and artists to a subscribed global network of influential DJs, tastemakers, specialist radio presenters, and national radio shows. The service delivers club and festival promotion, specialist radio plugging, securing interviews and guest mixes, and gathering upfront DJ support, charging per-campaign fees for execution.

Product overview

Special Requests is a single unified promotional service for independent labels and artists, specializing exclusively in electronic music. The company provides music promotion to DJs worldwide through a subscribed network of influential DJs, tastemakers, club DJs, and specialist radio presenters. The service focuses on quality over quantity, working with independent labels on music that aligns with their expertise. Services include club promotion, specialist radio plugging, securing interviews and guest mixes, and gathering upfront support from DJs who can break records through plays at clubs, festivals, and radio.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Music Promotion Services

Named customers20 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• AWAL: Artist services platform (now part of Sony Music) providing distribution, marketing, and promotion support to independent artists and labels. Comparable as a broader, tech-enabled alternative for the same indie label/artist customer base.
• TuneCore: Large-scale digital music distribution and ancillary services company serving independent artists. Touches the indie promotion space through distribution-to-promotion bundles, though primarily a distribution-first platform.
• Kobalt Music Group: Music services company spanning publishing, distribution, and label services with technology-enabled marketing tools. Adjacent as a larger, broader-scope music services operator overlapping with indie label customers.
• Empire Distribution: Independent label, distribution, and artist services company with a sizable marketing/promotion infrastructure. Comparable as a much larger indie music services operator with overlapping label/artist clientele.
• Believe: Global digital music company offering distribution, marketing, and promotional services to independent labels and artists. Overlaps with Special Requests in label/artist promotion but operates at much greater scale across distribution and broader marketing services.

Emerging players

• UnitedMasters: Tech-forward artist services platform offering distribution and marketing tools to independent musicians. Targets the same indie artist segment but competes via a self-serve product rather than a high-touch human plugger model.

Direct peers

• RamJam Corporation: US-based boutique music promotion agency focused on electronic, indie, and alternative releases. Operates the same model of plugging records to tastemakers, radio, and clubs on a per-campaign basis, making it the most directly comparable peer.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/SpecialRequests

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Special Requests