Startle Music

What Startle Music does

Startle Music (legal entity: Startle Technologies Limited) is a UK-headquartered private company that provides managed background music, branded radio, digital signage, and branded TV solutions for multi-site retail and hospitality businesses, alongside proprietary plug-and-play hardware and AV installation services. The core technology is the Studio platform, a cloud-based centralized management system that enables head offices to control music and visual content across all locations with real-time visibility, performance insights, and granular role-based permissions that prevent unauthorized content overrides. Playlists are curated and continuously refined by in-house musicologists, with the company emphasizing data-driven curation designed to drive specific outcomes such as energy, dwell time, and sales.

The company monetizes through recurring annual subscriptions for managed music and digital signage, supplemented by hardware sales of the proprietary Startle Player and professional AV installation services. Pricing is quote-based, customized to the number of locations and the scope of music, signage, or combined service. Go-to-market is enterprise-focused direct sales targeting multi-site brand head offices, using a discovery call with free brand sound assessment as the primary lead conversion mechanism. The company operates from offices in Great Amwell (UK headquarters), New York (USA), and Kilbeggan (Ireland), and serves hundreds of brands across fashion retail, grocery, pubs and restaurants, hotels, automotive retail, quick-service restaurants, transport, and venues, with named customers including Primark, Domino's, BMW, The Ritz Carlton, Spar, Greene King, and Charles Tyrwhitt. The company also offers venue entertainment products (Ultimate DJ and Rock and Roll Bingo) and provides 24/7/365 Relentless Support™ as a contractual service layer.

Name

Startle Music

Legal name

Startle Technologies Limited

Website

https://startlemusic.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Background Music & Digital Signage Services

NAICS

Sound Recording Industries (5122)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Music Supervision Services (MPAIALAB)

Keywords

• Background music services
• Digital signage solutions
• Multi-site brand experience
• Curated in-store audio
• Hospitality retail media

Headquarters

HQ city

Great Amwell

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Managed Music Subscription: Recurring subscription for curated background music playlists designed to reflect brand identity. Includes ongoing playlist updates and refinements by musicologists.
2. Digital Signage Subscription: Managed digital signage service including branded TV channels, scheduling, messaging and promotions on a recurring subscription basis.
3. Hardware Sales (Startle Player): Sale of proprietary plug-and-play hardware devices for music and signage delivery across locations.
4. AV Installation Services: Professional installation services for hardware deployment, including end-to-end AV support and monitoring.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Startle Music provides curated background music and managed digital signage for multi-site retail and hospitality brands. Offerings are delivered through the proprietary Studio platform, which centralizes control across every location, combined with musicologist-led playlist curation, plug-and-play Startle Player hardware, professional AV installation, and 24/7/365 Relentless Support. Customers subscribe to managed music and/or signage services that unify brand atmosphere across all physical venues.

Product overview

Startle Music is a unified platform offering curated background music and digital signage solutions for multi-site retail and hospitality businesses. The core product portfolio includes Startle Music (background music), Music Curation, and Branded Radio under the audio offerings, while Digital Signage encompasses Startle Display and Branded TV for visual content. The centralised Studio platform provides management capabilities across all sites, supported by dedicated Hardware (Startle Player), AV Installation services, and Relentless Support™. Additional entertainment products include Ultimate DJ and Rock and Roll Bingo. All solutions are designed for centralised control with expert curation, reliable hardware, and 24/7 support.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Startle Display: Digital signage platform for multi-site retail and hospitality businesses.
• Studio
• Relentless Support

Products and services

• Startle Music Expertly curated background music subscription designed to reflect brand identity, drive specific outcomes like energy, dwell time, and sales, and optimized for mood, tempo and brand feel for retail and hospitality businesses.
• Music Curation Professional music curation service where musicologists create data-driven playlists tailored to specific brand feel and customer mood.
• Branded Radio Custom branded radio channels that reflect a brand's visual and audio identity for consistent customer experience across locations.
• Digital Signage Managed digital signage solution for retail and hospitality with flexible software, branded TV channels, and end-to-end AV support.
• Startle Display Digital signage platform providing display asset management, scheduling, messaging and promotions tailored to venue type.
• Branded TV Branded TV channels designed to reflect a brand's visual identity, with fully managed or self-serve signage content options.
• Studio Multi-site music and signage platform providing head offices complete control and visibility over all locations, with real-time visibility, performance insights, and granular role-based permissions.
• Startle Player Hardware Plug-and-play Startle Player with professional installation, reliable hardware with automated monitoring that works with most existing audio setups.
• AV Installation End-to-end audiovisual installation service including reliable installation and monitoring to keep screens running at scale.
• Relentless Support 24/7/365 support service that responds within minutes to ensure uninterrupted music and signage operations.
• Ultimate DJ DJ service offering for hospitality venues to create dynamic live music experiences.
• Rock and Roll Bingo Entertainment offering for pubs and bars featuring music-themed bingo games to enhance customer engagement.

Quantifiable outcome

• Music designed to drive specific outcomes including energy, dwell time, and sales

Named customers17 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Scale indicators1 record

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Spotify (Business / Soundtrack Your Brand): Parent of Soundtrack Your Brand and the dominant music streaming platform globally. Indirect but critical competitor; Spotify's expansion into B2B commercial music directly threatens Startle's premium positioning with curated content rights and capital backing.
• Stingray Music: Diversified music media company with a commercial music division serving businesses. Offers business music alongside broader consumer streaming, radio, and TV products — broader scope than Startle but operating in the same B2B music licensing category.
• SiriusXM for Business: Commercial music service from SiriusXM offering satellite and streamed background music for businesses. Broader incumbent in the B2B background music category, often competing for hospitality and retail music contracts.

Direct peers

• Soundtrack Your Brand: B2B background music streaming service owned by Spotify that serves multi-site retail and hospitality brands with curated playlists. Directly competes with Startle Music on the same customer base and subscription model, with the advantage of deeper Spotify integration.
• Rockbot: B2B music and media platform for restaurants, retail, hospitality, and fitness venues. Comparable to Startle in serving multi-site brands with curated music and centralized management, with overlapping feature sets around scheduling and remote control.
• Mood Media: Global leader in in-store music, digital signage, and scent for retail and hospitality brands. Direct competitor offering a bundled music + visual experience proposition very similar to Startle's Studio platform, with broader geographic reach and larger enterprise contracts.
• PlayNetwork: Curated music, video, and digital media provider for global brands. Strongly comparable to Startle with musicologist-led curation and multi-site brand experience programs, often competing for the same enterprise accounts.
• Spectrio: Customer experience technology provider offering in-store music, digital signage, and on-hold messaging for multi-site brands. Closely comparable to Startle's bundled music + signage + managed service proposition across retail and hospitality.
• Cloud Cover Music: Subscription-based background music service for businesses, licensed for commercial use across multiple locations. Direct competitor in the B2B music curation space, targeting a similar retail and hospitality customer base.

Emerging players

• Qsic: AI-powered in-store music and audio advertising platform for retail and QSR brands. Overlaps with Startle's curation and multi-site deployment model, with a stronger emphasis on AI-driven analytics and programmatic audio advertising.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/startle_io
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@startle-io
• Facebookfacebook.com/startleio
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/startle-io
• Instagraminstagram.com/startlemusic

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Startle Music