July 28, 2020, Toronto, Canada – Bluesound Professional, the original distributed streaming audio ecosystem for commercial spaces, today announced the launch of a podcast and video content series called Surroundscapes, featuring novel and exciting ideas from invited expert guests from around the world who use A/V technology in innovative ways. It is targeted at commercial A/V integrators, consultants, as well as business owners, interested in creating memorable immersive experiences that point to the future of business in retail, hospitality, wellness, and office environments.
Unique Perspectives from Industry Experts
Hosted by Graeme Harrison, VP and GM of Bluesound Professional, Surroundscapes is part A/V tech nerd talk and part psychosocial experimentation, helping audiences discover the sound and visual stimulus techniques used in public spaces to engage people and drive business outcomes.
“Surroundscapes has been many months in the making and I’m extremely excited to be able to share what we’ve been working on,” says Harrison. “Our first set of guests include some very forward thinkers like Julian Treasure, renowned expert in sound and communications and five-time TED Talk speaker, and Rob Anders from Niio, a digital art platform that powers some of the most inspiring multimedia art installations in the world.”
Quarterly Podcast and Video Mini-series
Surroundscapes is presented in quarterly mini-series, with each mini-series comprised of five to eight episodes of audio podcasts and video presentations focused on a specific topic within the central theme of the ‘future of business’. Created for mobile consumption, the Surroundscapes Podcast is an interview-style content series hosted by Harrison, where he and an invited expert guest explore the use of A/V technologies in shaping human perceptions and experiences of space, and their impacts on consumer and audience behavior. Meanwhile, the Surroundscapes Video Segment features some of Harrison’s guests from the podcast where the guest narrates a presentation, taking the viewer through the thinking, design, implementation, and impact behind some of the most sensational state-of-the-art projects using the senses of sound and of sight.
“Initially, we were thinking only of a podcast but as we started to list out who we wanted as guests, it quickly became apparent that it would be difficult to show the breadth of innovations our guests were involved in without a video element,” says June Ip, VP of Marketing for Lenbrook International, the parent company of Bluesound Professional. “We therefore decided to create two streams of content – a podcast for listeners who are on the road a lot like installers and business owners, and video presentations for those who want to take in a multimedia experience.”
Mini-series One: The Future of Hospitality and Retail
Launching August 4, 2020, and featuring six podcast episodes and two video presentations that will be released weekly, the first Surroundscapes mini-series acknowledges the challenges that many retail and hospitality businesses face post-pandemic. As many consumers remain reluctant to eat, shop, and patronize retail and hospitality establishments again, Surroundscapes explores the role that multisensory experiences could have in convincing consumers to return to the sector.
Episode One, to be released August 4, 2020: Julian Treasure, Founder of The Sound Agency and Moodsonic
The first episode of the mini-series features five-time TED Talk speaker, Julian Treasure, on podcast and video, who explores the use of sound in business. The conversation moves through a number of topics covering everything from audio branding, the practicalities of voice control in commercial environments, and the psychological impacts of certain frequencies and tempos of music on consumer behavior.
Episode Two, to be released August 11, 2020: Nick Larkins, Co-founder and COO of Qsic
Qsic is a highly innovative business music service from Australia and Nick Larkins, its Co-founder talks about how it came to be and especially how it is different from other business music services. Larkins discusses the ability of cloud processing technologies and data analytics to serve unique customer experiences to each store within a chain, while keeping within brand guidelines.
Episode Three, to be released August 18, 2020: Rob Anders, CEO of Niio
Rob Anders is the founder and CEO of Niio, the leader in the curation and deployment of video art, from digital photography through to augmented and virtual reality experiences. Niio hosts the world’s largest collection of video art and Rob talks about the importance of adapting to ever-changing consumer standards and his vision to eliminate black screens in public spaces and replace them with inspiring content.
Episode Four, to be released August 25, 2020: Matteo Luppi, CEO of SoundMachine
Matteo Luppi, the founder and CEO of the business music service SoundMachine talks about music licensing in commercial environments and creating branded experiences in thoughtful ways. An important part of the discussion will cover the role of SoundMachine in helping businesses to rebuild after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Episode Five, to be released September 1, 2020: James Patten, Founder and CEO of Patten Studio
Patten Studio is a leader in creating remarkable experiences fusing technology and art to create installations such as a 100-foot interactive video wall for Intel’s CES booth, kinetic instruments for Björk, a SuperBowl halftime show and much more. Dr James Patten talks about his time at MIT Media Lab and how it led to the creation of a company delivering experiences melding sound, light and movement with technology throughout the world.
Episode Six, to be released September 8, 2020: Dave Rahn, CEO of Custom Channels
Dave Rahn founded Custom Channels, one of the earliest streaming business music services in the world. Rahn talks about his personal history in radio and music programming, and his path as music distribution evolved in the age of the internet. Rahn also discusses the role of human curation in creating the right music experience for both employees and customers in a commercial environment.
Future Mini-Series in Development
The second mini-series is scheduled to launch in November 2020, and will focus on the future of the workplace, just as many businesses are considering how to bring employees back to the office safely. In February 2021, Surroundscapes will turn its attention to the future of music creation and monetization.
“We hear the term ‘new normal’ quite a lot these days,” exclaims Harrison. “As we look into the medium-term of the pandemic’s impact, it will be fascinating to explore how the A/V installation industry and its various tangential industries will adapt and evolve their ways of thinking about multisensory experiences.”
About Bluesound Professional
Bluesound Professional is a fusion of hardware and software that is purpose-built for high performance networked audio for retail shops, bars, restaurants, hotels, gyms, and other commercial applications. End users can connect and control nearly any audio source, including streaming services, internet radio, or networked hard drives, while installers can confidently specify rack-mounted hardware that integrates seamlessly with smart controllers. Powered by BluOS, an award-winning multi-zone audio management software platform, made native in a comprehensive range of controllers, streamers, amplifiers, and speakers, Bluesound Professional makes commercial audio installation projects easy to configure, deliver, and use. Bluesound Professional is a division of Lenbrook International, renowned manufacturers of premium audio technologies for residential and commercial applications.
Contacts
Corporate & Media Contact
June Ip
Marketing, Lenbrook International
Links
Website: https://surroundscapes.bluesoundprofessional.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bluesoundpro
Media Assets: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/q7ifkdjti72cn8t/AADCXHXAcWaD3KP17LepOElYa?dl=0
