Sound Union is a brand new service created by Sheffield DJ/producers Andy H & Sandy Turnbull. This service will provide businesses with royalty free and locally sourced background music allowing them to avoid costly fees with PRS and PPL which must be paid for any business playing music on their premises to the public.
Andy H & Sandy Turnbull have both been prominent fixtures on the local DJ circuit for many years. Before the Covid pandemic you would be able to find both of them behind the decks of some of the city's very best venues including The Foundry at the University of Sheffield, Soyo and Tramlines Festival.
They also regularly play further afield with dates around the UK and Europe at events like Boomtown Festival, Kendal Calling and Outlook Festival in Croatia. Like many DJs, they also produce their own music, some of which is available to stream on this new platform.
Sadly back in March 2020 their usually busy diaries became empty as the events industry was put on hiatus dues to the pandemic. With a need to find a productive way to fill their time, Andy and Sandy created a brand new concept that would support Sheffield businesses at an especially tricky time.
They started to build a library of exclusive music from local artists using their network of contacts and built a streaming platform to distribute this music.
Andy H said: "There has always been a great community of DJs, musicians and producers in Sheffield, all of whom almost overnight found they were unable to work in the same way they had before. We believe we have found a way in which we could all work together and help out some of the many businesses that have been hit hard by the pandemic."
Initially they plan to offer access for businesses to this service at no cost until 2022, when they plan to introduce a very small monthly fee. As the music is all original and royalty free, businesses will not be required to pay any other music licences such as PRS or PPL which they would if they used a service like Spotify. This will save businesses hundreds of pounds a year in subscription and licensing fees.
Simon Brown who owns ‘Revue Hairdressing’ in Retford is an early adopter of the scheme and said, "the music is suitable to a wide range of customers’" and described the service as a ‘"fabulous concept".
Andy and Sandy have a wide range of acclaimed artists in many different genres to select from. The library will include music from James Atashroo of Renegade Brass Band, Copious Beats and Kilxz, the producer alias of seasoned veteran DJ, Jimmy the Gent.
Sandy Turnbull said: "This service will enable Sheffield businesses to both help the local music industry and save on running costs. We have tailored the music to be suitable for anywhere that needs background music and we have drawn on the talents of some of the best musicians the city has to offer."
Businesses can sign-up, to take advantage of the free trial period and to find more about the service at: soundunion.co.uk