No false notes: Tunify at Dutch National Opera & Ballet

Dutch National Opera & Ballet is one of the largest cultural institutions in the Netherlands. It is responsible for every aspect of the productions, from the costumes and setting design to the technical aspects and the performance hall. As for Tunify? Our music player happily plays along in this well-choreographed dance.

From opera to ballet and back again

It’s definitely busy at Dutch National Opera & Ballet. The various productions trade places with each other, often day after day. Enjoy the sights and sounds of the opera today, while tomorrow the decor will be rebuilt for a ballet performance. These are the final stages of a 4-year production programme. Ramón Schoones is one of the 600 employees at the cultural centre. As a sound technician, he works with both the opera and the ballet productions. ‘And last year, I got to know Tunify,’ he says. ‘After a test period, we took the music player onboard for use before and after our performances and during commercial events.’

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A test with 2 wishes to be fulfilled

Ramón: ‘We used to use Spotify for a touch of music in, for example, our foyer. But then we found out that it wasn’t actually in line with copyright requirements, so we went looking for a commercial solution. The head of Sales & Events had 2 additional requests about this: he wanted to be able to put together playlists of and for clients quickly, and to find general genres or moods just as easily, without wasting any time.’

‘My department head came across Tunify online,’ explains Ramón. ‘He asked me to try out the music player and give feedback. I went to work with the wishes of the head of Sales & Events in the back of my mind. First, I checked whether I could find all the popular songs in the Tunify catalogue. And yes indeed, they were all there!’

As for the request from the head of Sales & Events for genres and playlists? Tunify offered an excellent solution. Tunify Blue was set up for exactly this: combining broad genres and moods in a single channel that keeps playing suitable music. This made the decision extremely easy for Ramón: ‘The player met all our wishes, so we took up a subscription to Tunify Orange.’

Combination of Tunify Orange and Tunify Blue

Today, Tunify Orange gets the most use at Dutch National Opera & Ballet. With a set of mobile speakers, the organisation quickly has Tunify music playing anywhere from the foyer to the meeting rooms. Ramón: ‘If clients ask us to provide a playlist in advance, we can create and play it via Tunify Orange; for example, as entry music for a speaker as they come on stage.’

‘If a client only gives us a musical mood or atmosphere, such as lounge, we switch across to Tunify Blue,’ continues Ramón. ‘You find ‘Easy Lounge’ and ‘Bright Lounge’ among the choices. The names describe the content perfectly. You get the type of music you expect, and the songs keep coming.’

Are you interested in an evening of culture? Or are you looking for an iconic event location? Take a look at www.operaballet.nl/en.