Australia’s Tuned Global Expands to New Markets

Melbourne-based B2B streaming tech solutions company Tuned Global is expanding in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa (MENA).

It has hired Rick Gleave in the newly-created role of senior vice president and head of Europe and MENA.

Gleave was instrumental in expanding Pandora in Australia and New Zealand when he was the founding director of business development and partnerships.

More recently as SVP, head of international for in-store background music services company PlayNetwork, he launched its Australian office and led the roll-out of its Apple Music for Business offering across Apple’s key markets outside North America.

“Rick’s track record of launching services in new markets and building strong teams makes him the perfect candidate for amping up Tuned Global’s presence across Europe and MENA,” Tuned Global’s managing director Con Raso said.

“Growing our footprint in the region will be key to executing our long-term vision and further entrenching Tuned Global’s reputation as the go-to international B2B streaming technology partner.”

Gleave, who reports to chief revenue officer Spiro Arkoudis, added: “ I am super excited to be working with the Tuned Global team.

“(It’s) a company not only working to unlock revenues in the streaming economy but constantly future-proofing the business by investing in emerging tech.

“I’m looking forward to helping providers across the region offer elegant and intuitive streaming products for consumers.”

Based in London, Gleave (pictured, above) will scale up Tuned Global’s local operations and network of clients and partners in the two regions.

These include UFC Ultimate Sound by playlist designer ACX Music in Norway; “music for spaces” Rehegoo, Reactional Music which generates music in real-time based on user interaction, music tracker Psycle and fitness music provider Pure Energy in the U.K.

Its plan for music app Sewasew in Ethiopia and streaming service WAW Muzik in Ivory Coast is to expand them across the continent.

Set up in 2011, Tuned Global operates in 53 countries with offices in the U.K. and the U.S.

It offers a one-stop shop for music, audio and video streaming needs, providing white-label streaming apps, streaming service APIs, music content delivery and licensor reporting.

Its web3-ready technology can be used in the metaverse for immersive music experiences.

Its tech has been used by some of the biggest brands in music, fitness, gaming, media, telco and beyond, including the Warner Music Group (on a custom Ed Sheeran app, Ed No.6, in Australia), UFC, Coca-Cola, Samsung), Universal Music Group, Sony Music, True Digital Group, Pizza Hut, GMM Grammy and FanLabel.

Its Australian clients include retailer JB HiFi and music licensing platform and publisher Melodie.

“A multitude of new deals” will also be announced shortly.

Raso recently said in a U.K. interview that opportunities have grown post-pandemic as consumer lifestyle and consumption choices change, and companies in live music and fitness are reinventing and “trying to explore more deeply the potential of digital as a way to monetise their expertise.”