← Fruityard Studio
Service design · case study 09e · Oct – Nov 2026 · 4-minute read

The studio's first sector: music businesses

Years of my own music research meant the studio's first sector was obvious. Labels, promoters, record shops and people starting a music business each get their own route in, from a free tool to a full Discovery, with labels first.

My roleFounder: offer design, pricing, free tools and the prospect list
WhenOct – Nov 2026
StageDevelop. First conversations booked, no paying client yet
WhereCardiff first, then other UK music cities
Why music first

A niche I'd already researched

I'd spent four years studying how music gets found and sold, in my Spotify and SoundCloud studies. Small music businesses rarely get proper discovery before they spend, and the generic help on offer doesn't know their sector.

Before you spend on reaching customers, find out which ones will actually buy, and prove it with real sales.

One route per audience

Four audiences, four ladders

AudienceFree toolSelf-serveFull DiscoveryStatus
LabelsRelease cost-per-sale calculatorFirst Release PlanA new revenue line, £1,500First · tool next to build
Promoters and nightsBreak-even calculatorFirst Night Plan, £150–£300A bigger format or venueTool built
Record shops and listening roomsListening-night calculatorFirst Listening Night PlanNew offers and a booking systemDraft · a shop has asked for booking
Would-be foundersFree evaluationSelf-serve sprint£1,500, first 3 clientsDraft
Who it competes with

The toughest rival is free

RivalWhat they offerWhere the studio is different
Free public start-up supportAdvice, workshops, some fully funded programmesHands-on, specific to music, and ends in a real demand test. The hardest to beat on price
Lead and outreach toolsLists and cold outreach for a plan you already haveDecides the plan first, then tests it with real sales
Consultants and research agenciesReports and surveysInterviews plus a live test, not just a report
AcceleratorsProgrammes, often for equity or by selectionNo selection, no stake, done with you in Cardiff
Proof so far

My own venture goes first

With no clients yet, I'm running one of my own music ventures through the studio's Discovery first: interviews with Cardiff record shops and listening rooms, a shortlist of independent labels, and a first label meeting booked for November 2026.

Results to come: the first label conversation, and whether a free-tool user asks for an evaluation.
What I took from it

Pick a sector you know

Then → Now

Then: a studio for any new founder. Now: one sector at a time, starting where my research is deepest.

Then → Now

Then: music businesses as one audience. Now: four, each with its own tool and price.