How SoundBrand Will Make Businesses Sound Better

While many can help shape the look of a brand, area entrepreneur and producer Rogan Allen will shape their sound. With his soon-to-debut business, SoundBrand, Allen intends to offer signature audio logos for small-scale companies with a personalized touch.

Allen developed his business model with guidance and education from Women’s Economic Ventures (WEV), who assisted him in streamlining and scaling his plans through their Self-Employment Training (SET) program. “I went in with 10 different ideas, and this is the one that was the most feasible and realistic,” he said.

A songwriter and producer with more than 3,000 compositions and numerous accolades under his belt, Allen has had more than a decade of tune-crafting experience but came around on his sonic logo business idea only fairly recently. Audio logos — be they jingles, repurposed pop songs, or second-long start-up sounds — are an increasingly important aspect of brand identity. Allen’s SoundBrand will offer customized tones and tunes for area companies — or even individuals — lacking a recognizable sound. “Everything and everyone is becoming a brand these days,” he said. “In the next five years, audio identities are going to stretch beyond companies and commercials — they’re going to represent people. That’s something we want to be ahead of the trend on here.”

Yet in his time at WEV, Allen found hardly any competitors composing on a small-scale basis, with only a few big-name sound designers servicing huge corporate clients at high prices and hardly anyone helping out the little guy. A part-time employee at Trader Joe’s, Allen likens his boutique brand to the trustworthy and friendly experience provided by the popular chain, as opposed to the more impersonal experience found at a grocery megastore. “We’re gonna do it affordably for them, walk them through it, hold their hand each step of the way if they need,” Allen said.

Allen graduated with honors from WEV this week and plans to continue his education there as he finalizes business launch plans, with SoundBrand slated to open its sonic doors at the beginning of next year with soundbrand.audio. Keep your ears tuned in, and you may soon be hearing a SoundBrand audio logo, or commissioning Allen to have a sonic brand all your own.