The second edition of Sound Business, the handbook for effective use of sound in business, is now in stock in our shop. In Sound Business Julian Treasure explains how to take control of sound to improve sales, customer satisfaction, brand value and employee productivity. Combining the latest psychoacoustic theory, original thinking and practical tips for every application of sound, this was the first book to map the unexplored territory of business sound when it was published in 2007 – and remains the seminal work in

The crashing waves of Dorset’s Chesil Beach have been competing with the noise of traffic in London’s Euston Road thanks to American sound artist Bill Fontana. The project was “an experiment in perception” of the sound of both water and traffic. “Most people really don’t pay attention to the sounds around them. I wanted to create an art form that challenges that,” Fontana said. “To change the context in which you hear something, you change the meaning of it.” The sound was broadcast from September

Birdsong from The Sound Agency has formed part of what BP is hailing as its most effective customer experience initiative ever undertaken. It’s also the  project most people ask about when they find out what we do… as in: “You didn’t do that lovely birdsong in BP loos did you?” The answer is, yes we did! When research revealed that the toilets in BP petrol stations were having a major negative effect on customers’ feelings about the BP brand, the company responded with its ‘Five-Star

Our chairman Julian Treasure has been speaking about the importance of sound at high-profile events in the UK, Europe and the US. Retail sound was the subject of Julian’s talk to a meeting of Point-of-Purchase Advertising International (POPAI) at De Montfort University in Leicester. Mark Hillier, POPAI’s Marketing Communications Officer, said:  “This long-anticipated annual event proved to be one of the best-attended and best-received for some time. Julian gave us a fascinating and educational look at sound with invaluable insights into this important, albeit often

Neuroscientists at the University of California, Berkeley, are offering hope to sufferers of tinnitus – a constant, often high-pitched ringing or buzzing in the ears that can be annoying and even maddening, and has no current cure. The condition afflicts more than 10 percent of the US population: that’s over 20 million people! One tenth of these have serious incapacity from the condition. Their new findings, published online last week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggest several new approaches to

Creative writers are set to have whole new areas in their writing, personal and creative productivity opened up when Julian Treasure is interviewed live on the International Association of Conscious & Creative Writers’ website on 12 January. Points for discussion in the interview will include how sound affects human beings; techniques to improve conscious listening; the use of sound in business; how sound can be good and bad for health and, very importantly for creative writers, how changing a soundscape can triple creative productivity. The

A survey of UK surgeons has found that 90% listen to music while they operate, with half choosing rock music, 17% favouring pop music and 11% classical music. The majority said music helps create a “harmonious and calm atmosphere”, while a third said the music prevents them from getting bored. Plastic surgeons were the most likely to listen to music, and ear, nose and throat surgeons the least likely. The survey was conducted to celebrate the release of the latest series of the hospital drama

Marwoods FINAL.pdf Download this file I’m excited to be part of the amazing White Night event, which lights up the streets of Brighton all night this coming Saturday, partly to acknowledge the Autumn Equinox, when the clocks go back and we get an extra hour to enjoy the hundreds of events… and partly just to connect and be fascinated by a wealth of happenings, performances, installations and (in my case) café talks. There’s a parallel event in Amiens, and they share a strong theme around

Felix Zenger, beatboxer extraordinaire (mp3)

More suggestions on practical exercises to teach listening skills are in a nice blog post from Teacher’s Tonic. I am in the process of investigating the best way to set up a web resource for educators to share with each ideas, experiences and suggestions so that we can establish a body of evidence and some best practice guidelines. At the moment we’re thinking a Google Group. I am trying to capture email addresses for all the educators who are contacting me through my blog, email,