Chris Hayzel
July 16, 2025
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Fractional brand director/CMO
©2025
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Musio
2023 - 2024
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The plugin packed the entire 17 years of Cinesamples libraries — over 2,000 virtual instruments — into one simple, easy-to-use plugin, and because the software was proprietary the company could make it available for a low monthly subscription or a relatively affordable perpetual license. The goal was to completely shift the company's business income from the legacy Kontakt model to Musio. However, as early pioneers of the virtual instrument space, Cinesamples had made its name during a time when there was very little competition. In the 2,000's there were really only a small handful of companies doing what they did, and so they simply had to make niche, effective products, and let word of mouth do the rest, achieving success without really having to invest in marketing. Understandably, they expected the same to happen when they started developing Musio in 2020 and eventually launched in 2022. Unfortunately, that was not the case. With today's infinitely more crowded market, they had a hard time standing out and gaining traction, despite having a truly great product. Sure, they had a large installed base from their legacy business, but the music world can be fickle, and Musio's offering was better suited to a different segment of the market altogether. After years of investing heavily into Musio and struggling to get it off the ground, Cinesamples found itself in a precarious financial position at the end of 2023. That's when I joined the team.
When I joined the team and used Musio for the first time I immediately got it. The samples were phenomenal, the interface stripped down and simple to navigate, and the target demographic clear. There was a whole world of intermediate music creators, hobbyists, students, and bedroom producers who would benefit tremendously from having access to sounds of this quality, and who normally wouldn't be able to afford them. The problem was, none of the company's installed base was from that world, and Musio's stripped down feature set — while perfect for non-professionals — was considered a weak point by pro composers who made up most of the company's nearly 60,000 person customer list. So that's where we started.
We began by identifying the 3 core demographics for Musio, defining who it was for, and just as importantly, who it was not for. I worked closely with the founder to learn as much as I could about the company, its values, and the inspiration for Musio, and we distilled it down into a clear identity that felt both authentic to the company and approachable to a wider, less professional audience. We got to work restructuring the brand's entire public image: from our web design, to our content and tone of voice, and even company policy — we shifted every aspect of the company to align with this new clarity of vision.
Once we had all of the pieces in place we launched across multiple channels, using a combination of organic, paid, and earned media to amplify the message and reach entirely new demographics. We paid close attention to the data to fine tune our understanding of who the product resonated with, what about it resonated with them, and how to best offer value to them all the way through the funnel and beyond.
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