The arrival of One28, the DJ song request app created by CEO Adrien Crastes and CFO Alexandre Coyette, in Los Angeles clubs caps a three-month surge that started in Monte Carlo near the end of June 2022. The app, which allows audience members to submit song requests to DJs, first started on the other side of the Atlantic at the MK Club in Monaco. Since its use there by DJ Chris S, who set a minimum song request price of 15€ and accepted only half of the 50+ requests, it has been up and down the Mediterranean, including at the restaurant Maya Jah Monte Carlo and the Twiga Monte Carlo. With the One28 User App and One28 DJ App now in Florida and California, we caught up with Adrien and Alexandre to get their thoughts on their plans for One28 and the club scene in the United States
“First, we are very happy that our hard work is paying off and that One28 is being received so well here in America,” says Adrien. “As any entrepreneur can understand, the weeks leading up to our launch at the MK Club were very exciting, but we held our breath just a little on that opening night. Then, when everything went off without a hitch and partygoers were able to submit their song requests to DJ Chris S, Alexandre and I relaxed. Not for long, of course – as business owners, we had to remain focused on the future, which meant guiding One28 to its debut here in the USA.”
Alexandre believes that partygoers in the United States will be very receptive to an app that streamlines how they communicate their song requests to DJs. “There are differences in the club culture here vs. that in Europe, of course, but at the center of each one are people who like to hear great music. We expect that partygoers here will quickly catch on to One28 and enjoy being able to more easily request their favorite songs.”
One28, as many people have heard, is based on the fact that the heart rate of a person who hears great music increases from around 60-100bpm to 128bpm. Adrien says that this is why the right songs are so important at a club or party – they can motivate people who are milling around on the edge of the dance floor to step onto it and have fun.
To accomplish this, One28 facilitates song requests through the One28 User App and the One28 DJ App, which also has a web version and will be released as a Mac OS DJ app. The app is free for DJs and allows them to receive song requests while maintaining full control over the song list. Payouts and payments to DJs can be made in EUR, GBP, and USD.
The features were on full display in Europe. After its initial launch, the One28 app debuted at the Faena Miami with DJ Yacine, who set a minimum song request price of $50. Since August, the app has spread across Southern Florida and is now in use in LA clubs.
“We chose Miami and Los Angeles for strategic reasons,” Alexandre says. “First, there are so many visitors to Miami, including college students, that we expect that they will ‘take’ the One28 app with them when they go home. That automatically generates more reach for us. Also, Miami is part of a circuit in Florida that DJs travel before going to other clubs further up the coast, so it is helping us to expand to Fort Lauderdale and cities in other states.”
Los Angeles is part of their strategy for growing the use of One28 in America. It has over 100 nightclubs and major cities like San Francisco and San Diego within driving distance, advantages that the co-founders believe will cause One28 to spread faster in California’s DJ community.
“This is definitely an exciting time for One28 as it gains momentum in clubs and at parties on two continents,” says Adrien. “Hopefully, when you check in with us again in a year, we will be able to tell you that One28 is in Canada and maybe even the Caribbean. It is all part of our plan to help more audiences to relax to their favorite songs when they go out on the town.”
