Last Updated on September 12, 2022 by
After its American launch at the Faena Miami by DJ Yacine, the song request app One28 is being used by more DJs in Florida’s clubs. The company, founded by its CEO Adrien Crastes and CFO Alexandre Coyette, is changing how audience members submit their song requests to DJs. The app’s success raises an interesting question: why has it been able to gain traction in a billion-dollar entertainment industry that regularly denies the dreams of so many entrepreneurs? The answer, the two co-founders say, is simple: the desire of every person, no matter what kind of music they are into, to hear their favorite song at a party.
“I remember when I was hitting the entertainment scene in Monaco before Adrien designed One28,” says Alexandre. “I imagine my experience wasn’t so different from anyone else’s. Every once in a while, the DJ would play a really good song that would get me dancing, but more often than not, I would either stand off to the side or get dragged out onto the floor by a friend. That’s not the basis for a great night out.”
The two friends got together and brainstormed ways to help partygoers more easily communicate to DJs the songs they wanted to hear. “I was intrigued by the idea that a person’s resting heart rate is normally around 60-100 beats per minute,” says Adrien. “Then, when they hear their favorite song, the adrenaline causes it to spike at 128 beats per minute. That scientific fact was the basis for One28 and our goal of helping more people to have a good time when out on the town.”
Adrien, a D-1 tennis player who majored in math at Bucknell University before studying actuarial mathematics at Institut de Science Financière et d’Assurances, felt the answer lay in technology.
“I’m the guy who knows all about making apps and interpreting data,” he says. “My vision was two apps that would allow partygoers to submit their song requests on their phones instead of trying to communicate them to a DJ in a dark, loud room. The DJ would then review the requests on their phone, select which ones would be played, and deny the others. Anyone whose request was not played would receive an immediate refund.”
Adrien spent a few months designing the One28 User App and the One28 DJ App so that partygoers could more easily submit their song requests to DJs. “Once the technology was ready, Alexandre stepped in,” Adrien states. “He is very well-connected to DJs in Southern Europe, so he has been the perfect partner.”
Alexandre began talking to DJs in Monte Carlo about One28’s potential for streamlining what was, in his words, an outdated process. He reveals that they were very interested, in part because the app is free and they keep full control over the song list.
It was, as Alexandre believes, only a matter of where, not when, the One28 app would debut. “We started at the MK Club in Monte Carlo in June 2022, where DJ Chris S used it to take over 50 requests and turned half of them down,” he says. “He set a minimum song request price of 15€ and was still taking requests the next day, so he used the One28 app again that next weekend.”
Once launched, the app quickly found more users, including at the Maya Jah Monte Carlo, a restaurant; the Twiga Monte Carlo; and clubs in Corsica and Nice. It was at this point that Adrien and Alexandre decided to bring the One28 app to the United States.
“We had achieved momentum in one of the biggest club scenes in Europe, so the time was right to introduce the app to America,” Adrien explains. “The Faena Miami was the perfect venue because it is so well-known to DJs and clubbers alike. DJ Yacine had a good time using the app and set a minimum song request price of $50. With that success, we are now strategizing how to bring One28 to more markets across the United States and, eventually, Canada.”
With an eye on a bigger international presence, Adrien has made the app capable of accepting USD, EUR, and GBP for payouts and payments to DJs. He is also working on the Mac OS DJ app and says that the web app is already ready for use.
“In the end, the app really belongs to partygoers and DJs,” Adrien believes. “Yes, Alexandre and I have solved a common problem in clubs and at parties. Now, however, while we will be strategizing how One28 is launched in more countries, we will let its usage grow organically. It is the partygoers who want to hear their favorite songs in clubs and at other venues who will decide where One28 goes next. To us, that is exactly how it should be.”
