May 2021
Following a special calling to venture into the world of music and sound, Felix devoted his early quests to being an eager music producer and DJ. This led him to cross paths with label owner and future HearDis! co-founder, Robin Hofmann.
Felix co-founded playdis in 2011 together with Robin and Georg von dem Bussche. As the music production subsidiary of leading audio branding company HearDis!, playdis specializes in original composition, songwriting, music supervision, licensing, voice production and sound design from early mood searches to the final mix.
His long-lasting experience as executive music producer together with his entrepreneurial profile makes Felix a hands-on leader renowned for his intellect around music licensing, music publishing and inception of new business ventures across the music, media and technology domains.
Read on to hear more…
MASA: When did you first realise you were more into music than the average person on the street?! How did you get your first break in the industry? And can we hear a little about your career path before setting up playdis?
FELIX: As long as I can remember music was part of my life. My father, a music enthusiast himself, would always have a record playing at home (bebop, bossa nova, world music, you name it), and if he wasn’t, he’d be off with his jazz band. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. My older brother Daniel got into DJ-ing, worked in radio and founded a dance label that he still runs today. Likewise, I was soon after any opportunity to play records. I guess it was then that my passion for music stood out.
So you can say my first break into the industry occurred around the age of 18 when I’d be asked to perform as DJ at private gatherings and nightclubs.
After my studies in Media Technology, I remained active as a music producer and began supervising music for different brands. This experience revealed to me the potential of corporate sound. In 2005, together with my friend Robin Hofmann, I co-founded HearDis!, the parent company of playdis.
MASA: You co-founded playdis in 2011. How has the company grown and evolved over the last 10 years?
FELIX: playdis kicked off in great style! On one of our first projects, we found a rather unknown song for a large campaign by Vodafone. It received Gold status after it aired on German TV. This early success gave playdis the entry ticket to bigger projects.
Many clients we work with naturally advertise beyond G-A-S territories, so we get to take part in several global campaigns - which offer a great deal of exposure. In terms of the work we deliver, we evolved from an “only” bespoke and music supervision studio for TV commercials to delivering original compositions for film, carrying out sound design or identifying the right voice talents.
MASA: Can you tell us a bit about any recent project that’s been particularly exciting / interesting?
FELIX: Lately I have been leading a project for an electric vehicle yet to be released in the market. Let me tell you that even just the possibility to preview a new generation of cars and so experience the future is in itself exciting! Anyhow, this one project is particularly interesting because the audio content we are producing is actually staying in the vehicle for good. Usually, it would be the case that our bespoke music for brands would be “alive” as long as the campaign is. Whereas in this collaboration, our work is meant to become an integral element of the customer experience in the electric car and, so, is there to stay!
MASA: Roughly, what tends to be the split between commissioned, original music vs. existing tracks?
FELIX: I’d tend to say something along the lines of 80 / 20. After all, it is always more effective to have music or audio customised to a specific narrative. It is simply a powerful way to elevate stories and statements. Our clients know and want that. And since at playdis we all have our backgrounds in the “real” music scene as performing artists, djs or producers, we make sure to deliver a sound that we would also put on a record.
MASA: Are you always on the look-out for new composer talent or do you have a pool of in-house composers you work with?
FELIX: playdis has a core team of 4-5 composers which oversees most projects. They ensure each work gets the artistic excellence it deserves: either in-house or through our extensive network, we always find the right constellation of talents. Of course we are always open to discovering new collaborators (and we receive at least one application a week) but let’s say we are not actively on the lookout for any at the present time.
MASA: How has Covid impacted playdis? Have you managed to find work-arounds?
FELIX: As soon as the first lockdown was announced back in March 2020, it immediately got very quiet. The industry was in shock. The brands we were in touch with commented that this was due to a widespread hesitation: which messages to tackle in such unprecedented and rapidly changing times? No message, ergo no campaign. This lasted more or less until the fall. And suddenly as of the last quarter of 2020, projects have come in at full speed!
Though the first half of 2020, even if less thriving in the more traditional sense, actually revealed as creatively rewarding! Our creative lead Georg devoted the time to new own music releases, playdis introduced a whole new look - both online with a fresh website and offline through the renovation of our in-house recording studio. We managed to keep ourselves busy!
MASA: And lastly, what will you be looking for when judging this year’s Music+Sound Awards?
FELIX: The pandemic, as well as the tone in politics, are taking a toll on everyone’s outlook to the future. What I personally look forward to is to experience powerful content that can inspire us to move forward together.
MASA: Thanks so much for chatting to us Felix. Fantastic hearing about your work and set-up there. Having talent such as yourself on the Music+Sound Awards jury is what makes the competition world-class!
To find out more about Felix and his team at playdis visit playdis.tv
