This man runs YouTube channels that help dogs and cats relax – and he's just sold his 'Petflix' venture to a big music company
Create Music Group
- A company that creates music to help relax dogs and cats was acquired by an LA-based group.
- Music For Pets runs RelaxMyDog and ReleaxMyCat and was bought by Create Music Group in June.
- The UK-based cofounder of Music For Pets, Amman Ahmed, says he's barely spent anything on marketing.
Pet owners care a great deal about their furry friends and want them to be happy. Believe it or not, millions even tune in to a couple of YouTube channels to play music aimed at relaxing their dogs and cats.
Music For Pets was founded in the UK more than five years ago and an estimated 14.5 million hours of its content is now consumed a month. And now the company's been acquired by a US music distribution and rights company.
Cofounder Amman Ahmed Ahmed had read studies about the link between animal anxiety and music and came up with the idea of starting a YouTube channel for pets in 2017.
He looked online for producers to create content and found Ricardo Henriquez who was based in El Salvador. He charged just $50 for his first composition and became the co-founder of Music For Pets.
After a VC-backed project that focused on music for studying didn't work out, Ahmed turned all his attention to pets. Henriquez, meanwhile, was inspired by his own dog's struggles with loud noises in El Salvador.
After some trial and error, they came up with a formula for music and images that owners say helps their pets relax.
In the time Ahmed and Henriquez have worked together, they still haven't met face to face but plan to do so in Guatemala next year. Technology has allowed them to grow their audience into the millions.
Ahmed's YouTube channels, RelaxMyDog and RelaxMyCat, have become hugely popular, with 1.5 million and 800,000 subscribers respectively. According to the profile page, RelaxMyDog offers music and TV that will help any breed with a "variety of problems including separation anxiety, sleep problems, loneliness, boredom and depression."
The content is also available on Spotify and "Petflix," as some fans call it, now garners about 20 million monthly users.
About 60% of the "listeners" are dogs. "Cats are harder, dogs are easier," Ahmed tells Insider definitively.
Word of mouth
Running a skeleton operation with few overheads, Ahmed says he focused on listener satisfaction to retain and grow his user base. He'd call pet owners who enjoyed his channels to get more specific feedback about what they liked.
Ahmed says he has only spent $5,000 on marketing over the years, preferring word of mouth and search engine optimization. That's meant the revenue generated from the channels far exceed the costs.
"Because we grew through word of mouth, every person tells another six to seven people but with genuine passion," he told Insider.
Acquisition
Ahmed says he was amazed at the popularity of Music For Pets, but his ultimate validation came when music companies began knocking on the door.
The company is now owned by Create Music Group after what Ahmed described as a few competing bids. Citing confidentiality clauses, he wouldn't disclose the sale price.
Create plans to pump $10 million into the venture, per a press release.
"Amman and Ricardo have tapped into an enormous and surprising new audience for music and entertainment, our family pets," said Create founder and CEO Jonathan Strauss.
"This market is massive and there is a reason that Amman and Ricardo's company has been nicknamed 'Petflix.'"
Ahmed, meanwhile, plans to stay with Create to help expand the venture.
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