A choir at work. This is Coodio, the only cluster in France focused on audio, radio, and voice.
Based in Montpellier, in the heart of the Cité Créative, Coodio does more than bring together professionals: it unites them. "We are facilitating the conditions for companies in the sector to work in synergy, collaborate with each other, and experiment together. As for those who are not in the sector, we help raise awareness regarding the use of digital audio technologies, in particular podcasts, an attractive and powerful communication format”, comments the secretary general and developer at Coodio. Sharing knowledge and openness to others is what drives this network.
Established in early 2020, the association already has more than 70 members, very representative of the diversity of sound professions: from software solution publishers, such as Netia, to music and image, with Christophe Héral, to sound creation, with Motus Productions, including software manufacturers, such as My Bank for ambient sounds, and hardware, such as Soledge et Two-Notes, audio books with Benjamins Media and Soladar, and post-production and training with Audio Workshop. All sectors are covered: radio broadcasting, thanks to l'Assemblée Régionale des Radios Associatives (Arra), RTS and France Bleu Hérault, which are all members of the group; as well as sound recording, video games, 3D animation, audiovisuals, live shows, publishing and advertising. Additionally, Coodio is supported by the Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole, which, through MICC (now ICONIC) has set up a podcast competition, called C dans le Son, involving startups from the Montpellier BIC.
“Our cluster is nourished by all the other fields in the CCI sector present here,” summarizes the general secretary and developer at Coodio. Studios keep coming here to set up their operations. One example is the American company The Kitchen. Based in Miami, The Kitchen has set up its French subsidiary in Lattes, near Montpellier, bringing itself closer to Ubisoft, one of its clients alongside Netflix, CNN, and the BBC.
The Montpellier Métropole is indeed one of the hotspots for the CCI sector and a fertile ground for their development. New tools are being created here. Drumstik Assistant Drummer is one of them, as is My Shared Studio which allows you to play and create music in real time with musicians located anywhere in the world. Coodio, a veritable choir at work, in tempo, of course.