Focus@Will Explained

Focus@Will
Foundation:2012
Founder:Will Henshall, John Vitale
Location City:Los Angeles, California
Location Country:United States

Focus@Will is a subscription service that offers sequenced playlists of instrumental music intended to improve users’ productivity. The company is based out of Los Angeles.[1]

Service

All of the music in the application is instrumental.[2] [3] Users choose from a number of different channels, including classical, up tempo, focus spa, cinematic, and ambient.[4]

The app allows its users to personalize the effectiveness of the focus enhancement by skipping tracks that they find distracting.[5] [6] The service also includes a timer function and a productivity tracker.[7] [8]

The company offered a white paper describing the benefits of its style of music, but it was not peer-reviewed.[9] Jack Curtis Dubowsky, a composer, described this as "flimsy pseudo-science" and compared it to Muzak, which claimed in a report in 1956 that it increased worker productivity.

History

Founder and CEO Will Henshall was previously a professional musician, then founded a company that created online collaboration tools for musicians, sold to Avid Audio in 2003.[10] He cofounded Focus@Will with John Vitale and Graham Lyus.[11]

The beta version of Focus@Will was released in December 2012.

Beginning in April 2013 the company expanded the service to international markets.[12] [13] The expanded service incorporated a timer for users to set work session intervals, and a productivity tracking function to measure efficiency and focus.

A Focus@will mobile app and freemium service were released in May 2013.[14] [15] [16]

The company is backed by the Pritzker Foundation, other private investors, and Singularity University. As of February 2013, it had raised approximately $3.5 million.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: How Focus@Will Uses Music To Help You Concentrate Better. Benjamin F. Kuo. socaltech. February 25, 2013. July 16, 2013.
  2. Web site: Kevin Smith . June 3, 2013 . This New Music App Promises To Help You Focus And Increase Your Productivity . July 16, 2013 . Business Insider.
  3. Web site: CES: Can this music make you more productive?. Kelli B. Grant. Market Watch. January 7, 2013. July 16, 2013.
  4. Web site: Paul Sawers . February 7, 2013 . Focus@Will: The music-streaming service that wants to help you concentrate . July 16, 2013 . The Next Web.
  5. Web site: Anthony Ha . May 31, 2013 . Aiming To Make You More Productive, Focus@Will Launches A Music App For iOS . July 16, 2013 . TechCrunch.
  6. Web site: Philip Michaels . January 7, 2013 . Focus@Will builds music playlists to help you concentrate . July 16, 2013 . PCWorld.
  7. Web site: Jill Duffy . May 22, 2013 . Focus@Will . July 16, 2013 . PC Magazine.
  8. Web site: Chaey . Christina . December 19, 2012 . Focus@Will Says Its Streaming Music Will Make You More Productive . July 16, 2013 . Fast Company.
  9. Book: Dubowsky, Jack Curtis . https://books.google.com/books?id=myhHEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22Focus@Will%22+music&pg=PT244 . Easy Listening and Film Scoring 1948-78 . 2021-05-27 . Routledge . 978-0-429-99766-2 . en . Productivity music persists.
  10. Web site: Frank Kalman . February 15, 2013 . Can Music Make for Better Learners? . July 16, 2013 . Chief Learning Officer Media.
  11. Web site: Stuart . S.C. . November 18, 2016 . This Music-Subscription Service Aims to Help You Stay Focused . 2022-10-05 . PCMag . en.
  12. Web site: Josh Ong . April 24, 2013 . Focus@will readies Android and iOS versions of its productivity music service . July 16, 2013 . The Next Web.
  13. Web site: New Music Service Aims To Keep You Focused. SoundCheck. March 11, 2013. July 16, 2013. https://archive.today/20130717084458/http://soundcheck.wnyc.org/2013/mar/11/music-that-keeps-you-focused/. July 17, 2013. dead.
  14. Web site: Focus@will goes global, freemium and takes its concentration-boosting music-streaming app to Android. Paul Sawers. The Next Web. May 7, 2013. July 16, 2013.
  15. Web site: Focus@Will: Neuroscience Based Service Increasing Your Attention With Music. Dr. Bertalan Mesko. ScienceRoll. May 8, 2013. July 16, 2013.
  16. Web site: Focus@Will, the new mood setting productivity music App. Stormy Beach. Android Spin. May 7, 2013. July 16, 2013.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Focus@Will".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.