Children are widely known to be able to consume the same media over and over again, whether it’s their favorite book, movie or music. Thanks to Name Your Tune, which makes customized children’s music, they have another potential favorite.
Parents or (gift givers) looking for a nifty way to hook kids on music while entertaining them at the same time should check out Name Your Tune’s new digital CD program, which lets you create a compact disc filled with songs such as "Old McDonald" and "The Wheels on the Bus" that mention the child by name for $20.
Here’s how it works. You can enter a child’s name and the phonetic pronunciation thereof at Name Your Tune Digital, to see whether it’s available, which is especially helpful for less common names. The service already includes over 3,000 available entries, and takes request for new ones via email.
"We go back into the studio every 6-8 weeks and record new names that have been requested," explained co-founder Eric Alper. "We’ll contact the customer directly, and let them know when they can expect it." Most other companies that sell name-customized gifts like mugs and pens, he said, do not offer this level of customization. In addition, Name Your Tune can include two names on the same CD by alternating songs
The blank disc can then be purchased at MasterMind Toys. After it arrives, you can burn the customized CD by entering a validation code on Name Your Tune Digital in return for a .zip file of 14 customized songs. The resulting album will mention the child’s name about 80 times.
Here’s a sample of what you can expect:
We figured the company might be thinking of doing something along these lines for adults. What if Steve Perry’s "Oh, Sherrie" morphed into "Oh, Harry," or The Allman Brothers’ "Sweet Melissa" became "Sweet Maria"?
Adults just aren’t interested in hearing their own names, according to Alper. "We’ve actually sold a little bit of the Name Your Tune CDs to adults for other adults — in the way of ‘gag’ gifts and goingaway parties… but we find that once kids are at the age where they’reinto Hannah Montana, Jonas Brothers, and so forth, the novelty ofhearing their name wears off for them."
As for children, they seem to be pretty into it. According to Alper, satisfied customers of the previousnon-digitally-delivered version include Matt Damon, Jason Priestley, Adam Sandler, Denise Richards and other celebrities. Given that celebrities like to name their kids Apple, Moses, Brooklyn and the like, Name Your Tune Digital’s customizable nature is sure to be appreciated in Hollyweird.
