What Custom Channels’ Open Retail Media Platform Is
Custom Channels’ In-Store Open Media Platform is an API-driven retail media platform that connects commercial audio systems with existing digital signage, CMS, DSP, and enterprise tools so retailers can run in-store music, ads, and messaging without being tied to a single vendor’s hardware or software ecosystem. Introduced at InfoComm 2026, the platform exposes core audio functions—music scheduling, zone control, ad insertion, proof-of-play reporting, and device management—through open interfaces that technology partners can embed or white-label within their own retail technology solutions. Instead of ripping out legacy systems, retailers can plug licensed audio delivery into the media networks they already operate. This open media network approach turns in-store audio into a first-class channel within broader retail media strategies, putting the retailer in charge of data, inventory, and monetization choices while Custom Channels provides the licensed content and control layer at scale.
Reducing Vendor Lock-In in Retail Media Networks
Most in-store audio systems have been closed, tying content, devices, and ad sales to one provider. Custom Channels is positioning its In-Store Open Media Platform as a direct answer to that lock-in, as retailers look to connect physical stores to their wider retail media platform strategies. With open APIs, retailers can use their preferred CMS, DSP, measurement stack, and data partners while still gaining programmatic access to in-store audio infrastructure. According to Custom Channels CEO Joe Comer, the company’s aim is to deliver “music without limits—across every platform and for every business we serve,” including within retail media environments. This matters as brands push beyond online display and CTV into store aisles, where audio is still often isolated. An open, vendor-neutral audio layer lets them change partners or test new tools without rebuilding the entire in-store network each time.
Enterprise-Scale Control of In-Store Audio and Licensing
The platform’s design focuses on giving enterprise retailers direct, programmatic control over in-store audio licensing and operations across large footprints. Through APIs, retailers and their integrators can manage music scheduling, target different in-store zones, trigger local or national ad campaigns, and retrieve proof-of-play logs from a single control layer. Custom Channels handles the complexity of licensed audio delivery, while retailers decide which campaigns or playlists run where and when. René Arnold, senior director of partnerships, notes that retailers can “choose their own DSP, their own CMS, and their own measurement partners, while we handle the complexity of delivering licensed audio across their entire environment.” This separation of duties is important at scale: media, legal, and operations teams can standardize licensing and governance centrally, but still give store teams access through on-site control systems when localized adjustments are needed.
Open Architecture and White-Label Opportunities for Tech Partners
Beyond retailers, the In-Store Open Media Platform targets AV integrators and software vendors who want to add in-store audio licensing and retail media features to their own offers. The open media network framework supports integration with control systems and on-site AV environments, so partners can embed the platform or white-label it inside their branded retail technology solutions. That means a digital signage or CMS vendor can fold in licensed audio scheduling, ad insertion, and device management without building its own rights-managed audio stack. Because the platform is designed to integrate with a wide range of third-party systems, it encourages a modular ecosystem instead of one monolithic solution. As retail media networks evolve, this architecture lets partners upgrade, swap, or extend components while keeping audio capabilities intact—reducing risk for retailers and making it easier to experiment with new in-store formats and data-driven retail technology solutions.
Implications for the Future of In-Store Retail Media
Custom Channels’ move highlights an inflection point for in-store media: audio is no longer a background service but a monetizable, measurable channel inside a broader retail media platform strategy. By decoupling licensed audio from proprietary players, the In-Store Open Media Platform turns stores into flexible media environments where screens, speakers, and data systems work together. Retailers retain ownership of ad inventory, audience data, and revenue models, while an open audio layer standardizes how those campaigns reach shoppers in physical space. As Custom Channels demonstrates the platform at InfoComm 2026, the message is clear: future-ready retail media networks will be built on open, API-driven infrastructure, not single-vendor stacks. For retailers and technology partners that want in-store audio to keep pace with digital channels, embracing an open media network approach may be the key to long-term agility and control.
