Our latest Member Feature is now live, featuring Pau Agustí, CEO and co-founder of Sounds Market: the Barcelona company that refurbishes second-hand DJ equipment and sells it on with a warranty. In the Q&A, Pau shares more about the 1,800 devices given a second life since 2023, the case for discontinued models in a market built around the newest release, and the DJ sessions filmed at the Barcelona store that now often run twice a week.

1. Share a milestone or achievement for which your company is particularly proud.

In a world dominated by fast consumerism and planned obsolescence (and the huge environmental impact that comes with it) we’re proud to have refurbished and given a second life to more than 1,800 DJ devices since 2023. We’ve helped make the circular economy a real alternative to buying brand-new products in stores: it’s both more sustainable and more affordable for customers. At the same time, we provide a much safer alternative to buying second-hand gear from private sellers, where products often have expensive technical issues or are simply scams.

2. Name one trend in electronic music that is shaping your current business strategy.

As a result, demand for DJ equipment keeps growing, but not everyone needs or can afford the latest model released on the market, which is usually the only option available in traditional retail stores. That’s where we come in: we sell discontinued but still perfectly valid models. Many customers become repeat buyers over time, and we genuinely enjoy supporting them throughout their journey and growth as DJs.

3. Does your company collaborate with other industry stakeholders to drive growth and opportunities within the electronic music community? And if so, how and who?

Absolutely, collaboration is a key part of our growth strategy. For example, our store in Barcelona is shared with Microfusa, a company that sells new DJ equipment and musical instruments, and also operates a DJ school. We work together through trade-in programs. We also regularly provide equipment in exchange for visibility through collaborations with well-known DJs such as Adrian Mills, Nikolina, and Aerea, as well as organizations like Bridge 48, or even second-hand pop-up markets, in Barcelona. In addition, we collaborate with both hardware and software brands, including Ecler, DJoid, and MavelPoint. We’re also very active members of Music Tech Hub, which brings together many of the leading music startups and companies in Spain.

4. What does it mean for you to be a member of AFEM?

We strongly believe that our industry still needs greater public validation in order to overcome outdated stereotypes and be taken seriously. We truly connect with AFEM’s values, so being part of the association is something we’re very proud of. We’re happy to contribute in any way we can toward achieving the goals the industry still has ahead of it. For us, AFEM is also a valuable opportunity to grow and gain international visibility among organizations and industry players that might otherwise never have discovered us.

5. One project, collaboration, or initiative you’re currently working on that you’re particularly excited about.

Since late 2025, we’ve been recording DJ sessions at our Barcelona store for our YouTube channel. The original idea was to release just one session per week, but we started receiving messages from many DJs who wanted to record with us, so now we often end up filming two sessions a week. Some DJs even travel to Barcelona specifically to record with us, which makes us incredibly proud. You can watch the sessions here: https://www.youtube.com/@sounds_market

Sounds Market’s argument is that the second-hand market only works when somebody takes responsibility for what is being sold. Refurbishing gear in-house, certifying it and putting a warranty behind it turns a risky private transaction into a reliable one, and keeps working equipment out of the waste stream while it does. The same thinking runs through the rest of the business: the shared Barcelona store and trade-in programmes with Microfusa, the collaborations with hardware and software brands, and the sessions filmed in-store for a channel that started as one video a week. We’re glad to have Sounds Market in the AFEM community.