Digital music ventures are nothing new to the tech scene. Napster established the movement in the late ‘90s, Apple followed suit with iTunes, and nowadays, we’ve witnessed upstarters like Rap Genius and Spotify dominate the landscape, which in turn has sparked massive growth in music startups. More and more of them continue to emerge, each one boasting the confidence to revolutionize the way we create, listen to, and share our music with the world. Some are creating new opportunities for up-and-coming artists to gain notoriety, whereas others are streamlining the process of how we consume our musical tastings. From crowdsourcing platforms to music-streaming aggregators, these are the music tech startups to keep on your radar.
NAGUAL SOUNDS
Transforming your body into a musical instrument, Nagual Sounds tracks gestural movements on a 3D camera and coverts that data into music. And it’s all done in real time. It’s capable of generating harmonies, melodies, and rhythms by assigning sound elements to certain parts of the body. Word is the technology is also being pushed to encourage disabled users to create music as well.
SPLICE
Look at Splice as an on-demand music studio. The platform creates a directory on a user’s computer, and then automatically saves creations and dependent sample files in the cloud. This in turn allows musicians to edit their work whenever they want online. Collaborators can share work as well by inserting their email address into the project creator.
JUKELY
The social concert app groups friends together based on their musical tastes and recommends shows to check out in their area. It grabs all data from your music apps to create an algorithm that pairs you with other potential matches. From there, users can communicate and share their favorite acts, and even book concerts together directly from the app. Notifications are also present, recommending live music shows and suggesting other friends to attend with.
MOODSNAP
Take a look at the “world’s first” photo playlist app. Uniquely programmed, Moodsnap caters to a person’s musical preferences by devising music stations based on emotive photographs. Pull up a New Year’s photo and expect Top 40 radio, or scroll through your somber selfies and take in nothing but Sam Smith songs. Upon logging in through Spotify, you’ll be met with a series of photos from a stream that can be selected to pull up a music player with an aggregated playlist. Mood music!
INDILOOP
Ever hear a record and think to yourself, what if it was remixed with this specific beat, loop, or sample? Indiloop empowers users to play DJ by letting them create mash-ups of their favorite tracks. A time stretching algorithm is used to blend songs together and produce mixes, eliminating the need for ProTools and other digital audio workstations. Call it the Instagram of music programs.
TOMAHAWK
Switching between streaming services and transferring playlists isn’t cool. This open-source media player becomes your all-in-one music hub by integrating all tunes, online and offline, into one place. Pretty much everything on your computer as well as songs and playlists from other outlets like Rdio, Spotify, and YouTube are fair game. Sharing the same network with others will let you connect to their libraries. Users can embed the player into blogs or digital promos, too.
SOUNDKEEP
An open-source music community, Soundkeep gives users the opportunity to upload their own samples and stems for feedback purposes. That means having a track evaluated by several listeners before laying down any final details. In addition, you can download, share, and utilize other people’s samples for personal use. The program will backup and store each version of a track, allowing users to revert back to a previous version.
EARBITS
Different than your average Pandora or Spotify clone, this commercial free music streaming service focuses solely on promoting independent artists. Musicians are blessed with ad free space to promote a variety of services, including music, live show info, and merchandise. The service even features a currency system that rewards users with what it calls Groovies for supporting artists, which can be cashed in for prizes. Recently securing a new round of funding, the company is back up and running.
GIGIT
Indie bands looking to get some gigs under their belt have a platform to call their own. Gigit is a digital booking service that helps undiscovered talent earn their stage performing stripes. Artists can search for paid gigs from major festivals to office parties without the need of a manager. On the other side, event planners can hire popular local acts for upcoming parties.
BOP.FM
The music streaming aggregator serves as a remote control for your music apps by grabbing tunes from other popular sources like Beats, Rdio, Soundcloud, Spotify, and YouTube. It does so by automatically detecting what services are available, making songs accessible to a user no matter their location or subscription. You also have the option to import playlists and share them across Facebook, Twitter or other platforms. Additionally, Bop.fm offers curated playlists made by verified artists, providing insight on what Tiesto and other popular acts are bumping these days.
MUZOOKA
A cross-platform music discovery tool, Muzooka basically links independent artists with music producers through crowdsourcing. Musicians can upload and share their music library with listeners and industry execs, increasing their exposure. Standard users have access to create streaming playlists and share tracks on social media. Furthermore, aspiring bands can make money selling their music on the service.
SOFAR SOUNDS
This music discovery community invites performers to your living room for a more intimate listening experience. Sofar Sounds is a private gig service that curates live concerts in unique spaces. Big-name artists and emerging acts can list themselves for hire and work a small crowd for a substantial payday. Local bands are tearing it up on here at the moment, so sign up A.S.A.P
NAGUAL SOUNDS
Transforming your body into a musical instrument, Nagual Sounds tracks gestural movements on a 3D camera and coverts that data into music. And it’s all done in real time. It’s capable of generating harmonies, melodies, and rhythms by assigning sound elements to certain parts of the body. Word is the technology is also being pushed to encourage disabled users to create music as well.
SPLICE
Look at Splice as an on-demand music studio. The platform creates a directory on a user’s computer, and then automatically saves creations and dependent sample files in the cloud. This in turn allows musicians to edit their work whenever they want online. Collaborators can share work as well by inserting their email address into the project creator.
JUKELY
The social concert app groups friends together based on their musical tastes and recommends shows to check out in their area. It grabs all data from your music apps to create an algorithm that pairs you with other potential matches. From there, users can communicate and share their favorite acts, and even book concerts together directly from the app. Notifications are also present, recommending live music shows and suggesting other friends to attend with.
MOODSNAP
Take a look at the “world’s first” photo playlist app. Uniquely programmed, Moodsnap caters to a person’s musical preferences by devising music stations based on emotive photographs. Pull up a New Year’s photo and expect Top 40 radio, or scroll through your somber selfies and take in nothing but Sam Smith songs. Upon logging in through Spotify, you’ll be met with a series of photos from a stream that can be selected to pull up a music player with an aggregated playlist. Mood music!
INDILOOP
Ever hear a record and think to yourself, what if it was remixed with this specific beat, loop, or sample? Indiloop empowers users to play DJ by letting them create mash-ups of their favorite tracks. A time stretching algorithm is used to blend songs together and produce mixes, eliminating the need for ProTools and other digital audio workstations. Call it the Instagram of music programs.
TOMAHAWK
Switching between streaming services and transferring playlists isn’t cool. This open-source media player becomes your all-in-one music hub by integrating all tunes, online and offline, into one place. Pretty much everything on your computer as well as songs and playlists from other outlets like Rdio, Spotify, and YouTube are fair game. Sharing the same network with others will let you connect to their libraries. Users can embed the player into blogs or digital promos, too.
SOUNDKEEP
An open-source music community, Soundkeep gives users the opportunity to upload their own samples and stems for feedback purposes. That means having a track evaluated by several listeners before laying down any final details. In addition, you can download, share, and utilize other people’s samples for personal use. The program will backup and store each version of a track, allowing users to revert back to a previous version.
EARBITS
Different than your average Pandora or Spotify clone, this commercial free music streaming service focuses solely on promoting independent artists. Musicians are blessed with ad free space to promote a variety of services, including music, live show info, and merchandise. The service even features a currency system that rewards users with what it calls Groovies for supporting artists, which can be cashed in for prizes. Recently securing a new round of funding, the company is back up and running.
GIGIT
Indie bands looking to get some gigs under their belt have a platform to call their own. Gigit is a digital booking service that helps undiscovered talent earn their stage performing stripes. Artists can search for paid gigs from major festivals to office parties without the need of a manager. On the other side, event planners can hire popular local acts for upcoming parties.
BOP.FM
The music streaming aggregator serves as a remote control for your music apps by grabbing tunes from other popular sources like Beats, Rdio, Soundcloud, Spotify, and YouTube. It does so by automatically detecting what services are available, making songs accessible to a user no matter their location or subscription. You also have the option to import playlists and share them across Facebook, Twitter or other platforms. Additionally, Bop.fm offers curated playlists made by verified artists, providing insight on what Tiesto and other popular acts are bumping these days.
MUZOOKA
A cross-platform music discovery tool, Muzooka basically links independent artists with music producers through crowdsourcing. Musicians can upload and share their music library with listeners and industry execs, increasing their exposure. Standard users have access to create streaming playlists and share tracks on social media. Furthermore, aspiring bands can make money selling their music on the service.
SOFAR SOUNDS
This music discovery community invites performers to your living room for a more intimate listening experience. Sofar Sounds is a private gig service that curates live concerts in unique spaces. Big-name artists and emerging acts can list themselves for hire and work a small crowd for a substantial payday. Local bands are tearing it up on here at the moment, so sign up A.S.A.P
