this is great! I've got something similar in app store review right now, but its less focused on UGC. @xtopherpaul - is all the content uploaded by users? is that how you avoid copyright issues? might there still be problems with things like covers, etc?
@sammybauch all the content is user uploaded. We're partnering with smaller indie labels and artist management firms to ensure quality content and serving it up algorithmically. But each user assumes responsibility for their uploaded content. I guess I'm of the opinion that it's not a problem till it's a problem. And Youtube seems to get by with covers so I think we're safe.
@xtopherpaul yeah im completely ignorant on the legal issues surrounding covers, just wondering whether you've looked into that. if it does become a problem I think that would signal strong traction, so one of those good problems to have!
Would you be interested in partnering with majors? Or is your focus on indie?
@sammybauch we've done some preliminary research into covers but having a solid TOS is key.
We spoke with some people in leadership roles in 2 of the 3 majors pre-launch and realized our opportunity is in the indie market. We're building a critical mass of users that can be monetized and focusing on intimate communication channels between artist and audience. We're circumventing the traditional top down approach of the music industry and focusing on a broader talent base.
thanks for engaging :)
"critical mass of users that can be monetized" seems to be your playbook, but the monetization part is (always) easier said than done.
I like the focus on communication, which I'd call access. This sort of access to creators breeds deeply committed fans that can help an artist grow - the crop of Vine stars is I think the best evidence of that lately. I could absolutely see myself discovering an artist, saying "She's NEXT!", and following along closely, sharing, evangelizing, etc, all priming the pump for monetizing that fandom.
Would you say you're more solving the distribution & discovery problem for indie artists? Solving the discovery problem for listeners? Or truly building a two-sided "marketplace" that serves both equally?
@sammybauch Ideally I'd say it's a solution for both artist and audience. We see it as a plug-and-play discovery mechanism for platforms like SoundCloud and Spotify and a soapbox for artists that don't have a dedicated, mobile resource for showcasing their talent.
@rrhoover The music space has it's challenges - but if if nobody takes on those challenges nothing will change. Both @sarahm15 and I were musicians before we got into design - so it's our passion and it's a vertical that needs a push. Cofounding Tinder was a blast but when it comes down to it I'm not passionate about the dating space. I feel like I left the product in a good spot for growth and it was the right time for Next to be born :)
I feel like @aten could write a thesis on music discovery.
pretty good execution, but seems like such a saturated + difficult space, at least in a business sense. a couple questions Chris
1) who are your core early adopters? is it label a+r / music journalists?
2) what's the value prop for the labels that's different from what's already out there?
Thanks for the feedback @eriktorenberg.
1) early adopters have been primarily Youtube contributors looking for more distro and a wider audience. We launched about 7 weeks ago and are coming up on 55k users already (thanks, in part, to an AppStore feature). It seems people are excited to see a dedicated platform to showcase their content. We've got 99 problems but convincing artists to upload content isn't one ;)
2) We're giving the labels an audience curated list of top talent with next to zero effort on their part. We're counting on reaching a critical mass and an active community that labels can't really say "no" to if they want views for their artists.
This is a great way to "microtize"/unbundle a significant niche audience on YouTube!
This is awesome! I had a website called Buskly.com back in the day that was a live single stage for performers to get discovered and interact with an audience. It never got off the ground because it was so synchronous based (need an audience for performers and performers for an audience) but this looks great. I love discovering new up and coming artists!
Congrats on launch. I've done a few of these mobile UGC music apps in the past with varying results, so just some feedback. It's critical that your top performers are the first thing users see otherwise they will delete the app. 95%+ of your users are going to be consumers, so what they consume needs to be awesome. Strongly recommend curation from your UGC pool (maybe editors choice, etc.). Some people will just check out the recording tool, but will record garbage, so you don't want to surface that content. Indie music + social + mobile is EXTREMELY difficult to monetize, so all the best with that.
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