3 Companies Using Technology to Disrupt the Music Industry
Of course technology has been disrupting the music industry. I remember the days of standing in line at the music store, waiting for midnight so I could buy a new release. Those days are over and thanks to technology I can now pre-order, download, and play my favorite music without even leaving my bed. Even music streaming services have replaced the traditional ways we used to listen to music.
Music industry disruption doesn't stop there. Year after year, the industry shifts based on new advancements and consumer demand. Here are three companies that have taken the reins of technology to present a better way for consumers to experience music.
Musicnotes
Musicnotes.com is a website that allows the download of sheet music for more than 300,000 songs. But, don't think of this as a nerdy band site. It has everything from classical musical to your favorite artists like Michael Jackson and most recently, music from the Tony Award winning musical, Hamilton. For its part in using technology to disrupt the music industry, the company has been referred to as the iTunes of sheet music.
Musicnotes also has an app that allows you to download digital sheet music and play along on your phone or tablet. It is available in both iOS and Android and allows visual and audio playback, set list organization, and markup. It has a video recording feature for iOS which allows you to record and upload your performances on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and other social networks.
"As a technology company, we're proud to be modernizing how people purchase and play sheet music. As musicians, the music itself is at the heart of everything we do," said Bill Aicher, chief marketing officer at Musicnotes. "Our goal is to inspire fellow musicians of all ages, skill levels, instruments and genres to practice and share their talent."
The company continues to secure licensing agreements in order to keep its selection fresh. It currently has agreements with Disney Music Publishing, EMI, BMG, Sony, and others. You can find music from the movie Frozen, songs from Justin Beiber, and thousands of songs from your favorite musicians.
Music Glue
Music Glue is a technology company founded by Mark Meharry in 2007. The company provides a platform for artists to sell music to consumers without having to use retailers such as iTunes or Amazon. It is a "direct-to-fan" website (a play on the term "direct-to-consumer") which officially launched direct selling in 2013.
While this concept is not new, it does have an advantage over others. Music Glue allows artists and music venues to sell everything in a single place. It has basically done to the online music industry what Amazon Marketplace did for retail. It brings everything together from multiple suppliers into a single site.
"Within the next three years, artists will no longer be spending money building websites as marketing tools," Meharry told Forbes in a 2015 interview. "Instead they will simply have an account with YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, MailChimp and Music Glue. We crave ease of use and we will continue to invest heavily in tech."
The company isn't a simple startup trying to attract clients. One of its first artists was Mumford and Sons and it is currently used by artists such as Bryan Adams, Rage Against The Machine, and Red Hot Chili Peppers.
LANDR
LANDR is all but replacing producers and mixing engineers. Imagine recording a song and then having it mastered automatically. Well, LANDR pretty much does just that.
A normal song must first be mixed (mixing the singing with the background with the instrumental, etc.). Then, it must be mastered by leveling out the different voices to be the same volume. This is something normally reserved for the studio but now can be done online.
LANDR uses algorithms to detect and master songs on a cloud based system. Instead of using presets, it uses technology similar to Shazam to analyze the music and then make adjustments accordingly.
"Their algorithms were refined over eight years of university research, and they even have a resident astrophysicist," writes Brian Hazard in a blog post on Passive Promotion. However, he also says there is a downside as an algorithm can never replace a professional engineer. "The algorithm will get better over time but, it can never replace a professional mastering engineer, because it lacks musical understanding."
Continuing Music Disruption
These are three companies but, there are many more in the process of disrupting the music industry. Since Napster brought about music file sharing, the disruption has been in full swing.
What companies do you know that are disrupting the music industry? Have you had any experience with the three above? If so, share your thoughts about them below.
