I have spent the better part of my traveling finishing 2 very interesting books on the future of music: Music 2.0 and Net, Blogs and RocknRoll. They point to very similar directions: music is going to be like water, and the opportunities lie in creating the products/services that creates, agggregates, filters and recommends the most powerful music experiences for the user.
There are great little nuggets of learning in both books and it is from all these that inspire me to come up with a list of 5 possible startup ideas in music. All these are not truly unique, given the hundreds of startups in this area, but they should provide further room for thought:
Concert related music channel: Aggregate music by musicians that is filtered by the geography proximity of their touring to the user. Pair this with a mobile ticketing solution and you will have a powerful engagement model for concert marketing.
Events related media aggregator: It is not uncommon for fans to post pictures, videos, reviews et al of concerts performed by their favourite musicians. However, most of these media are not aggregated and shared. If we can somehow aggregate these concerts related media, and allow fans to then remix them, this will create a new form of media sharing that is centered around common events. Imagine outside.in but with a focus on events related media, rather than location focus.
Leveraging on context to create different aggregation plays: Music is consumed under different context. Use that as a way to think about how best to recommend and surface the most relevant music that suits certain context. A simple idea: create a site where users upload and share their driving music playlist. This is a niche play where music is contextualised by the act of driving.
A marketplace for licensing of independent music: This is similar to the concept of micro stockphoto agencies. As music is increasing being used in advertisements, other media et al, we need an easy way for these music to be sold and used. While there are existing startups that are attacking this space, there is still plenty of room for evolution, just as in the stockphoto industry.
Data driven approaches to selling music: Data driven businesses is one of my favourite plays. Why not used such an approach to selling music? Band metrics is one recent example. There are many more opportunities. Just learn from the finance industry.
Related:
Startup Idea #26: New music label
5 ways to help musicians moblise their music
Startup Idea #96 (Part II): Topspinmedia for the mobile
Startup Idea #96: Topspinmedia for the mobile
There are great little nuggets of learning in both books and it is from all these that inspire me to come up with a list of 5 possible startup ideas in music. All these are not truly unique, given the hundreds of startups in this area, but they should provide further room for thought:
Concert related music channel: Aggregate music by musicians that is filtered by the geography proximity of their touring to the user. Pair this with a mobile ticketing solution and you will have a powerful engagement model for concert marketing.
Events related media aggregator: It is not uncommon for fans to post pictures, videos, reviews et al of concerts performed by their favourite musicians. However, most of these media are not aggregated and shared. If we can somehow aggregate these concerts related media, and allow fans to then remix them, this will create a new form of media sharing that is centered around common events. Imagine outside.in but with a focus on events related media, rather than location focus.
Leveraging on context to create different aggregation plays: Music is consumed under different context. Use that as a way to think about how best to recommend and surface the most relevant music that suits certain context. A simple idea: create a site where users upload and share their driving music playlist. This is a niche play where music is contextualised by the act of driving.
A marketplace for licensing of independent music: This is similar to the concept of micro stockphoto agencies. As music is increasing being used in advertisements, other media et al, we need an easy way for these music to be sold and used. While there are existing startups that are attacking this space, there is still plenty of room for evolution, just as in the stockphoto industry.
Data driven approaches to selling music: Data driven businesses is one of my favourite plays. Why not used such an approach to selling music? Band metrics is one recent example. There are many more opportunities. Just learn from the finance industry.
Related:
Startup Idea #26: New music label
5 ways to help musicians moblise their music
Startup Idea #96 (Part II): Topspinmedia for the mobile
Startup Idea #96: Topspinmedia for the mobile