I’m a native New Yorker, so I am pretty psyched that the Giants are playing in the Super Bowl today. Still, I have to admit – I watch the Super Bowl for the commercials – but I really look forward to the game because it’s a great excuse to cook some awesome food and open…
Read More
If you are really into music, check out this clever new startup: Vancouver-based Shirtify will send you t-shirts from your favorite bands based on what you listen to on music streaming platforms like Pandora, Spotify, Last.fm, or Rdio. It’s win-win for everyone – artists, who get paid in full – and you – who get…
Read More
In the United States, Rebecca Black’s “Friday” is just bad music. In Vietnam, songs like this have a name – “disaster music,” or tham hoa am nhac. And I’m told it’s even worse – crazy-looking singers, like Asians with blonde mohawks, belting out nonsense lyrics and dancing. Yet somehow this music is a big hit,…
Read More
Finnish-based startup Ovelin has developed an iPad app called WildChords that sounds like a fun way to learn an instrument – especially if you were thinking of adding that to your list of New Year’s resolutions. Of the company’s 3 founders, 2 used to play guitar and one still does. Their goal is to make…
Read More
SweetLabs recently announced Mixtape, the winner of first Pokki Challenge, “a contest that rewards web developers and designers for creating awesome desktop applications using HTML5.” The panel of four judges received more than 60 innovative applications over the course of just 6 weeks. Mixtape, created by Mohamed Tedjani Metfah, took home the $30,000 grand prize…
Read More
Tired of turning pages in orchestra, I used my eighth grade science project to invent a mechanical page turner – a clumsy contraption that let you turn pages by quickly pulling a nob attached to them with string. But it appears my masterpiece was doomed to obsolescence, given the advent of the iPad. From the…
Read More
Google Music, which has been in beta since May, launched yesterday and expanded to a full service for buying, selling, and sharing music. Google touts its new platform as an alternative to music “spinning out of control” on computers, MP3 players, and phones – perhaps a reference to the constant need to sync on iTunes….
Read More
It’s such a bummer when you find out that one of your favorite bands came through town while you were on vacation. Maybe it’s worse when a band you haven’t seen in years is touring but not performing anywhere near your town. A new startup out of Seattle called Stagester allows bands to live stream…
Read More
If you’re a band, you know that you have a ton of competition in the never-ending race to get noticed, build a fan base, and turn your passion into a major success. If you’re a journalist, finding new bands that are worthwhile covering is a major challenge. Bloomington-based StoryAmp is bringing the 2 groups together…
Read More
Welcome to the future of music television. Thanks for tuning in. This is the bold welcome the founders of Cull.TV, a startup out of the San Fransisco Bay area, gives to would-be video curators who use the service to create their own playlists or discover new music videos. Cull.TV greets you with a retro, somewhat…
Read More
Online music services are gaining popularity, and they can be the gateway to millions of listeners. But indie bands may have trouble breaking into Pandora channels, Turntable.fm rooms, and Spotify playlists. Chicago startup SoundOff.fm wants indie bands to be heard. According to its founders, “SoundOff.fm was started to give indie artists a real chance at…
Read More
Soundoff.fm, a new startup out of Chicago, is looking for musical beta testers – bands and musicians specifically. The general concept of the site is pretty simple: 1. Artists upload the best 20 seconds of their music. This 20 second clip is entered into a voting pool, by genre. 2. Voters select a genre, hear two…
Read More
By all indications, social music platform Rexly shouldn’t be around anymore. Investors in San Francisco were skeptical about music: “Telling someone you want to do a music startup is not always the most welcome news in Silicon Valley,” says cofounder Joel Resnicow. On top of that, a competitor launched just weeks after they started building…
Read More
Anyone living the startup lifestyle knows that the weekend is a great time to keep chugging away on your latest endeavor. Thanks to the makers of the Cardinal app, you now might have a rap anthem to jam to. The Cardinal App helps aggregate all your music shares from various applications like Soundhound, Shazam, HypeMachine,…
Read More
First daily deal sites start sprouting like mushrooms. Then daily deal site aggregrators. Then location-based marketplaces. Now it looks like it’s social music’s turn. There are currently 3 social music platforms out there: Turntable.fm was first out of the gates – we covered them back in June. You can create or join listening rooms to…
Read More
Every morning when I hit the local rail trail, I see tons of cyclists and runners with ear buds plugged into their iPods. I am sure if I belonged to a gym, I’d see the same set up on the people hitting the ellipticals, tread mills, and bikes. If you’re a consummate multi-tasker, you probably…
Read More
There are a number of startup accelerator and incubator programs in the United States. We are fans of these programs (not to be confused with... Read More
Two months after the iPad 2 debuted in March, around 40% of users surveyed said their iPad was their primary computer, up from around 30%... Read More
With our Startup Mixology Conference coming up next week followed by our classic Tech Cocktail DC Summer mixer which will showcase a handful of early-stage... Read More
Coming off of one of our biggest Tech Cocktail mixer events in Chicago this past week, which showcased 14 early-stage start-ups, we thought it would... Read More