7 reasons I’m stoked for Techstars Music

Why now is actually a good time to be a music startup

Photo by @pbernosky on Flickr

Yesterday we announced our latest Techstars offering for startups, Techstars Music. Music has been a notoriously challenging category for startups, but I’m beyond stoked. Here’s why:

1. Music drives culture. For many people, musical taste defines style and is a bedrock of personal identity. Boomers, Gen X, Millennials…the generations may be wildly different but the importance of music to youth culture, creativity, and consumer behavior has been as consistent as a John Bonham beat, or a Grandmaster Flash beat. Take your pick.
2. Music is massive. What would Apple be without music? What would YouTube be without music? The size of the recorded music industry has changed over the years and consumption formats have evolved considerably, but the overall value that music as a category drives — including the indirect impact to businesses of all kinds — is massive.
3. Music drives innovation. Music and tech have been strange bedfellows over the last few decades. And yet arguably many of the greatest innovations in our lifetimes have been created out of or achieved mass adoption at least in part due to demand for music — in many cases completely outside the system. Peer-to-peer file sharing. Digital compression formats like MP3. Streaming media. Embedded video. Social media. Bluetooth. With innovation comes opportunity.
4. New platforms are here. Music went through a wave of massive change when the internet first arrived (Napster). And when social media first arrived (Myspace). And when mobile first arrived (Pandora). We’re just entering a new phase of change with transformational technologies including VR, AI, blockchain and more. It’s time for a new round of incredible new ideas that can change things all over again. Big new businesses will emerge accordingly.
5. Collaboration. Techstars Music is in partnership with organizations that can unlock immense value and powerful relationships for startups. Sony Music, Warner Music Group, Sonos, Harmonix, Q Prime, Bill Silva Entertainment, Young Guru’s Era of the Engineer, and Silva Artist Management. We’re bringing the industry together with the top startups in working in music today, and the industry is approaching the endeavor with a #givefirst spirit. The goal is to collaboratively drive the future of music together.
6. #LongLA. Los Angeles is having a special moment right now. An emergent technology community. A renaissance of art and culture. Unbridled creativity. Any startup looking to drive advancement in the culture industries needs to have strong ties to LA. Startups in this program will get plugged into LA in spades.
7. Bob Moz. Our Managing Director, Bob Moczydlowsky, is a lifelong friend and has dedicated his life to driving innovation around music. He thinks like a fan. He is the right person to shepherd the balance that this space will need to be truly special, and he has the relationships to bring a world class pool of mentors together from across the entrepreneurial world and the music industry to help the startups in this program in a truly unique and special way.

If you are building a technology business that even remotely has ties to how music is created, consumed, or distributed, you should check out Techstars Music. You’ll be glad you did.

- — — — — — — — —

If you got value out of this article, please ♡ / recommend it below. Connect with me on Twitter @codysimms with any comments / thoughts.