BankSA unearthing new business

Musio.co – a website and mobile app that connects up and coming musicians with influencers in the music industry has received BankSA’s $10,000 Jump Start Your Start Up new business grant.

This morning, new BankSA Chief Executive Nick Reade announced that Musio’s developers, young Adelaide entrepreneurs Mal Chia and Oli Young, had impressed judges with their innovative approach to finding a solution to an identified and growing need, and one that has global reach.

As a passionate supporter of South Australian small business, Mr Reade understands the challenges of starting a new venture, with the inaugural Jump Start cash grant giving Musio.co the vital assistance needed to accelerate its growth.

He said more than 100 entries were received and the Musio team was a worthy recipient, submitting a strategic and well-supported business plan to take its innovative concept worldwide.

Musio.co is a website which allows users to upload music and privately send it to relevant people in the music industry, while allowing the industry to better manage the tracks they receive easily and in a single place on their phone, laptop or tablet.

“It’s an inbox for the music industry – a productivity tool to help record labels, DJs, radio stations, agents, managers and promoters manage the flood of demos they get and help them find the tracks they should be paying attention to,’’ Mr Chia said.

“Users pay a monthly subscription to upload music and send it to anyone on the network, collecting detailed feedback and analytics on who has listened to their track.

“We’re taking a similar approach to Facebook, or LinkedIn and using a ‘social graph’ to rank tracks in your inbox based on your relationship with the artist and their work.  In a way, we’re kind of like a dating site for the music industry,” Mr Young said.

Mr Chia also explained that while competitors typically focus on the artists and helping them connect with their fans, ‘’Musio focuses on helping the industry sort through the tracks they receive to help them unearth the next Flume or M4SONIC’’.

“I’ve spent over 10 years of my life in the music industry where I would receive upwards of 50 new tracks a week. It got to the point where I just didn’t have time to listen to everything I was sent so they would end up in the bin, unheard. There’d be times when a track would become huge and I realised it had been sent to me but for some reason I’d missed it,” he said.

“We’re starting in the electronic music scene, mainly because that’s the industry I know best, has the largest network and is the music we love.  But it’s also about market size; it’s the scene ripest for this, with the growth of the genre and the number of people making music in their bedrooms. It’s a $4 billion industry globally and it’s only getting bigger.

“We’ve funded the entire development ourselves and this grant will help take us a step closer to launch with marketing, design and legal support.”

Mr Reade said that while many large South Australian companies have become household names over the years, there are also many other small to medium enterprises (SMEs) that have survived well beyond the short term and continue to contribute to our economy, providing jobs, products and services.

“South Australian businesses have shown great innovation, with new technology helping many overcome the issue of distance from some markets.  As a result, this State is spawning a dynamic new generation of business ventures, such as Musio,” he said.

The Jump Start Your Start Up program attracted more than 100 entries of an impressive standard.

Entrants were asked to provide a business plan and financial details, including an overview of the business, its legal status, a marketing plan and a summary of business services and products.

A panel of three respected Adelaide business people assessed the top ten entries.  They were Amanda Heyworth, Director Ingenia Communities Group; Anthony Kittel, Managing Director of Redarc Electronics; and Jamie McKeough, Managing Director of William Buck Chartered Accountants and Advisors.

FURTHER INFORMATION:

Jayne Flaherty, Head of Communications, BankSA