These are 5 of the 20 finalists at the upcoming Midemlab music startup showcase, where winners from three categories will be chosen. The categories are; Music Discovery, Recommendation & Creation services; Marketing, Social Engagement & Monetisation solutions and; Hardware / Internet of Things.
Flat (UK)
Flat is an online composing tool which allows for collaborative creation. Similar to how Google Docs operates, Flat allows up to 1000 collaborators to work on and edit sheet music at the same time. When you add in integration with Google Drive and Google Hangouts, and the ability to use MIDI instruments with the software, Flat looks almost unbeatable as an online collaboration tool.
Sensus Smart Guitar (Sweden)
Normally when one of these all-in-one guitars come along they tend to attempt too much and don’t pull it off, but this guitar by MIND Music Labs is different. Taking inspiration from Stradivari violins (and built with the same woods), the guitar is acoustically impressive, which provides a solid base for the technology to work from. It has the ability to transmit any sound which is wirelessly transmitted to it through the actual body of the guitar – no need for an amp. Sensus also offers unprecedented modulation possibilities, and to top it off, you can share your creations to Soundcloud, Youtube and more right from the instrument.
Trackd App (UK)
There are many apps for recording song ideas and tunes, but most of the popular ones I have used have their flaws. Garageband is too clunky for quick ideas but is good for multi-tracking, Apple’s new Music Memos is good for quick ideas but doesn’t offer multi-tracking, and others have completely different problems. Trackd looks like it could be the solution to these problems. As well as being useful for getting ideas recorded quickly and for easy multi-tracking, Trackd allows you to send ideas to your friends and get them to collaborate on them. Through a native social media type feed you can follow people and even ask randoms to help out on your track. The possibilities for this one are endless.
La Cosa Guitar System (Spain)
Often there is debate between musos as to whether using a MIDI pedalboard controller or a pedalboard full of real stompboxes is better. Well, this product could be the tie breaker that influences those in the stompbox camp to give MIDI a go. Not only does it allow you to link up to eight pedals to the unit, but you can connect your smartphone, computer or tablet and control the parameters through your device.
Stagelink (Germany)
This app empowers fans to influence where artists play their gigs. A band signs up to the app, and then votes are collected from fans as to which city they want them to play in. The amount of votes per country/city/region can then be counted and the band is given vital information about their fanbase in particular locations. This will be especially handy for smaller bands with large online international fanbases. It can even be taken a step further by fans pre-financing the tour. The app will especially please those fans who type ‘come to *insert home city here*’ under Youtube videos of bands, optimistically hoping to influence their touring decisions.
For more information and to check out the other finalists, visit the Midemlab website.
