8 Questions All Music Startups Must Answer

As part of SF
MusicTech week, NARM and DigitalMusic.org held their Music Startup Academy from
the Rdio offices in downtown San Francisco last week. The room was filled with entrepreneurs
and developers looking to educate themselves on what it really takes to develop
a digital music product. For many (including myself), it was a crash course
on the inner workings of a music startup and all that must be thought out and developed
before bringing a product to market. Of all the useful insights gained
at the event, these eight things must be kept in mind before developing
a digital music product.

1. What Problem Are You Solving?

Is it a real problem
within the music space?

Don’t just go after what you think
people are dying for, or what your friends tell you would be a great idea. All
too often, I am presented with products and ideas that either don’t solve actual
problems, or worse yet, solve for problems that don’t even exist. And while I’d
admire the ambition, whenever “game changer” enters the conversation, I
immediately become skeptical.

Identify your problem clearly and ensure you’ve
demonstrated it exists through exhausted market research. Examine where other
products or features fail and position yours to fill that void.

Do also note the singular use of the word “problem” – it’s
important to focus on solving one identifiable problem and do so with
precision. Don’t attempt to be all things to all people; otherwise you’ll end
up be nothing to nobody.

2. Who Are Your
Competitors?

 Perhaps worse than not identifying a real problem or solving for
one that doesn’t exist, is creating a product for problem that is already being
solved.

I can’t tell you how many Bandcamp clones I’ve come across, or
how many people are ambitious enough to believe that their “music focused” social network will be enough to entice people to
spend time away from the bigger parties being thrown at Facebook and Twitter.
Unless it’s absolutely compelling enough to create a user experience unlike any
other, people won’t stick around for more than the initial visit (if you’re
lucky enough to get that).

Take some time – scratch that, a lot of time – to review the marketplace and identify who it is
addressing your same solutions (no matter how well or how minute) before diving
in headfirst and risking the time and money.

3. Who Are Your Target
Users?

These should be the people whom you’ve drawn inspiration to
solve a problem for.

Study them intensely – their habits as users / consumers, their
preferences, their behaviors, etc. and tailor your product towards them. In
fact, they should be heavily involved in the research and development of your
product. Once ready, your product should exist well enough on its own that it
attracts others who are like-minded in reaping all its benefits.

Another thing to consider after you’ve indentified who they are, is ensure that enough of
them exist to meet a viable demand. It can’t be just you making a product for
yourself (although it's fine to start out this way), so ensure there are
others that exist who would benefit from your idea. Again, this takes lots
of time and research, but it’ll be well worth it in the long run.

4. How Will Music Be Used
and What Rights Do You Need?

This is a crucial step to ensuring the viability of your
product.

Are you using tracks in their entirety? Snippets? Will it be
stream only, or are you allowing downloads? How are you obtaining them?

There are a plethora of options and routes to go down, but
before designing the user experience, do keep in mind the gargantuan licensing
hurdle that will inevitably come your way when dealing with labels. It’s best
to not even attempt to go down the licensing labyrinth solo, so employ the help
of an experienced associate to help you understand the complexities of rights
and licensing agreements.

5. What Platforms and
Technologies Can You Leverage?

Will your product be available via mobile? Desktop? Both?

While these decisions have a lot of factors that go into them, some
of the more important ones to take into account are the type of user base that would be most
receptive to your product, the costs that go into development, and the ideal
platform that can handle and deliver your product.

Sometimes a great deal of legwork can be streamlined by
employing the use of an application programming interface (API), which can
reduce the complexity around rights and
technology in many cases. Many licensing models are available through APIs, such as
in-app experiences with no licensing required (e.g., Spotify apps), white label
or co-branded cross-platform products (e.g., 7digital), or label supported APIs
(e.g., EMI & IDJ).

When employing the use of an API, be mindful of the Terms of
Service (especially with regards to global reach), their commercial advantages
or disadvantages, and if you’re working with an API that is maintaining good
partner relationships.

6. Do You Have A Working
Prototype and White Paper?

Any idea always sounds great when it exists in the air, but it’s
imperative to have something to
demonstrate when approaching labels, press and especially potential investors.

It doesn’t need to be flawlessly designed, but it is important
to ensure that the basic functionality is in working order and that the problem
you’ve identified is clearly being solved with your prototype. A prototype also helps in identifying roadblocks early
so you can better identify problems and glitches before the public does.

Including a well written white paper is also a good idea, especially if your
prototype doesn’t include all the features and functions you’d like to see it
have. The white paper should act – in a way – as a business plan; in the sense
that it includes all the market research you’ve done, identifies the problem
you’re solving, and demonstrates how your product is positioned to meet the demands
of your target users / consumers.

7. How Will You Make Money?

I’ve heard the saying “focus on the product first, money
second” several times at various conferences and seminars. While I tend to
agree, I’m amazed at how many people never get to that second stage! They have not once thought about how they will
monetize their products.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” is what someone
once told me when I asked how their app would make money. Bad idea.

Are you expecting to
receive money from consumers directly, or perhaps are you going B2B and
offering your product as a service to other companies? Perhaps your data is for
sale? Whatever it is, make sure that people would actually want to pay for it and that it’s at a price where they feel
comfortable spending the money.

Without a sound business model that is both viable and realistic, the
lifespan of your product will be reduced – as does the likelihood of it
evolving and expanding into something greater.

8. How Will You Market Your Business?

You may have the greatest product on the planet, but if no one
knows about, what good does that do you?

Marketing your product will be key in ensuring that the right
people get exposed to your product at the right time. Here’s where it pays to
be specific in understanding your target users and coming to them directly in
demonstrating your products benefits. Marketing is certainly its own beast to
tackle, so consider employing the services of an experienced marketing team to
help you create awareness and generate buzz.

Of course, the best marketing will always be word of mouth. If your product truly delivers as well as it should, then user experiences and evangelism will be your greatest ally. 

And We Must Not Forget…

PASSION!

If you're not oozing with genuine enthusiasm at the impact your product will soon make to the world, something is certainly amiss. Those who truly believe in their product can't help but talk about it to everyone and anyone who will listen. They do so because they believe in it, not because they're out to make a dollar.

Deliver a product that solves a real problem, with developed strategies to attract users and create sustained engagements, and the money will follow. 

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