SendMusic

SendMusic was a platform Kemal started in 2018 with the aim of connecting all the amazing music makers, curators and dj’s together into one ecosystem...

It was based on some simple core principles

With over 100k finished tracks (and growing!) added to streaming platforms daily, there are many multiple of that number (think ideas or sketches, work-in-progress, demos, alternative lyrics, additional production, mix-down or mastered versions of tracks) being made every single day.They're all in silos across email, hard drives, dropbox, box and more…How many amazing songs never get finished because they’re buried somewhere?

Connection

Everyone making music is connected in the first instance by showing their work – i.e. sending and listening to music files. At it's core, it's a network in it's purest form

Value

The real currency of the music industry are the mp3’s and wav’s that go on to become iconic moments in people’s lives

Making it easy

Nobody needed another file storage/transfer solution – they just wanted to get heard!

Let's go!

I wanted to start where wetransfer stopped… making the simplest way to send, receive and then reply to music files before they got released. It was the starting point to build a great community.80% of SendMusic users switched to ‘Stream Only’ which wasn’t the default setting at the time. It showed that musicians cared about being heard and not giving away their mp3 or wav files.

The Simplest Platform

You could listen and reply to music in 3 taps in the app. Open Notification, Push Play, Type Response. There were many more exciting plans on the roadmap to develop the best experience for music creators.

The Result

SendMusic had early initial revenue, key influential tastemakers onboard and was getting unknown artists radio play and record deals. It was a launchpad for artists to start making a career in music.

The Journey

Just some of the things that happened on the way

Achievements

  • Influential tastemakers such as MistaJam, Benji B, Jamz Supernova, Paul Woolford and more all signed up and used the platform. Artists got signed to labels and released records.

  • DJ Semtex launched his 'Semtex Selects' feature on Capital Xtra, giving unheard music its first play on national radio. Music makers achieved Radio Airplay on numerous BBC and Capital Radio stations.

Musicians got feedback and opportunities quicker than ever before

Notable Successes

  • SendMusic became an ADE (Amsterdam Dance Event) 'One 2 Watch' start-up

  • SendMusic completed Wallifornia's Accelerator Program backed by Universal Music

  • Press highlights included coverage in Forbes, MusicTech, Record of the Day, Magnetic and plenty more

  • Users from Universal, Apple Music, September Management and more all signed up to accept new music

SendMusic had thousands of registered users with some of the most influential names in music

What next?

Unfortunately, SendMusic couldn’t scale mainly because the climate had changed due to covid.
There were two main obstacles:- UK Early Stage start-up investment was down by 80%
- Global Music Tech investment (tough at the best of times!) was down by 67%My aspiration was to provide a platform that would become the dominant space for music creatives to get early feedback, be inspired and help to build careers. Without funding and a commitment to a faster technical rollout, it was obvious it wouldn't scale fast enough and so SendMusic closed its doors.However - as one shuts, another opened! I continued my music industry career at Amazon Music, implementing everything I've learned in over 15 years at the top of the music industry.It's been an exciting journey so far. Want to see what comes next? Follow me on LinkedIn below...
Kemal

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