One of the most ironic modern problems is that there are so many options, it’s often hard to choose.
Digital Music News is pumped up to be partnering with Louder.me, a media startup with a fresh perspective on music discovery and willingness to help independent artists. Here’s what Louder.me is all about, from the company itself.
The variety of everything – from groceries to career opportunities – is enormous, and it’s hard not to feel bewildered by our options. It’s no surprise, then, that the ‘we picked the best for you’ trick is getting ever more popular on the market – you know, stuff like ‘the makeup we swear by’ or ‘the traveling destinations you definitely need to visit’.
Sure, these lists are convenient and maybe save us time. Still, we’re getting tired of the mass market and are more and more willing to seek out niche products.
It’s the same with music. It’s not limited by cable radio anymore – we have a nearly infinite number of online channels and streams we can listen to. But it’s getting even harder to find niche artists amongst these endless channels.
For Music Lovers
Yes, there’s plenty of music around us. But let’s face it: most of it was selected for us, but without us. When we search for new music, we face two main problems.
The first is that services often work only with popular musicians. There’s no reason to mistrust Billboard’s content quality, as its chart represents market tendencies and shows the musicians who have already gained success. Nevertheless, it’s hardly likely you’ll find an interesting independent artist there.
The second problem is when the service displays everything and anything indiscriminately (especially if the listeners themselves are engaged in the process). Again, only celebrities are in the spotlight. It’s a sort of never-ending circle: popular artists get more attention because they are already popular; meanwhile, young bands go unnoticed because they get few listens. With help from these platforms, you can probably find the discography of your already favorite famous band. Maybe the site will suggest similar artists. But it’s unlikely that one of these popular services will help you find truly new music.
One of our main goals is to fill this gap. Our app is designed for young independent musicians who aren’t working with big labels and remain largely unknown. The rest is on our listeners: the frequency of a track’s rotation depends on the number of likes it gets. It’s easy: you have a so-called timeline filled with track previews. You mark the one you like, and the full version of the song is saved to your playlist automatically – like when we were kids and wished we could fast-forward the radio to find out what’s next. Now you can do this, because you’re in charge of this radio. No one stands between you and the music you want to listen to.
For Independent Artists
Many streaming services use a complicated multilevel artist selection system that reduces the chances of young musicians of being heard to the bare minimum — for example, they need a certain amount of listens to get to the playlist. This approach allows little or no chance for a young artist to be discovered, because he often has to compete with owners of multi-platinum albums. This is unfair.
When an artist uploads his track on Louder.me, he interacts strictly with the listener. He’s the one who chooses what to upload and which part of the song will become its teaser. Using his ratings, he’s the one who draws conclusions: which tracks are better perceived by the public, which problems need to be worked on. This moment is crucial for musicians who are beginning their career without an experienced mentor to point out their mistakes. We aim to separate the underground from the mainstream, and moderating content is the only thing we keep in mind. So a young aspiring artist doesn’t need to worry about competing for ratings with Jack White.
Play Arcade Game-Mode
We don’t define any formats, and we have no selection criteria. We offer an audience in the form of a music-crazy community and a place to show yourself to this audience. Technically, posting is as easy as posting on Facebook. But in our case, musicians post tracks for people who are already willing to hear them, because music you can’t find anywhere else is what they’re looking for.
We created our app for those musicians – the ones who still believe you can’t break through without a producer. We want to destroy this myth. And for listeners who want to be in charge of what’s coming through their speakers, we aim to inspire you to play and listen.
The rest is up to you. Get your Louder.me app on mobile devices.
Sounds interesting, but what is their audience size? On iOS there are not even enough ratings yet for it to be displayed. The value for an upcoming artists would be in the user base, but I see nothing indicating size. Right now we would basically be placing music up to an indiscernible base so they can stream royalty free.
COOL AS