Drinks brand Red Bull has launched a new scheme to promote music technology start-ups in the UK. The Red Bull Amplifier is open to everybody with great ideas to “make music experiences better” from hackers to startups ready to find their market. The company said it will not invest or take partial ownership of any […]
Drinks brand Red Bull has launched a new scheme to promote music technology start-ups in the UK.
The Red Bull Amplifier is open to everybody with great ideas to “make music experiences better” from hackers to startups ready to find their market.
The company said it will not invest or take partial ownership of any business that gets involved in the program. Instead, they’re offering access to artists and audience which is exactly what many music tech startups need.
The scheme expands on similar projects in the past, such as Red Bull Records and Red Bull Music Academy.
Red Bull Amplifier states: “If you’ve got an innovative, creative, change-the-face-of-music startup, we’d love to hear from you. We’re looking for like-minded people to work together with us – to make music experiences better and redefine the idea of accelerating a startup.”
Their criteria is broad and appears to include interest in possibilities from the hack level to the ready for market exposure level:
– “Is your product innovative and does it make experiencing music better?
– Are you an independent, early stage startup with a strong team which is a pleasure to work with?
– Is your product developed enough to go to market or be piloted with a large number of users?
Can we deliver something awesome together for Red Bull’s music channels?
– Not a startup yet? If you don’t meet the criteria but have an amazing hack that needs nurturing, we’d still love to hear from you: [email protected].”
The panel of judges features:
SoundCloud’s Dave Haynes
Red Bull Music Academy’s Davide Bortot
Mercury Prize-nominated Ghostpoet
Tech Journalist Ciara Byrne
Commenting on the launch, Dave Haynes SoundCloud’s vice president of business development stated that they weren’t looking for “me too services” but for companies that “look slightly ahead”:
“Don’t just build a feature Facebook is going to build in six months time – look somewhere completely different. [Streaming is] a crowded space and consumption has been commoditised, the play button is everywhere. But what about performance? What’s that tech that will allow anyone to make music?”
http://www.redbullamplifier.com/
