Initiatives of the Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft
Merging your own music collection or connecting freelance musicians with industry experts - the teams at the Music WorX incubator are working on visions that connect in 2024. We present the four innovative projects.
Music WorX brings together start-ups that are looking for new solutions at the interface of music and technology. The globalised music market, characterised by countless platforms and a constant desire for new experiences, is leading the four 2024 teams to focus on the topic of connections: between people, sounds and creative experiences. The teams VAULT, YMYR, Visuell and Trill show how innovation connects the world of music.
Spotify and Discogs, local audio files and analogue vinyl collections: your own music collection is no longer in just one place. Music creators, producers and other music professionals in particular are faced with the challenge of keeping track of their own sound library. The Danish start-up VAULT is tackling this problem by designing an application that allows professionals in the industry to organise their music collections across different channels and locations and discover new music. "It's very time-consuming to maintain your own collection as a music professional. VAULT helps with the organisation," says co-founder Johan Victor Ackerhans. This gives VAULT users valuable time back, which they can invest in their own creative projects.
Fulminant visual art that is generated in real time to music - that's the promise of the start-up Visuell. With their creative idea, they enable musicians and bands, as well as museums and festivals, to make music not only audible but also visible. The five-member team is refining its idea in workshops and with targeted support from Music WorX to make it ready for the market. The aim: "We want to enable everyone to create live visuals easily and playfully," says Adrian Winter, developer at Visuell.
"We want to give artists greater visibility and thus promote local music culture."
YMYR wants to make visible what is happening nearby. The start-up designs solutions to connect musicians and bands with a local fan base. Because although the music industry is a global market, many listeners still want a local live experience. "We want to give artists greater visibility and thus promote local music culture," says Stefan Karl, describing the aim of the project, which he can develop further as part of the incubator.
Independent musicians are always on the lookout for support - and can find it in future with Trill. The founding trio from Poland is planning a platform to connect independent musicians who are not part of established contractual structures with industry experts. The marketplace is intended to simplify the search for helpful support in one's own career. Mentors and coaches as well as stylists and bookers can be sought - and found. "I hope that musicians will not only find support on our platform, but also great human connections," says Nela Szadkowska, co-founder of Trill.
About the programme
Music WorX is the incubator for start-ups at the intersection of music and technology. The three-month programme offers agile start-up support and sustainable networking. Four promising teams have also started the programme in 2024 - and will pitch their projects to a top-class jury at the end.
