Let’s talk about Music Startups!
We are BrandNew and our team consists of three, members: George, Voula and Anna. On this semester of ADandPRlab we are going to work on a new lab: The #StartUplab. This year’s Start Up lab, we are going to corporate on the project: “The Big Music Bet” with Antenna Music Partners and explore the music innovation field. At the end of this journey we are going to create as a team something innovative and new, which will take music one step further. But in order to get there, as in any journey we have to take our first step and start from somewhere in order to find your destination. So, this week task is to find a music start-up, that we believe that offers something innovative and maybe unique.
Innovation is the word that has marked the 21st century. We hear and most important we experience it in most of our everyday life. Of course this has affected the music field. The music industry has changed a lot in recent decades as it has been affected by a series of radical changes and developments both in technology and in the ability of artists to produce content. Through the previous years many different music trends and platforms made their appearance and there were long gone before we even realised it. We went vinyl and CD’s to a whole new era of streaming were the music distribution is (mainly) digital.
There are so many apps and platforms out there, in this new digital world, that offer billions of potentials to artists, music creators, music companies and the audience. Nowadays, there are so many options available that has been established “Innovation in Music Awards”. Smaller startups are able to tackle more niche health problems and use cases that the streaming behemoth either is overlooking or has no incentive to build. One such example is Mila, a France startup in this year’s Techstars Music cohort that is gamifying and digitizing music therapy for children with neurodevelopmental disorders based on the theory of Music therapy.
Music therapy has multiple benefits which contribute to the maintenance of health and the drive toward rehabilitation for children. Advanced technology that can monitor cortical activity offers a look at how music engages and produces changes in the brain during the perception and production of musical stimuli. Music therapy, when used with other rehabilitation methods, has increased the success rate of sensorimotor, cognitive, and communicative rehabilitation. The achievement of a physical rehabilitation goal relies on the child’s existing motivation and feelings towards music and their commitment to engage in meaningful, rewarding efforts. Regaining full functioning also confides in the prognosis of recovery, the condition of the client, and the environmental resources available. Both techniques use systematic processes where the therapists assist the client by using musical experiences and connections that collaborate as a dynamic force of change toward rehabilitation.
Researchers have also proven that music has a powerful effect in our emotions. Listening and playing music is directly associated to our brain’s dopamine and endorphin levels, giving it the power to make us feel happy, inspired, excited, relaxed or sad.
Mila is an application made by a team of engineers and designers that used proven music therapy methods and turned them into interactive rhythmic games in order to help children from 7 to 12 to improve their reading and help their self-esteem. The name of the start-up Mila means Musical Interactions and Learning Activities. It offers a solution through a digital interactive adaptation of musical methods and interventions employed by health professionals in the fields of speech-language and behavioral therapy. “It is a “fun smart games that will help bridge the gap of children’s learning differences by integrating the fundamentals of music and cognitive gaming.” as anyone can see, once they visit their site. Mila’s goal is to offer music exercises to redevelop communication between different areas of the brain and effectively treat developmental dyspraxia disorders.
The user can listen to music through Mila’s games and play some instruments. Moreover, by registering audio and gesture control Mila can analyze the user’s skills to help them improve their rhythm. The users sing, play along and move and dance to the rhythm the user choose. Also, through the application, the users, retrain skills in temporal perception, attention and working memory all of which are important for reading and learning. Of course, parents couldn’t be missing from this journey, they’ll be able to see the progress, of the games for their kid. This will benefit all of us, understanding each child’s quest to learning.
This journey has begun, stay tuned for more!
