Techstars Music 2018: The Search Is On
Techstars Music 2018 will invest $120k each into ten startups solving problems for the growing global music business
Techstars Music 2018 accelerator starts in Los Angeles on February 5, 2018, and right now we’re in the midst of a global tour to meet founders who are solving real problems for the global music business. Applications close on October 15th and we’ll be making our final selections on or around December 15th.
In 2017, we invested in 11 startups (more info here) that have gone on to raise more than $15M collectively. Six of those 11 companies came to LA from outside the United States, a ratio we expect to continue in our 2018 class.
Why? Well, the world loves music, and music is driving digital culture everywhere. A big part of the Techstars Music strategy is our deep cooperation with the global music business. We believe cooperation produces greater return on investment.
Our member companies (and there is more exciting news to come here soon!) are Warner Music Group, Harmonix Music Systems, Q Prime Management, Bill Silva Entertainment, Silva Artist Management, Era Of The Engineer, and Sony Music. These global leaders provide more than capital, they run the program with us, helping at every step of the process, from selection to mentoring to business development and even follow-on investment. Their diversity of skills and talent help the startups in our program gain real, planetary advantage.
So, what kind of startups are we looking for? Techstars Music is for startups working on scalable solutions for:
• New music experiences for home, venue, festival & connected devices
• Music creation, collaboration & sharing
• Direct-to-consumer marketing, ticketing & eCommerce
• Content infrastructure & delivery
• Royalties, reporting, rights management & licensing
• Data mining & machine learning
• Music education for digital natives
• Technology-based artist discovery, management & services
• Event and crowd safety
Where are we going? Better question is where *aren’t* we going. We’ve already been to Mexico, Japan, Australia, Canada, Boston, Denver, looking for the world’s best technical and business talent… with 10 countries and dozens of cities still to go.
Is Techstars Music the right accelerator program for you? Take a look at events below and request a meeting to show us what you are working on. Apply online here, with more information available here. Applications close October 15th, so get after it!
See you out there!
Bob Moczydlowsky, @bobmoz
Managing Director, Techstars Music
2018 TECHSTARS MUSIC RECRUITING TOUR:
Thursday, Oct. 5th — Atlanta, Georgia, USA
OFFICE HOURS RSVP LINK: ATLANTA
Thursday, Oct. 12th — Prague, Czech Republic
MEET UP RSVP LINK: PRAGUE
Friday, Oct. 13th — Budapest, Hungary
MEET UP RSVP LINK: BUDAPEST
Saturday, Oct. 14th — Vienna, Austria
MEET UP RSVP LINK: VIENNA
Monday, Oct. 16th — New York, New York, USA
OFFICE HOURS RSVP LINK: NEW YORK
Thursday, Oct.26th — Tokyo, Japan
OFFICE HOURS RSVP LINK: TOKYO
Wednesday, Nov. 1st & Thursday, Nov. 2nd — Los Angeles, CA, USA
OFFICE HOURS RSVP LINK: LOS ANGELES
Tuesday, Nov. 7th — London, England
OFFICE HOURS RSVP LINK: LONDON
Thursday, Nov. 9th — Lisbon, Portugal
OFFICE HOURS RSVP LINK: LISBON
Friday, Nov. 10th — Berlin, Germany
OFFICE HOURS RSVP LINK: BERLIN
Saturday, Nov. 11th — Paris, France
OFFICE HOURS RSVP LINK: PARIS
Wednesday, Nov. 29th — Helsinki, Finland
OFFICE HOURS RSVP LINK: HELSINKI
Thursday, November 30th — Stockholm, Sweden
OFFICE HOURS RSVP LINK: STOCKHOLM
PS — Can’t leave a musical post without a song… this one seems to fit perfectly:
