Interview: Adam Hasslert, CEO of Online DAW Soundation

What initially inspired and jump-started the development of the Soundation music creation platform, and why did your team decide to make it browser based?

Soundation was actually founded in 1999. Back then, they were recording samples and selling sample packs, but the business wasn't going and investors requested a new business plan. I took over the company in 2018, and put together a new team from scratch, and together we developed the platform up to what it is today. It was important to build Soundation to be browser based and collaborative, to lower barriers to entry so anyone can make music online and connect with other creatives seamlessly. We’ve focused on building next-generation music software for producers of all experience levels. Soundation offers a one-stop shop, including a multiplayer DAW, a vibrant online community, and learning tools.

If a music creator is just starting out on their musical journey, and trying to decide which DAW to use, why should they select Soundation?

Soundation is the best DAW to start music-making on because of its accessibility and ease of use. You can get started for free without downloading anything to see if you like it. Desktop DAWs can also be intimidating with all the features, tools, and buttons. Soundation has everything you need to make great music without being overwhelming. It being browser based also has benefits including real-time collaboration.

Compared to other browser-based DAWs, Soundation is also the closest thing to a standard desktop DAW. So if you got started on Soundation and want to move on to something like Ableton Live, Logic Pro, or Cubase, that will be an easy transition.

Why is the real-time collaboration tool Beatmaker such an important component of the Soundation platform for music creators looking to collaborate with others remotely?

Collaborating remotely with desktop DAWs is clunky and slow. Typically, you have to send files back and forth over and over again.

With Soundation, you have a shared workspace that you can access anytime, anywhere. You have the option to work together in real-time and see the updates immediately, along with the cursor of your collaborator, as if they’re sitting at the same computer.

With the Beatmaker, you can add your own samples and draw in patterns, or use premade ones as a starting point. It makes music production spontaneous and fun, which is very important for collaboration.

As a former producer myself, I wish Soundation was available when I was making beats, especially because of your very helpful video tutorial series. Can you tell us about the series overall, and your latest one, specifically, where you demonstrate building a future bass drop?

Anyone can learn music production and we want to lower the barrier to entry for beginners to do so. We have videos covering Soundation’s tools, recreating iconic songs, music genres, music theory, and workflow.

We aim to be precise and concise in our content, with quality over quantity, to show how to get great-sounding results without wasting time.

In our “How to make a future bass drop” tutorial, we show you a step-by-step guide on how to get it done. What sounds, chords, and techniques you can use to get the essence of the genre. We also leave room for options, so if you follow the tutorial, you don’t end up with a copy of the song in the video, but rather something unique.

With over 150,000 monthly users, it's clear that Soundation is the DAW that a substantial number of music creators prefer to use to make their beats. What's next for the Soundation platform and user community?

We want to improve the studio to be even more user-friendly and include all the features you would expect in a modern DAW.

Being browser-based opens up a lot of opportunities that we want to apply.

For instance, we just released our embed feature, where anyone can add a code snippet to their website to add a DAW project template that their users can open without leaving the website. This can be used for showcasing sample packs and letting customers try them out in a DAW before buying. It can also be used for remix contests. We’re eager to see all other creative ways this can be used and we want to develop it further to fit the users' needs.

We are also excited about Soundation Education, providing an affordable and safe platform for schools to use in their curriculum to teach music and audio production. With it, they will be able to manage classes and projects online.

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