Meet the ten music tech startups selected as semi-finalists to pitch at the annual Music Tectonics pre-conference

A new wave of startups is emerging that are making good on the promise of edgy developments like artificial intelligence, web3, and supercharged fandom to innovate how music is created, enjoyed, and monetized. As part of the annual Music Tectonics online pre-conference and in-person conference in Santa Monica, music tech startups from all around the globe enter the Swimming With Narwhals Pitch Competition, where imagination and innovation meet reality by handing the stage to startups that are fostering creativity and solving music industry problems.

Each year, ten startups are selected from a highly competitive slate of applicants by a panel of experts in the music innovation startup landscape. 2023’s semi-finalists will pitch at the Music Tectonics online pre-conference on September 13:

- Aux - a generative AI model that takes a text prompt (eg. "808 kick") and generates infinite audio samples.

- Creativemind - Korea’s first-ever AI music composer, with human-like songwriting abilities.

- Dequency - web3-enabled music rights portal, connecting rights holders and visual creators.

- Everwave - a collaborative music production DAO.

- Get Moments - a platform that lets live event organizers collect and monetize UGC video from concerts, festivals, and sports matches.

- Lune Acoustics - a hardware and software companion that removes barriers to learning guitar.

- MAYK - voice tech with a focus on UGC song creation tools.

- Offstage - a superfan platform that makes fan data accessible and actionable.

- RealCount - an analytics platform for live music’s key performance metric: tickets sold.

- VisualLabs - a Generative AI video creation tool.

They will be supported by an audience of Music Tectonics Conference ticket holders as they make their pitches to a jury of three experienced music tech investors:

- Tracy Maddux, Downtown Music Holdings

- Aadit Parikh, Sony Ventures

- Juliette Rolnick, Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments

Music industry analyst extraordinaire Mark Mulligan will kick off the online event with a keynote presentation powered by MIDiA Research’s data and insights. This preconference is only open to conference ticket holders. To join them, get tickets at MusicTectonics.com/conference.

About the Swimming with Narwhals Competition

Spotlighting creative startups through this competition is one of the ways the Music Tectonics conference focuses on music innovation—wherever it’s shaking up the industry. Music Tectonics’ competition keeps the focus on real-world innovators who are poised to make waves in the music industry. Read more about the competition at the Music Tectonics website.

About Music Tectonics

Music Tectonics was founded to explore the deep seismic shifts that keep the music industry unsettled. At the fifth annual conference in 2023, we’ll delve into the consequences of these shifts and the new fault lines poised to change the industry yet again. Music Tectonics unites music tech innovators across industry boundaries to share insights and get business done. A variety of experiences in unexpected venues offers attendees many opportunities for making meaningful connections, scheduling meetings, and serendipitous encounters. The fifth annual conference returns to Santa Monica, CA, October 24-26, 2023. Join us for three days of programming about the future of music that prepares you to ride the next seismic shifts shaking up the industry.