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SoundStation isn’t another music streaming app. Spotify, Rdio, Songza, and Pandora all compete for that market already. Rather, SoundStation is building something on top of the mass music market. The startup knows amongst the masses of people listening to music there is a small group that can’t wait to discuss what they are hearing.
SoundStation works as an add-on to popular music streaming apps like Spotify, Beats and Rdio. By connecting those apps users can stream music within SoundStation, then they can comment on what they're hearing. It's like a comments section for music tracks.
“We are trying to generate discussion around albums and songs,” said co-founder and CEO Shaun Newsum. “Someone hears a new song and they want to talk about it and share it.”
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To use SoundStation you have to have the paid version of a music-streaming app like Spotify. That immediately cuts down the number of users who will be using the app, but it doesn’t bother SoundStation.
“We are going after power users of all these services,” said Newsum.
SoundStation has about 60,000 power users on any given day. Those power users, or music enthusiasts, are often where hit music gets its start. Early adopters of music tend to have a taste for the next big thing and they know what their friends will like. They are not afraid to promote tracks and albums they think are good, so their influence on the music market can turn a fresh track into a hit. Record companies know this and want to get their best music in front of these influencers.
SoundStation sees this as one of its principal advantages, so it's catering to artists and record companies.
In addition to giving users a comments section for songs, “we also allow artists to post images and video alongside their albums,” said Newsum. “From the artist side it’s more about generating buzz.”
Buzz is hugely important these days because more and more streaming music is not about making money; rather it’s a means to market an artist’s music. The artist can later make money though live concerts.
Down the road SoundStation will be enhancing that artist and hardcore listener even more with several new communication features.
“What we want to do is also create a way for the artist to log in and communicate with the people who are engaging with their content,” said Newsum. “It’s kinda like VIP. The fact that you’re a following on SoundStation you get premium access to content.” Think of the feature as a digital backstage pass for the biggest fans. While not touring and performing concerts artists can meet their biggest supporters all in one spot.
Though Newsum couldn’t be specific at this time, SoundStation is working with several record companies to connect their artist with music enthusiasts. In time, if those relationships blossom and if SoundStation takes off, the app could be a valuable first step for making a song into a hit.
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