music, Entertainment, Internet
Boston: The Hidden Hub of Music and Technology
Wade Roush 10/17/07
(Page 16 of 22)
Sonicbids
Headquarters: Boston, MA
Year Launched: 2001
CEO: Panos Panay
Funding: backed by Edison Venture Fund
Sonicbids is a website that helps bands and people who book or license music connect with one another. Over 120,000 bands are registered with the site, as well as 10,000 music promoters responsible for scheduling musicians for venues as diverse as music festivals like South by Southwest, cruise ships, restaurants, museums, wineries, and video game soundtracks. Bands pay a fee to upload electronic press kits, which Sonicbids shares with promoters (who also pay a fee). “We’re not a matchmaker, in terms of proactively putting musicians and promoters together, but we provide a platform and a marketplace,” says CEO Panos Panay. “It’s up to them to make the connection.” Nearly a quarter of Sonicbids’ user base is outside the United States, according to Panay. …Next Page »
Wade Roush is Xconomy's chief correspondent. You can e-mail him at wroush@xconomy.com, call him at (617) 252-7323, or follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/wroush.
10/17/07 1:20 am
This is all true, as a Boston area musician, I can say that there are much more opportunities here for musicians than most anywhere else. I believe Boston has the most shows than any other city on any given night. The technology is also very true, with MIT, etc. however, it is a very tough business to be in. I own a record label and just released an album for the band theINFORMATI http://www.myspace.com/theinformati And we believe it will explode because of the Boston/Cambridge scene.
10/17/07 8:36 am
Don’t forget Tourfilter, the most popular concert notification service: http://www.tourfilter.com
10/17/07 11:27 am
In addition to Tourfilter, there’s also http://tourb.us and http://bandsintown.com. Boston appears to be a concert tracking hub!
10/17/07 2:18 pm
In terms of local area software companies with some sort of music/media technology, there also is Peermeta (www.peermeta.com) in Acton with a mobile content / Web 2.0 twist.
11/3/07 4:30 pm
So it seem like after Venue Czar conquers Vermont, they should target Boston? Venue Czar is the ultimate localized online booking platform.
11/7/07 5:26 pm
You could add us to this list as soon as we’re out of stealth mode. (http://www.conduitlabs.com)
1/8/09 8:28 am
Backbone Networks is another local company in this space. We provide internet radio automation systems and is the system behind the IBS Student Radio Network. There are over 30 station on the network and a number of them are local including:
Simmons College
New England Art Institute
Babson College
Separately, a non-profit start up is the Public Radio Exchange in Cambridge. They are the online clearinghouse for Public Radio content.
8/4/09 2:28 pm
New England has a great recource of musicians who have many opportunites and folks who are ready to help them with their careers. The cites Boston, Providence & Worcester all offer great venues and support services.