Music Founders, Do Things Feel Just Out of Reach?
- Dmitri Vietze
- Oct 13
- 5 min read
There’s a Reason For That and the Solution is Why You Started in the First Place
Founders in music startups emerge from a variety of places; some within the music industry, some in tech, and some from school. Some have artists’ minds, others have business or entrepreneurial minds. Most are optimistic and love music.
But wherever you come from, you soon realize that your startup runway is taking longer than you expected. Investors are harder to come by, partners are slower to adopt, and even users are reluctant to sign up for something new. Investors have been burned before, labels fear letting technology drive their business model, and artists are overwhelmed with options and don’t have enough time to try everything out. Fans are used to getting everything for free or cheap in music, and have their attention divided across so many more ways to spend their time.
Music flows like water, and almost everyone loves it, so it should be easy to redirect human patterns, and thus, institutional patterns. But it’s not.
You started a music startup because you saw a better way. Maybe your venture makes more sense in your mind as a fan. Maybe you are on a mission to help artists make a better living. Or maybe you have come up with a much more efficient way for the industry to do business, helping to raise the tide for ships of fall sizes.
The one thing ALL music startups can do to succeed is raise the income for the entire industry. Investors ask you what the total addressable market is, knowing that if you say it’s whatever value is of the music business, they’ll never get their money back. Strategic partners will usually wait to see if you get any traction that could raise their bottom line before they will even start a test account. But if they are convinced that what you offer is better than what they are already doing, some junior or mid-level member of the team might do a free trial or even pay for the break even fee.
This is the key to your success: show how your company will contribute to the overall revenue of the entire industry. This is the new product-market fit. Getting one person to pay for your product or service is step one, as it demonstrates that your target market is willing to open their wallet. Getting 10 to pay for it shows that you have gone from point A to point B, a tiny movement is building. Getting enough customers to help you break even, and you’ll see the light at the end of the tunnel. You start getting realistic numbers of your cost of acquisition and your lifetime value of a customer and start optimizing your user acquisition and marketing.
Not there yet, and realize you are going to need an investor to get there? That’s OK. They’ll want to hear how you are pivoting to a larger market, taking the tools or experiences you built in music and tapping a bigger industry like sports, gaming, fitness, health, consumer products, fashion, etc. How what was challenging to do in music is actually easier to execute in a more agile field.
No matter where you are in this pathway, one thing you can do right away is build relationships with all these players that hold the keys to your success. And all of them gather at the Music Tectonics Conference, which takes place November 4-6, 2025 in Santa Monica, CA.
What’s In It For Startups and Founders
This year we have gathered more investors, labels and distributors, and key partners than ever before. We have panels on topics that will unlock your next phase, opportunities for you to let the industry know your value proposition, and the best environment for chance meetings that will change your life. Here are a few of the examples of how founders and startups can move their ventures forward at Music Tectonics this year:
See what excites active investors. Meet the Narwhals. These are our startup competition finalists and semi-finalists vetted by active investors and selected for their likelihood to secure investment and be successful. They’ll all be demoing on November 4 at the Santa Monica Carousel, our first day of the conference. Finalists will pitch during the main event where you will get to hear investor jury members from Yamaha Ventures and CAA’s Connect Ventures provide real time feedback, plus meet them in person after the pitch is over.
Meet brands and social media influencers. Also on Day One, our Creator Fair puts brands like Shure, Pioneer DJ, Blipblox, Demon Box, Buchla, and more side by side with the up-and-coming social media music influencers, who will share how they do brand deals and help music tech companies get further faster.
Shoot video. Watch creators in action shooting videos for brands on the fly and then join Rock Paper Scissors Chief Creative Officer Adam McHeffey in a hands-on workshop shooting video for your own brand. Bring your phone and a mic if you have it!
Pitch on the Beach. Every startup attending the conference has the opportunity to pitch their startup to our attendees during our Startup Open Mic. Hop on stage as savvy investors and partners will be listening in to find out about the latest inventions and innovations before anyone else.
Meet future partners. The conference is crawling with labels, distributors, and managers, but we make it even easier for you to find top partners with panels featuring innovation-forward execs from Secretly Canadian, Loma Vista Recordings, Universal Music Group, Amuse, BMG, KOSIGN. Roland, Splice, Riot Games, and more to be announced.
Meet top investors. Throughout the conference expect to hear from and meet investors from: Yamaha, Sony Ventures, Connect Ventures, Creator Partners, PTK Capital, Patron, Everybody Ventures, and more. Sit in the front row, raise your hand, and have your LinkedIn QR code ready.
Get a chance to pitch at UMG. Our final event takes place at a Universal Music Group studio, and includes a chance for founders to hear what it takes to work with major label UMG. A few startups will be selected to pitch on stage for feedback directly from label executives. Last time startups embarked on partnerships with UMG from this very event. Let me know if you want to get on the consideration list for this pitch!
Learn from scaleup successes. Several scaleups will be on stage, giving you insights into what it takes for you to reach the next level. LyricFind’s Darryl Ballantyne offers trade secrets for getting through startup existential crises. Plus hear from some of the most effective startups of our era: Stuff.IO, Tipalti, Music AI, Musical AI, STRM, Rytebox, Bandsintown, and more.
Get your badge and book your travel plans today! Secure your badge now for $399 – but the price jumps to $499 after October 21.
About Dmitri Vietze
Dmitri Vietze launched PR and Marketing Agency Rock Paper Scissors in 1999. His vision was to combine cutting edge technology and deep organic storytelling to help clients crystallize their missions in compelling ways and amplify their stories in innovative ways. Dmitri added music tech startup founder to his accomplishments when he founded StoryAmp, a DIY PR platform. That experience informs his work as a trusted strategist for Rock Paper Scissors’ music innovation clients. He continues to lead Rock Paper Scissors as a full-service agency as the music industry and the media landscape evolves.
About Music Tectonics
The annual Music Tectonics Conference unites music tech innovators across industry boundaries to share insights and get business done. The 2025 conference returns to Santa Monica, CA, November 4-6 for three days devoted to the future of music. Track the seismic shifts that shake up music and technology the way the earth’s tectonic plates cause quakes and make mountains. Throughout the year, Music Tectonics builds community and stays on top of the shifts through their weekly podcast and monthly online events.
