We’ve known and used Spotify, Apple Music, Tencent-owned JOOX, and its fellow music services like Deezer and others. For music enthusiasts, Shazam -the app that also allows listeners to quickly find out what song is being played and add it into their playlist- may even come to play.
Just recently, we welcome YouTube Music from the giant video streaming to dedicate the platform for the music universe. Albeit being hailed as one of the hardest industries to break into, technology instantly paves out new ways for artists and music listeners to be involved in the sector.
According to We Be Social and Hootsuite 2018 digital report, consumers worldwide spent US$11.2 billion on digital music streaming in 2017.
In an article by The Asean Post, it is stated that the region has seen diverse music streaming apps due to the higher Internet penetration in Southeast Asia.
The same We Be Social and Hootsuite digital report shows that 81 per cent of Southeast Asia’s population uses a broadband mobile connection. Along with the increase in disposable income, people can pay more for entertainment which has also led to the growth of streaming services.
According to the 2016’s McKinsey report, JOOX accounts for more than 50 percent of all music streaming app downloads in Asian markets with over 50 million downloads. The article by The Asean Post further noted that JOOX’s localised content approach may play out well for Southeast Asian listeners, with its music curation based on its users and their locations.
When it comes to understanding its local players and listeners in the national music scene, these startups can offer something that’s more local-centric than the behemoths that try to penetrate the region.
Musiio, Singapore
Musiio is a music tech startup that uses AI to “classify any music track according to its features and patterns, which makes it easier to discover new tracks”.
With how Musiio works, new music tracks by different artists can get an equal opportunity to be heard. In an article published by KrAsia, the Entrepreneur First (EF) graduate claims that it offers a more efficient and timely tech-driven approach to be able to reduce the time required to plow through 100,000 music tracks to 5 seconds.
In the past, Musiio has raised US$1 million in a seed funding round, with Wavemaker Partners and Exponential Creativity Ventures among the investors in the round. TechCrunch said it is the first venture capital-backed music AI startup in Southeast Asia.
Musiio’s co-founder Hazel Savage said that the company’s first big client is a Creative Commons-like free music site, Free Music Archive. Musiio helps to surface tracks that might otherwise remain undiscovered.
Fungjai, Thailand
According to The Asean Post’s article mentioning the Thai startup, Fungjai tries to fill in the gap that’s left open by how Spotify and Apple Music’s algorithms mainly target mainstream and international artists, dismissing local undiscovered artists.
In an article by KrAsia, Fungjai started off with the founder’s interest in small bands that can only go so far in digital media and bug music streaming platforms. The founder, Sarun Pinyarat, said to BK Asia City publication that Fungjai is trying to build a music community through facilitating things like Hed-Sod concerts and seminars.
Seeing how streaming service can become a solution for small artists, Fungjai was born with the very purpose.
“We are sure that others would see the value of being able to stream quality Thai music, so we kept at it,” said Pinyarat.
As of now, Fungjai is 100 per cent free of charge. Fungjai states that in the future, it might help with crowdfunding for rising artists.
KHhits, Cambodia
KHhits is a Cambodian startup with little to no elaborate presence online, but it has made names in startup community.
First, it was among the startups competing locally in Cambodia to represent the country regionally in TOP100 Echelon Asia Summit last year.
Second, it was the runner up in co-working space network Outpost’s startup sponsorship competition. It won a prize in a free co-working space for three months.
According to Geeks in Cambodia’s article, the startup consists of 6 people that aims to establish a ranking chart for Cambodian music using data mining technology. The company plans to launch a platform for fans to enjoy the music from major music corporations with the intent of collecting valuable information about fans’ opinions, music trends, demographics, and other kinds of data for the Cambodian market.
Me-Lody, Indonesia
Indonesian startup Me-Lody tries to leverage on the cover songs business and help cover artists to get a place in the music industry.
The app-based startup gambles on providing a launchpad for cover artists to help them get discovered by music labels and producers. Producers can cut the need to hold an off-air audition using the app.
As of now, the app is only available for Android.
NhacCuaTui (NCT), Vietnam
Self-described as the largest music site in Vietnam, NhacCuaTui which means “my music”, already amassed around 10 million monthly users. The startup is headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City, headed by Nhan The Luan as president and CEO.
In 2012, Tech In Asia reported that the company received an investment with undisclosed terms from CyberAgent Ventures. It also claimed to have signed a profit-sharing agreement with Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment to allow them to stream to users’ copyrighted audio and video content from both labels.
Pleng, Cambodia
Pleng offers online and offline access to more than 1 million Cambodian and international songs using technology from Hungama, India’s leading digital entertainment company. Pleng is known to be the revamped version of Smart Axiata’s Smart Music app.
Also Read: Public, private-owned Cool Japan Fund invests US$50M in gojek, keep going despite reported loss
Smart Axiata claimed to be the first to launch a music streaming app in the Kingdom, promoting local artists and organising many international concerts, as Thomas Hundt, Chief Executive Officer of Smart Axiata told Geeks in Cambodia.
Using Pleng, Cambodian artists will receive royalties for their songs.
Volup, Indonesia
Indonesia, along with Thailand, is among the top three of the most active music streamers in the region. Riding on the trend, Indonesian local streaming service Volup tries to offer internet radio, on-demand music, full track download, and video channel for music enthusiasts.
Volup’s mastermind is Reza Ario Bimo, who’s a co-founder of the company and is known to be a drummer of a notable local band, as Selular.id’s 2015’s article reported.
According to Bimo, Volup differs from the other streaming service because it ensures that every digital music on its app coming from the correct sources, allowing both the creators and consumers getting quality music.
“We have a transparent, real-time, online reporting system where the music rights owner gets access to monitor how many times their works are being streamed, rented, or purchased,” said Bimo.
As far as the industry goes into the region, Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music, and other giants remain reigning. An opinion piece published in e27 shared that piracy and lack of awareness create a society that is still yet to see the importance of paying for the music they listen to.
On the other hand, the reach of technology has made the video and music platforms a breeding ground for aspiring musicians hoping to break into the industry. The Asean Post noted that with how indie and underground bands rarely expand outside their borders, the market is wide open for regional and local music streaming platforms to onboard more users and present them with more audiences.
In the meantime, there’s no absolute answer for how these local music startups’ battle plan will keep them afloat against the big names, other than for their knowledge of the local scene.
–
Want to learn more about fintech in Malaysia? Get the e27 Malaysia Fintech Ecosystem Report 2019 here.
Image Credit: Omar Prestwich on Unsplash
The post Southeast Asia tuning in: These 7 music-focussed startups give local music scene a chance against the mainstream appeared first on e27.