Music Tectonics is partnering with BandLab to host a startup pitch competition with winners receiving an investment of up to $50,000 in their music tech startup business.
Taking place during the third annual Music Tectonics conference from October 25-27th, applications for “BandLab Presents Swimming with Narwhals: A Music Tech Startup Competition” are now open to music tech startups valued under $2 million.
The Music Tectonics conference takes place online across two event platforms on October 25-27, and in-person in the Los Angeles area on November 2.
Meng Kuok’s, CEO of BandLab, personal investment fund, Caldecott Ventures, has committed up to $50,000 in investment to the winner of the competition dubbed BandLab Presents Swimming with Narwhals: A Music Tech Startup Competition”. The title is a lighthearted play on the popular show Shark Tank – the American franchise of Dragons Den. Often shortened to ‘The Den’ the British TV show gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to present their varying business ideas to a panel of five wealthy investors, the “Dragons” of the show’s title, and pitch for financial investment while offering a stake of the company in return.
Swimming with Narwhals aims to provide support and forward-thinking insight to the future BandLabs of the world. Previous winners include Jacquelle Amankonah Horton, Founder and CEO of Fave, a startup that focuses on fans uniting and supporting their favourite artists with passion and creativity. She has subsequently gone through TechStars accelerator program completing a first $2.2M funding round with investments from music industry heavyweights including HYBE, Sony Music, Warner Music Group, and Concord Music.
Music Tectonics is in its 3rd year of programming and focuses on the topical narratives from some of the biggest voices in music such as including YouTube, TikTok, Spotify, Bose, Sonos and Instagram, Each year, Music Tectonics has expanded its scope. While innovation in recorded music was the focus at the inaugural conference in 2019, 2020 added panels on the live music industry and livestreaming. In 2021, the conference has spread to include programming on music creation and production, thanks to “Supernova Maker” sponsors BandLab, LANDR, and Native Instruments.
Competition Eligibility:
- Applicant companies must be startups with a valuation under US$2 million to participate.
- Applicant companies can be across any part of the music tech ecosystem with a new additional emphasis on music creation and fan-facing companies.
- Applicants must purchase a conference ticket to be eligible for the startup competition. (Early Bird Tickets are available until August 6, 2021!)
Competition Structure:
- Applications close on August 16, 2021 at 5:00 pm Pacific Time.
- Semi-finalists will be announced on October 1, 2021.
- Ten semi-finalists will pitch at an online pre-conference event on October 18, 2021.
- Four finalists will pitch at the online conference on October 25, 2021.
- Jury Choice and Audience Choice winners will be announced on October 26, 2021.
For more information or to apply, visit the Music Tectonics & Bandlab application page.