Hamburg is not only Startup City, but also a music metropolis. So, it's no wonder that many startups are taking on the world of beautiful sounds and developing very different business models in the process. AIDAR, Songgeflüster and Soundvest are three examples of this.
AIDAR
The abbreviation “A&R” stands for “Artist and Repertoire” and describes the job profile of someone who has the task of tracking down new music trends and artists at a record company, among other things. AIDAR, on the other hand, stands for “AI driven A&R”, which already makes it clear where this startup is heading. AIDAR primarily wants to support indie labels in this search and uses artificial intelligence to do so. The basis for this is a database that now contains over 4.8 million artists and is constantly growing. Customers can specify search criteria such as music genre. AIDAR is currently undergoing the AI.STARTUP.HUB support programme.
Songgeflüster
SofaConcerts is one of Hamburg's longest-running startups, which has even enjoyed international success by organising concerts in private homes. During the coronavirus pandemic, the idea was born to commission musicians who had no opportunity to perform publicly to compose and record personal pieces of music. This proved so successful that Songgeflüster was created as a spin-off of SofaConcerts. Customers provide specifications for the occasion – a birthday, for example - and the lyrics and can choose from artists from various musical genres.
Soundvest
The startup Soundvest originally comes from Berlin, but participation in the Music WorX funding programme and winning two prizes in the final pitch were the deciding factors for the move to Hamburg. Soundvest combines two business models in connection with valuable instruments. On the one hand, it lends them to musicians for whom they would otherwise be unaffordable. For example, high-quality violins can quickly cost a five-figure sum. Secondly, the startup offers these instruments as an asset class. The risk is relatively low, as they continuously increase in value with age generally.
