As we count down the days to this year’s MIDEM conference, it’s easy to get excited about all the great Canadian music that CIMA will be showcasing at this year’s Canadian Blast showcaset.
However, MIDEM is much more than simply a platform for music; it’s also a platform for tech start-ups and experts to come and interact with music industry professionals. At the centre of this interaction is the MIDEMLab competition, which recognizes the most innovative companies across several categories. MIDEMLab has an impressive track record of launching successful, counting SoundCloud, Songkick and The Echo-Nest in its roster of previous winners.
This year, Canadian Start-up and new CIMA-Member Indiloop is a finalist in the Music Discovery, Recommendation and Creation Category. This Toronto-based start-up is a freemium, cloud-based music mixing platform that allows anyone to take samples from available tracks and create a high-quality beat.
Indiloop says that their app takes the interactivity of a music game, applies the customization and creative tools of desktop DJ software with a minimalistic intuitive tool set; and blends the social interaction of Twitter or Pinterest. This creates an online remix platform that allows users to actively engage with music, while sharing this experience with their friends through various social media outlets. The service is free to use, and monetizes through the sale of individual stems opposed to full tracks.
Indiloop will be going head-to-head with nine other ideas from around the world. Regardless of the outcome, Indiloop proves that entrepreneurship and innovation are alive and thriving in the Canadian music sector. It is precisely this sort creativity that will make music a key part of Canada’s economic future.
On behalf of Canada’s music industry, we wish Indiloop the best of luck at MIDEMLab 2014. Indiloop will also be hosting a panel at SXSW, which is already hotly anticipated.