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Have you ever walked into a show, looked around, and realized you’ve found your people? 👀
You’re not alone.
Music has the innate power to express who we are, connect us with people like us, and provide common ground across time and space. 💞🎶
We’re here to amplify that ability. To unite and reunite friends, families, lovers, colleagues, and communities. To connect fans and musicians like never before. To contribute to a better music industry.
We call it the music lovers unite movement. 🤘
The Problem: 🌎 We live in a world challenged by division, isolation, and depression.
🎙️ We know the music community is reinventing themselves post-covid and still looking for an equitable, sustainable streaming model. We see musicians struggling to make ends meet. 🔎 Trends show people are looking for more authenticity in their media and relationships. It's hard for many of us to find our people. 😬 The dating app industry is feeling a social push to ditch "cringey" dating services by a generation craving more platonic connection.💔 We know music can cultivate community, but often people have a hard time connecting at concerts, or dread leaving festivals because they don't have the same support system at home.
Solution: We unite music lovers. 💖 We build a platform that represents a home for the heart of music. From that single seed come many branches. 🌳 We can highlight social common ground, cultivate empathy, and improve wellbeing. We can share our authentic selves, encourage genuine connection, and support the music makers who build fires to grow community around.
The Product: Press Play the app is our primary tool. At it's most basic, users build the "Soundtrack of your Life" aka their "Songstory." Comprised of questions about who you are and who you've been, your Songstory is created through the music that moves you.
We match people with related Songstories and provide tools for connection. As the platform grows, we'll incorporate musician profiles with their own Songstories, a "penny per play" streaming model, filters, group features, wellness features, and so much more.
Market Size: 228.5B (social, music streaming, and dating)
Competition: There’s currently no social discovery platform that matches people based on their shared musical tastes and experiences. However, there are a number of dating startups (Beatmatch and Vinylly to name a couple) matching singles through music taste alone. They're close though we carry different intentions, goals, and audiences.
Use of funds:
Why a Community Round: We're building a platform for music lovers, by music lovers, and in service to the music community.
As we've traveled and spoken to music lovers, we've met so many amazing people who loved the concept, wanted to be involved, but wouldn't qualify to be a "conventional investor". We believe all people should have access to ownership and to investment opportunity, therefore making ownership in Press Play accessible is essential. We know that to grow a grassroots movement and operate in integrity with our values, we need you - our community - to be a part in laying our foundations and guiding us as we grow.
Our users will draw from 3 booming industries. Through music we can target nearly every culture & demographic with precision - beginning with 18-24 yr old digital music & social users and expanding from there.
As much as we've been told it's not good to not have competition in our space, we can't lie and say we have anything that quite measures up. We are visionaries. We don't fit into one box. We are NOT a dating app, although it will be a future feature. We are NOT a music streamer, although Press Play can be used in that way. We are not just a ticketing and event source, although we will have the ability. We are not just a memory board or heat seeking map.. We are sooo much more.
Although the 2021-2022 stock market has seen it's better days, don't you wish you would have invested in one of these companies when they first started?
We’re on the road to growing the app with key features and fans. We’ll be launching street teams to grow community, hold events, and travel to music festivals, concerts, and colleges!
We’re focused on growing our user base nationwide for broad music-based connections and will launch our subscription services in select cities (and for our beta testers) with premium filters to enhance offline connection in our highest performing locations.
If you’ve made it this far we know we’ve got big plans. Truth is, we see a path towards becoming a household name for the love of music, unity, and community. We have a vision of the future that includes building a more positive, equitable, and fulfilling music industry. We know that the world is evolving and changing, but with music as our DNA and a community of fans to guide our growth, we know the future is bright for Press Play.
Here’s just a few of the features and revenue streams we’d like to grow into:
Experienced investors know well-protected IP is like money in the bank.We’ve already done the legwork to protect ourselves, including patenting innovative future features the world has never seen before. Learn more here: https://pressplay.me/legal/
Your investment into Press Play helps us pump up the volume on our work. We’ll maximize every dollar you invest to increase our value to users, contribute to a better music industry, and provide you a meaningful return on your investment.
Press Play is on a mission to transform how we connect to ourselves, each other, and the world. Our movement of music lovers is creating a safe, meaningful, and fun environment for making meaningful on and offline connections. We couldn't be more excited to invite you to be a part of our journey! ✨Join us for the love of music, the power of connection, and the desire to give back to an industry that has given us so much.
We are delighted to be inspired by and held accountable to shareholders who understand the heart, soul, and transformative power of what we are here to do.
As a result of this crowdfunding campaign, we'll be able to:
It's one of the hardest questions known to humankind:
So, what kind of music do you like? 😰 It’s SO hard to answer because music taste is diverse, nuanced, and changes over time. We knew we couldn’t connect people on their favorite genres, artists, or songs, alone. There needed to be more...
Everyone has a Songstory. 🎙️📖
It doesn’t matter who you are, how old you are, or what you do - there’s a soundtrack to your life. Music takes you back to chapters, moments and people in your life like it was yesterday. Today's moods and activities are accompanied and enhanced by music that moves you now.
We’ve also begun partnering with emerging and established artists to capture and share their Songstories with the world. 🎸
Enjoy Gracie Jo’s performance and interview below:
We cracked the code of datifying human experience* by mapping it through indexable music metadata. 👩🏼💻
Metadata provides the searchable structure to each user’s complex and nuanced personality and life experiences - something that would otherwise be insanely challenging to quantify and match algorithmically.This is how we know the Songstory can revolutionize digital connection. 🔥🔥
*Personal data is never sold or used in a manner that could cause harm. All data use is consensual and used to enhance user experience and in the future, to benefit research on music, connection & health.
We can take the soundtracks of our lives into countless exciting avenues. Here’s a few:
Did you know Gen Z increasingly uses Tinder just to find friends? Let’s skip the stigma, the superficial swiping, and the cringe of dating apps’ in favor of something bigger.
Music is the perfect social glue to support human connection of all kinds.
Our powerful proprietary algorithm is how we match users on the app today.
Like those who:
Music represents a powerful solution to the question of how to meaningfully connect people in the digital age. 💞
Music has been a tool for connection, collaboration & healing since the dawn of time.It may seem like a tall order to tackle challenges like isolation, division and depression… but that’s what music was made for. 💪
Did you know? Historians believe that making, listening, and dancing to music together encouraged our earliest ancestors to come together and learn the skills needed to build strong communal bonds. 🪘 Arabic physicians since the 9th century have used musicians as assistants in their healing work - these are the origins of music therapy as we know it.
There’s nothing like a global pandemic to not only increase the need for genuine digital connection, but to drive home the importance of eye-to-eye and heart-to-heart togetherness. 🫂
How does a tech business support the market's desire for screen-free connection?
Yet again, music makes this easy. 💫
Connections made online will be encouraged to go to shows & events based on their shared preferences.
Already planning to go? Find concert buddies through the app and meet them there!
Offline connections are encouraged to stay connected and meet people at events through connecting on the app.
In the future, you’ll be able to check into events with a heat map to find others open to connection. 🙋 We'll be taking interactive Songstory-based experiences to Press Play sponsored events to bring people together and encourage them to stay in touch online.
For Artists:
You'll be able follow your favorite artists to stay connected to their work, their lives, and your fellow fans.
Musicians have Songstories too! Both the music of their stories, and the stories of the music they create.
*Kenny Aronoff - is an enormously successful studio musician recording over 300 MILLION records in sales with more than 1300 that were RIAA Certified Gold, Platinum Or Diamond. A true renaissance man, Kenny is also a best-selling author, television show host, and accomplished corporate speaker, having taken the stage for top universities, corporations, and organizations around the world! Learn more about Kenny at www.kennyaronoff.com. Supporting artists & the music industry
Did you know the current average payout for a stream on Spotify is approximately $0.004 per stream? (though it actually varies based on your popularity).
Press Play wants to change that. We’re in the process of negotiating direct deals with record labels advocating for our token model - much like a classic jukebox! (Google it if you must).Our mission isn’t complete without supporting the industry we love. We believe in fair pay, fan feedback, and equal opportunities for all artists growing their fan communities.
How it works:
We've already started partnering with artists in anticipation of this next phase.
We’re music lovers spanning three generations and a handful of favorite genres. Each of us bringing something unique to the co-founding team.
CEO and Co-Founder Tina Houser spent what seemed like a lifetime in a relationship that wasn’t musically compatible.
“I lost track of a big part of myself in that relationship. Live music, dancing, singing in the car, and expressing my feelings via music. After it ended, I decided I wouldn’t allow that to happen again. I want to be surrounded by people who love the same music as I do. I want to live! I want to have fun! Life is extremely dull without music and even worse when you are enveloped by music you don’t connect with. Don’t ever stop dancing for anyone!”
So she called up friend Rich Taylor, and shared her idea to connect people based on music. It was a no-brainer for him. Now as our Co-Founder and Vice President, Rich is excited about meeting new concert buddies and “Musical Pen Pals”.
Watch cofounder Rich Taylor give a glimpse into his own unique Songstory.
Tina then brought colleague Caitlin Alexander into the mix as Co-Founder, Chief Product Officer, and lead designer. Caitlin is extremely passionate about the potential to build community, enhance wellness, and support musicians.
“When I first started attending live music events and festivals, I found my people. Discovering community through the music that mattered to me has literally shifted the direction of my entire life and brought me an immense sense of peace and belonging. This feeling of “welcome home” is what I hope Press Play brings to everyone.”
Our rock-star advisor team is comprised of individuals with over a century of combined experience in relevant industries. These experts have held long standing executive level positions for companies like; Bumble, Grindr, The Meet Group, Draft Kings, Angry Birds, MTV, Virgin Records, Netflix, Sony, and more!
We’ve come a long way, but we’re still just getting started....
We’ve just launched our MVP and are excited to continue adding features. Check out a walkthrough of our prototype, or download on apple or android to experience Press Play for yourselves!
It all comes down to 3 main tabs - fill out your Songstory, start matching, and when a connection’s musical fingerprint strikes a chord? Reach out and send a message.
Simplifying all that Press Play can be into this bare-minimum MVP has been a difficult process (our early designs were so complex!).Yet starting with this simple and elegant core functionality allows us to add new features based on the needs of our community.
We’ve accumulated interest from people of all ages seeking to be ambassadors, investors, users, testers, and allies.
Since January, we have grown organically (not one ad dollar spent) through DIY social media and word of mouth.
We can’t wait to see what will happen when we put a few marketing dollars, our team of ambassadors/influencers, and a trained street team behind our efforts.
Through crowdfunding we transcend the business > customer dynamic and invite you into shared ownership in a family of dedicated dreamers and doers. This dedication is what will propel us on to the world stage in just a few years.
We hope you’re standing beside us when that happens.
For you, for the music, for the world… music lovers unite.
