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 short of it:

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:

• 45.5% - Marketing
• 24.5% - Key Hires
• 10.5% - Development
• 7.5% - Operations
• 4.5% - Music Rights (one time fees)
• 7.5% - WeFunder

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.

The Market

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.

Our Future Comparables

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?

Our Roadmap

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.

Our Future

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:

Current Legal Protection

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/

Use of Funds

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.

• Growth Marketing: Street Team, Social Media, and influencer marketing.
• Key Hires: CEO, CTO, CMO, Sr. VP, Designer, PR, HR, and Developers.
• Development: Development of future features (musician profiles, match filters, and mixtapes to start).
• Operations: The cost of doing business which includes server space, accounting, insurance, legal, and platform expenses.
• Music Rights: One-time label term fees (well worth it through promotion & marketing deals once acquired).




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:

• Continuously add features from our long list of exciting and innovative ideas to satisfy the needs of our growing communities.
• Put together street teams and tours to catalyze our grassroots movement and provide explosive user growth and acquisition.
• Participate in and host music events with powerful and fun Songstory connection components.
• Put Press Play in a really strong position to raise a Series A investment round next year, which will help us scale and become a dominant player in the social discovery industry.
• Finalize negotiations and secure licensing with major record labels, unlocking additional revenue streams and major promotion opportunities (all while giving back to the artists!)
• Provide our shareholders with a sizeable return on investment in the years to come 💪
• Grow a community and movement with the potential to make a lasting impact in the world.

The Product:

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.

Songstory in action

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:

Unique & Powerful Data

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.

The Future of Songstories

We can take the soundtracks of our lives into countless exciting avenues. Here’s a few:

• 📈 Trending Charts - Regional leaderboards for each Songstory question highlighting the most popular music for endless niche topics. What does Chicago play to get pumped up? What does California play to relax? Which song saved people’s lives in the US?
• 🎛️ Mixtable - Add 2 or more users into a group, choose a mood, set the activity, and dial between nostalgia and discovery to get the perfect customized playlist created for every situation, every group. Never struggle with music decision anxiety again!
• 👯Common ground playlists - Similar to the mixtable, but designed for public spaces - ie gyms, airplanes, shopping malls - to dynamically curate a playlist based on the people entering and exiting the space. Impromptu dance party in Aisle 3, anyone?
• 🧬Life Story Timelines - Add dates, photos, and videos to Songstory questions about your life story. Press Play will build an interactive, audio/visual timeline of your life you can swipe through and send to a friend. It’s like creating the movie of YOU!
• 🧠 Music Therapy Applications - from Alzheimer's to emotional regulation, the intricacy of the Songstory allows us to customize music’s proven healing abilities. Imagine choosing the mood you’re in, and the mood you’d LIKE to feel, and listening to a custom playlist blending the music you listen to in each music as a gradual transition.
• 🫀 Biometric Intelligent Music Selection - We envision a world where your biometric watch can pick up on that anxiety and prompt your smart home to play your ideal calming music, and where moments of joy are amplified by epic personalized soundtracks you don’t have to queue up or stop to think about.

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.

The Algorithm

Our powerful proprietary algorithm is how we match users on the app today. 

Future Matching Methods

• 🔎 Matching on a single (or set of) specific Songstory question(s).

• 📅 An event you’ve gone to or would like to attend.

• 🌍 A location or era (ie you both lived in Chicago in the 90s)

• 💕 A relationship, memory or missed connection

• 🤝 Shared experiences...

Like those who:

• 💃Went to the same concert a decade ago.

• 💿Purchased the same first album (and probably drove their parents crazy with it!)

• ⛈️Overcame difficult years in high school or a bad breakup and may have felt alone in it.

We're confident music is the ideal vehicle to foster connection.

Music represents a powerful solution to the question of how to meaningfully connect people in the digital age. 💞

We also know music makes a positive impact on the world.

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.

Symbiotic online/offline engagement

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.

Our musician profiles will change how artists share their work, connect to their fanbases, and grow community. 🌱

For Artists:

• Share your personal and artist Songstories through the app and in exclusive interviews
• Promote your latest with announcement notifications to your fans
• Enjoy free press as we share share positive news about the artists on our platform and on all our channels.
• You'll have new opportunities to be discovered, too! We’ll be able to suggest you to users based on the music their matches love or shared tastes in your own Songstories.
• The Songstory Charts will offer a more diverse and equitable opportunity to rise to the top of the charts as we work to remove, gatekeepers to fame.
• Fair pay
• Positive feedback - no dumpster fire comment sections, just answers to questions like “What song got you through a breakup?” and “What’s playing on repeat for you right now?”, meaning we deliver positive feedback to inform and fuel artists as they create and connect with their fans without fear.




• 
  For Fans: When artists share their Songstories on Press Play, you'll learn what you have in common with your musical idols 🤩 and discover new artists based on shared tastes and experiences.
  
  

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

100% of music revenue back to the music

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:

• Tokens will be built into monthly premium subscriptions or purchased a la carte.
• Only used when playing a full song - previews are free!
• Can be gifted to other users at any time.
• We'll give 100% of token revenue direct to the rightsholders - whether signed or unsigned!

We've already started partnering with artists in anticipation of this next phase.

⭐️ No music lovers unite movement is complete without the most devoted music lovers - musicians! ⭐️

We’re music lovers spanning three generations and a handful of favorite genres. Each of us bringing something unique to the co-founding team. 

Our Story

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.”

Amazing Advisors

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.... 

The MVP

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.

Community Involvement

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.

• 4.5k website visits in the last 30 days
• 1170 email sign ups
• 339 app installs
• ~3k followers on social media
• 202 Beta Tester sign ups
•  2 resumes! (Without even posting a job!)

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.