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Rock ‘n Roll… and Click?
By Jillianne Hamilton
(06/01/09)

Indaba Music is a new music website that lets musicians from different parts of the world not only meet but also collaborate.

Think of Facebook- but exclusive to music lovers.

Charlottetown musician Chris Gallant (of The Sidewalks) said he isn’t sure if a site like this would be helpful to a person’s music career but he can see how it would be possible.

“You find a few buddies around the world that want to put a song together and if the song is good, it could jump off the platform and into a buyer's hand,” he said.

Gallant said collaborating with other musicians on this website would likely be a worthwhile challenge.

“I think the biggest benefit to a site like this is how indirectly it will help your career, coming up with parts to lay on tracks created by complete strangers will force you to grow as a musician.”

Gallant isn’t a member of the website but is familiar with the idea.

“I have friends who do similar things in a more old fashioned way- just recording drum, bass, guitar parts on other recording software packages and sending it to eachother,” he said.

Matt Siegel and Dan Zaccagnino, co-CEOs of Indaba Music, created the site when they were still undergrads at Harvard.

The website covers all different kinds of genres, Zaccagnino said.

“We hear everything from the bigger genres of jazz, rock, classical, rap, and reggae to distinct genres like math rock, mariachi, carols, Bollywood, and spoken word.”

One of the wonderful things about Indaba is the range of music that's inspired by musicians meeting people and finding opportunities they never would have before, Siegel said.

“Even Yo-Yo Ma was impressed by the innovative collaborations that came out of his duets contest. He chose a classic bell chimes player as well as a speed metal guitarist from among the participants to collaborate with in the studio.”

About 150,000 musicians in over 175 countries are incorporating Indaba into their creative processes, Zaccagnino said.

“Some of those are people are simply exploring their creative sides, but many are semi-pros and Grammy Award-winners who use it to facilitate their work.”

The two CEOs regularly hear from people who have very personal stories about their experience with the community, Zaccagnino said.

“We heard yesterday from two British musicians who met on the site, wrote some music together, and got signed to an indie label. We've also heard incredible stories from musicians who, because of illnesses, were bedridden and have rediscovered collaboration through Indaba.”

Indaba is unique both in its function and in its form.

“Functionally, we offer musicians powerful tools to support their creative process, including features like our in-browser mixing console, live chat, the IndabaVox (which enables members to record audio through any phone), free conference calling, and in-song commenting,” Siegel said.

Indaba is a community of serious musicians of all skill levels, a community that actually creates original music, which makes us distinct from other sites, he added.

There are more people consuming music online now than ever before and, because of the increasing accessibility of high-quality production equipment, there are also more people creating and distributing music online than ever before, Zaccagnino said.

“The music world is burgeoning and we want to help it burgeon more.”

There are lots of great tools out there for musicians to use, but Indaba is focused on facilitating the musician's creative process, Zaccagnino said.

“Our goal is to ensure musicians not only have amazing tools, but also have a world of mentors, friends and collaborators that can go through that process with them. That's an important thing.”

Related links:
+ Indaba Music
+ The Sidewalks (@ ECO)
+ The Sidewalks (official site)

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Jillianne Hamilton is a writer, blogger and a lover of indie music, funny movies, artsy things and the color red. She is studying Journalism at Holland College, had an internship at the Truro Daily News and blogs for various college and pop culture websites. To contact Jill, visit her website.