business

A new start-up company aims to bring a slice of Silicon Valley to the Twin Cities.

SwapBeats is a social networking platform for musicians, producers and sound engineers of any background or skill level, aimed at fostering digital music collaboration and networking across the globe.

To use the website, all that's needed is a computer, a high-speed Internet connection, and a digital audio workstation to record and edit vocal or instrumental tracks.

Musicians can use the website to create projects, send songs to friends, post content on other personal profiles like Facebook or Twitter and comment on tracks. David Atkinson, the founder and CEO, said that unlike SwapBeats' competitors, his website has a greater ability to create a sense of community among artists.

"SwapBeats isn't just about social network bells and whistles," Atkinson said. "People don't need another profile like Facebook. They want to find their niche online."

One of SwapBeats' main competitiors, the Berlin-based SoundCloud, recently surpassed 4 million users a little more than a year after its public launch. SoundCloud also allows its members to share their creations on other social media platforms, comment on songs, and send out content to friends.

SwapBeats doesn't feature its own online recording platform, believing that musicians and other artists already own more sophisticated equipment they'd prefer to use, Atkinson said.

Finding specific tracks or discovering new music is difficult on other websites, Atkinson said. But SwapBeats's search engine is able, for example, to allows users to search more precisely for specifics tracks and genres of music.

"We have competitors doing great things, but we feel we could do them better," Atkinson said.

SwapBeats users will have the option of either a free or paid membership -- "freemium" or premium, which will allow for 250MB or 2G of online storage respectively. Both allow for the creation of a public project, but premium members have the option of creating a private collaboration, hidden from online searches and strictly invite-only. The paid membership is expected to cost $5 a month, Atkinson said.

SoundCloud charges $40 a month for their most basic paid membership.

SwapBeats will also feature a Job Board, where users can find collaborators or request a complete project, such as a custom song for a wedding.

'A better way'

Atkinson, a lifelong member of the Twin Cities music community, formed the Firm Records Group, an independent record label, in 2004. Atkinskon's artists were spread around the United States, so collaborating with artists involved using e-mail to communicate, Paypal to pay artists, home recording equipment for editing, and a website for large audio files.

Atkinson saw a need for an easier, faster way to collaborate with artists in different locations.

"I used to spend a lot of time ... thinking, 'There has to be a better way,'" Atkinson said.

After mentioning his idea for a music-focused social network to several friends, Atkinson found himself trying to build a website with investors. After failed attempts at outsourcing the technical work, he was able to assemble a team of contractors to build the skeleton of the website. Today, SwapBeats Inc. employs 12 people -- seven local staff members and five out-of-state contractors -- and plans to add four more employees soon.

Seth Viebrock, a former senior developer with Artist Arena, a company responsible for interactive social media sites for fans of mainstream recording artists such as Rihanna, Justin Bieber and Mariah Carey, left a job he described as "cushy" to become a contractor for SwapBeats. He was recently hired as its chief technology officer.

"I like the excitement of a start-up; the dynamic, fast-paced work environment," Viebrock said.

Atttracting investors to a company so out-of-sync with the expected areas of innovation in Minnesota has been a struggle, however. Many potential investors are wary of a social network based in the Midwest, the "land of medical devices," said Atkinson. He is now trying to raise capital from local angel investors.

He's already found one investor in the family -- his father-in-law, Robert Semmer.

"I'm always impressed with people who work hard and are willing to take a risk," said Semmer. "He's put three years into this, and I respect that."

Atkinson believes the website's multiple streams of revenue will assure success. The niche-focused aim of the website will allow for targeted advertising to musicians. Coupled with the monthly premium membership fee and the transaction fee for selling commercial content through the website, Atkinson anticipates SwapBeats could make a profit with about 100,000 users. The site is www.swapbeats.com.

Megan Nicolai is a University of Minnesota student on assignment for the Star Tribune.