New London based online radio startup Mixcloud opened its doors to the public today at 12pm GMT. It's aim is to re-think radio.
The founders of the company - friends from Cambridge University - were frustrated with how hard it was discovering and promoting radio online. As radio presenters and DJs themselves, they were actively hunting down great shows every day and realised more could be done to help connect this content to listeners.
A year ago they quit their full time jobs and moved into a warehouse in West London to fix these problems. Their vision is to build the YouTube of radio - a definitive online platform for on-demand radio shows, from music to talk.
A few months ago they launched an invite only version of the site to start building the content and community. Demand has been high with invites shared extensively on sites like Twitter. They now have over 1,000 content partners and presenters, including Diesel Radio, former BBC Radio 1 presenter Chris Coco, leading music blogs such as Curb Crawlers, great record labels such as Border Community and many more.
The shows currently lean towards club music and DJs, given the founders' background in organising clubnights and warehouse parties. However they are already working on expanding the breadth of content and are in discussions with big house-hold names. Mixcloud have an interesting view on the future of radio and are innovating to disrupt the traditional ways people discover and interact with the medium. They describe the concept as "Cloud Radio" and the content as "Cloudcasts", which are stored in hard-drives in the sky - the "cloud" - and accessible on-demand, anywhere.
Mixcloud is democratic - anyone can upload to the site and the listeners decide who get exposed. It is social - with lots of great features to share and discover radio through friends. Finally it is personal - the team are busy in the lab working on cool radio recommendation algorithms that help users find shows they love.
This week Mixcloud finally opens its doors to the public, so why not check it out now and join the Cloud Radio revolution.
About Mixcloud
Mixcloud's vision is to be the YouTube of radio - the definitive platform online for on-demand radio shows, from music to talk. Online radio is currently a very fragmented space and has seen little innovation compared to other areas of streaming media. Therefore Mixcloud aims to re-think radio by making it more social, personalised and democratic.
Mixcloud has been going for a year and released a private beta in March 2009. The site is creating significant buzz online and is already attracting world-class talent and content, including Diesel Radio, Mixmag, Chris Coco and a whole host of exciting DJs. There are currently over 1,000 content creators using the service.
Two of the founders - Nico Perez and Nikhil Shah - met through their love of hip-hop and music at Cambridge University. With their exciting vision they managed to attract two of the best developers they knew, Mat Clayton and Sam Cooke - also friends from Cambridge. Thus the team was formed.
Mixcloud was successfully rewarded grant funding from the Technology Strategy Board. Through this grant they are leading a project with Queen Mary University's world-class Centre for Digital Music, working on some innovative recommendation technology.
mixcloud.com
blog.mixcloud.com
twitter.com/mixcloud
Exclusive radio show from Hervé and friends
Monday 28th September sees the launch of 'Cheap Thrills Volume 1'. Hervé presents a 2 CD set that not only collates the best from his label so far but features eight exclusive tracks from the likes of Jack Beats, Speaker Junk, Kissy Sell Out and of course Hervé himself.
To celebrate this milestone release, Hervé got together with the stellar lineup of Jack Beats, Fake Blood and Martelo to make a very special radio show, in association with new website Mixcloud.
Listen to Hervé and his label-mates talk about the compilation, their contributions, some great stories behind the tunes and lots of amusing banter. Highlights include Martelo's seagull love story and some insights into Fake Blood's production "idiosyncrasies"!
The second half of the show takes it back to their influences and favourite compilations as each DJ goes into the mix for 15 minutes. The outcome is a real history lesson, with each act taking it in a different direction. Together it's a great showcase of the diversity behind the new wave of bass heavy house music, a scene which the Cheap Thrills imprint has had no small part in helping create.
Click here to check out the show now. You can listen on Mixcloud on-demand and you can grab it for your own website or blog using the Mixcloud widget - just click the "embed" icon in the top right of the page.
Click here to order the album now a week before the official release date.
mixcloud.com/Herve/cheap-thrills-radio-show/
myspace.com/hervespace
twitter.com/hervespace
The founders of the company - friends from Cambridge University - were frustrated with how hard it was discovering and promoting radio online. As radio presenters and DJs themselves, they were actively hunting down great shows every day and realised more could be done to help connect this content to listeners.
A year ago they quit their full time jobs and moved into a warehouse in West London to fix these problems. Their vision is to build the YouTube of radio - a definitive online platform for on-demand radio shows, from music to talk.
A few months ago they launched an invite only version of the site to start building the content and community. Demand has been high with invites shared extensively on sites like Twitter. They now have over 1,000 content partners and presenters, including Diesel Radio, former BBC Radio 1 presenter Chris Coco, leading music blogs such as Curb Crawlers, great record labels such as Border Community and many more.
The shows currently lean towards club music and DJs, given the founders' background in organising clubnights and warehouse parties. However they are already working on expanding the breadth of content and are in discussions with big house-hold names. Mixcloud have an interesting view on the future of radio and are innovating to disrupt the traditional ways people discover and interact with the medium. They describe the concept as "Cloud Radio" and the content as "Cloudcasts", which are stored in hard-drives in the sky - the "cloud" - and accessible on-demand, anywhere.
Mixcloud is democratic - anyone can upload to the site and the listeners decide who get exposed. It is social - with lots of great features to share and discover radio through friends. Finally it is personal - the team are busy in the lab working on cool radio recommendation algorithms that help users find shows they love.
This week Mixcloud finally opens its doors to the public, so why not check it out now and join the Cloud Radio revolution.
About Mixcloud
Mixcloud's vision is to be the YouTube of radio - the definitive platform online for on-demand radio shows, from music to talk. Online radio is currently a very fragmented space and has seen little innovation compared to other areas of streaming media. Therefore Mixcloud aims to re-think radio by making it more social, personalised and democratic.
Mixcloud has been going for a year and released a private beta in March 2009. The site is creating significant buzz online and is already attracting world-class talent and content, including Diesel Radio, Mixmag, Chris Coco and a whole host of exciting DJs. There are currently over 1,000 content creators using the service.
Two of the founders - Nico Perez and Nikhil Shah - met through their love of hip-hop and music at Cambridge University. With their exciting vision they managed to attract two of the best developers they knew, Mat Clayton and Sam Cooke - also friends from Cambridge. Thus the team was formed.
Mixcloud was successfully rewarded grant funding from the Technology Strategy Board. Through this grant they are leading a project with Queen Mary University's world-class Centre for Digital Music, working on some innovative recommendation technology.
mixcloud.com
blog.mixcloud.com
twitter.com/mixcloud
Exclusive radio show from Hervé and friends
Monday 28th September sees the launch of 'Cheap Thrills Volume 1'. Hervé presents a 2 CD set that not only collates the best from his label so far but features eight exclusive tracks from the likes of Jack Beats, Speaker Junk, Kissy Sell Out and of course Hervé himself.
To celebrate this milestone release, Hervé got together with the stellar lineup of Jack Beats, Fake Blood and Martelo to make a very special radio show, in association with new website Mixcloud.
Listen to Hervé and his label-mates talk about the compilation, their contributions, some great stories behind the tunes and lots of amusing banter. Highlights include Martelo's seagull love story and some insights into Fake Blood's production "idiosyncrasies"!
The second half of the show takes it back to their influences and favourite compilations as each DJ goes into the mix for 15 minutes. The outcome is a real history lesson, with each act taking it in a different direction. Together it's a great showcase of the diversity behind the new wave of bass heavy house music, a scene which the Cheap Thrills imprint has had no small part in helping create.
Click here to check out the show now. You can listen on Mixcloud on-demand and you can grab it for your own website or blog using the Mixcloud widget - just click the "embed" icon in the top right of the page.
Click here to order the album now a week before the official release date.
mixcloud.com/Herve/cheap-thrills-radio-show/
myspace.com/hervespace
twitter.com/hervespace
