Incubator’s Competitive Advantages in the Music Industry
Incubator’s revenue streams can be split into two categories.
- Music publishing, streaming, royalties and licensing deals.
- Tours and merch.
But despite how it may seem, we’re not a typical record label. Over the last two years, we’ve been setting the groundwork to become not a profitable business, but a profitable community.
As a community entering the music industry, we have two advantages.
1 – Incubator provides context to the music
Soon, Incubator songs will come out of a web series showing in detail how the songs came together and who made them. The series will follow the members of Accelerator and other Incubator musicians, telling the real story of what we do.
Being able to see the moment songs are birthed and know what led to that moment will get audiences more invested in the music.
It’s hard to admit, but AI will be able to make music that’s indistinguishable from human-made music. And it will be able to make it in minutes.
Incubator is trying to carve out a place in the music industry but we’re not competing on the quality of the music. We’ll provide something no one else is: a coherent, accessible story behind the music.
The overarching narrative of Incubator’s will simply be the story of our collective effort to make a living doing music.
How the music was made, who made it, and what it’s about. The journey from ideation to performance will make the listening experience more meaningful.
We’re offering something AI can never compete with: the human experience of people creating art together.
Most music today exists in a vacuum. It’s a 3 minute poem set to music that people can research to find bits of lore about.
Incubator music will be part of a real story unfolding in realtime with real people. And the story will be readily available on YouTube and other platforms.
2 – Improved touring model
The standard model for touring entails rushing from city to city, a truckload of equipment in tow, working with strange new teams every night while eating at gas stations and diners.
It’s exhausting and inefficient, which affects the quality of the performances and audience satisfaction.
Here’s what an Incubator tour will look like:
LaSoviet is part of the D.C. Incubator and are about to go on tour up the East Coast.
The start by spending a week at the Baltimore Incubator. The Baltimore Incubator has a venue for them to play at, Airbnb style-rooms for them to sleep in and a kitchen where they can eat home-cooked meals.
Touring as an Incubator artist will be like going to a second home.
No more packing and unpacking every day. No more eating unhealthy food. Incubator bands on tour will be well-rested and nourished. This will allow them to be present for audiences and put on great shows.
During their week in Baltimore, LaSoviet will play a series of intimate shows at the Baltimore Incubator. They’ll have time to get to know the local Incubator musicians. Some members of LaSoviet may give a masterclass. They make a cameo appearance at a jam party.
They’ll have plenty of opportunities to integrate into the local community in a way where each band member can do it at their own pace.
When LaSoviet is done in Baltimore, they’ll move up to Philly for another week of similar activities. Then NYC and Boston.
A 4 week tour in 4 cities. A relaxed, slow-paced vacation for the band.
No more frantic speed runs across the country to play to as many people as possible. No more burnout.
Not only is this is a more enjoyable experience for artists and audiences, it’s better financially
Financial benefits of the Incubator touring model
Our touring model is a closed system, meaning everyone involved in it works for Incubator. Because we’re not outsourcing anything, operational efficiency is more easily attainable and everything is provided at cost.
- Transportation costs will be cut drastically because most of the equipment needed by the bands will be waiting for them at the Incubator hosting them.
- Housing and food costs will be drastically reduced because it’s all owned and provided by Incubator.
- The venue won’t take a cut from the artists because everyone involved works for Incubator
- Less planning and coordination is needed because everyone involved is part of the same organization.
The cost of touring this way is so much lower that we can afford to pass on savings to the fans in the form of big artists playing small shows. And we can afford to pay the artists more and avoid the common issue of losing money on tour.
Conclusion
The two advantages Incubator has as a community entering the music industry:
- Context to the music (an easily accessible behind-the-scenes look at how it’s made and who made it)
- Integration into local communities through touring
If we do this, we’ll avoid burnout among musicians and build community across cities.
