Incubator’s Competitive Advantages in the Music Industry
Incubator’s revenue 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 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 content will simply tell the story of our collective effort to make a living doing music.
How it was made, who made it, what it’s about. The journey from ideation to performance will be part of the listening experience. The human experience of people creating art together. That’s something AI can never compete with.
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 characters. And the story will be readily available on YouTube and other platforms.
2 – Improved touring model
The standard model for touring entails lugging a truckload of equipment from city to city, working with a new team of strangers every night, paying for lodging and eating at a gas station or diner before packing up all their stuff and doing the same thing again the next day.
It’s exhausting and inefficient. And it affects the quality of their performance. If a band is too tired or overwhelmed, audiences can tell.
Here’s what an Incubator tour might look like:
The Sparrows are 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 to eat home-cooked meals.
Touring as an Incubator artist will be like going to a second home because every aspect will be provided by Incubator.
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, The Sparrows will play a series of intimate shows. They’ll have time to get to know the local Incubator musicians. Some members of The Sparrows may give a masterclass or be featured in a local jam party.
When The Sparrows are 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. Doing it this way is more enjoyable for the musicians and the teams supporting them, which increases the likelihood of better performances and happier audiences.
No more frantic speed runs across the country to play to as many people as possible. No more burnout.
In an Incubator tour, the touring band will have the time to settle in and get to the know the local community and the local community will have the opportunities to get to know them.
More shows to smaller audiences while on tour
Touring this way will allow audiences to see popular bands in surprisingly small venues because Incubator bands will play maybe 5 shows every time they visit a city. Audiences will be happy to see them up close and bands will be able to make it a more intimate, interactive experience without limiting how many people they play to on tour.
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, we can operate more efficiently and provide everything at cost.
- Transportation costs will be cut drastically because most of the equipment needed will be waiting for the bands at the Incubator hosting them.
- Housing, food and venue costs will also be drastically reduced because it’s all owned and provided by Incubator.
- Less planning and coordination is needed because everyone involved is part of the same organization.
Conclusion
While our revenue sources will be standard (publishing, shows, merch), we’ll offer two things no one else is.
- Context to the music (a behind-the-scenes look at how it’s made and who made it)
- Integration into local communities through touring
