The music industry is rarely associated with the entrepreneurial world. However, there are many professionals who work in a multifaceted sector, which ranges from startups that develop computer programs or technological instruments to companies that sell emotional well-being services, control of intellectual property rights or sell tickets to concerts.
In Barcelona, ??the sector is in full ferment since the Barcelona Music Tech Hub was founded last year. “We had the feeling that we were invisible and decided to create a non-profit association to organize and claim ourselves as protagonists of the city’s digital ecosystem,” says Rita Giménez, promoter of the hub along with other members, among whom stands out the president, José Zagazeta.
The initial push came from several local entrepreneurs and also renowned institutions in the city, such as the Sónar festival, the Tech Barcelona association or the Institut de Formació Contínua of the UB. “We thought that the first months would be internal work, but we have been overwhelmed by the interest in the initiative. We already have 68 associated entities that employ 580 professionals and have a turnover that exceeds 50 million euros,” says Giménez, who assures that next year the hub will have more than one hundred associate members.
In addition to giving visibility to this sector, the association actively works to create community. “We organize conferences and attend congresses, such as the Tech Spirit, which took place this week in Barcelona, ??and we also organize events, such as the programmers’ hackathon that was held yesterday in the city,” he says. The hub is also connected on an international scale: he is co-founder of the Music Tech Europe project, which brings together music and technology-related hubs from across the continent under one roof. “In the northern countries they have an advantage over us, they are more organized. In fact, the Barcelona Music Tech Hub is the first music hub in southern Europe.”
Among the entity’s future projects, the milestone of becoming a cluster stands out. “At a formal level, this will imply that we will be recognized as an industry and that will give us a lot of local and international projection. Especially when it comes to seeking public and private financing,” says Giménez.
In fact, the difficulty in accessing financing is one of the problems facing the sector. “In Barcelona, ??it is easy to get resources in very early stages, but when the project grows there is no one interested. This lack of culture and knowledge causes entrepreneurs to immediately have to go look for capital in the United States or the United Kingdom,” says Giménez, who is also responsible for the digital consulting firm 19N.
In addition, the hub is part of another European project, called Music Tech Europe Academy, which allows SMEs and entrepreneurs to have access to an acceleration and mentoring program. Through this initiative, which is co-financed with funds from the European Union, participants come into contact with long-standing businessmen and investors from various countries. The Barcelona Music Tech Hub considers that these types of connections are necessary to boost an industry with great economic, social and cultural impact.