SPR's first, Martin Neuhold

I often read about other companies and how they began. It really intrigues me to learn about their journeys to success, including their "firsts" such as the first Tweet, or Instagram post. This got me thinking about ours as well. And, being that it is a new year, I can't think of a better time to give a shout out to the very first artist on SmartPhoneRecords, Martin Neuhold (@MartinNeuhold1).

Martin Neuhold on SmartPhoneRecords

I'll be honest.  When we first launched, I seriously doubted that SPR would work. Even with all the  testing that took place, there was no escaping the anxiety of we felt of actually going "live."  But that all changed the morning after we launched when we heard an unfamiliar alert sounding from our phone.  We instantly looked at one another, then at the phone, and saw our very first artist, Martin Neuhold. His music was actually in our record store. "IT WORKS!," we yelled out. We were blown away, and we were hooked. Martin, a self-described "chillout and ambient artist from Rosenheim, Germany."  From that moment we knew the game changed, and we knew things would never be the same. So be sure to checkout two of his tracks titled  "Dunluce" & "Hvalur" located in the record store. And a monstrous "thank you" to Martin for giving us a chance.

Cross-platform...Why Not?

I had to consider many things from both an artist and a consumer point-of-view when it came to creating SmartPhoneRecords. I thought about all of the things that frustrated me as a musician, as well as someone who enjoys listening to music. I felt that even though SPR would be like David fighting against two Goliaths (i.e.,competing with giants like iTunes and Google Play) it was actually SPR who had the advantage. And that advantage was our ability to allow musicians a platform to distribute music without having to rely on a third party. In other words, convenience and independence. Additionally, we decided early on to design it with cross-platform capabilities. The fact that we were not exclusive to any one device meant that we could instantly reach more people simply by being accessible to more than one demographic. 

Cross-platform

This is significant because what it essentially does is provide users the ability to sell their music to both iPhone and Android users, something neither Google Play or iTunes is structured to do. We still have yet to release a Windows or Blackberry version, but nevertheless, I find comfort in knowing that we are well on our way revolutionizing the digital distribution process.

Thank you for sharing your time.

WTF You Mean, "Show Me Something Like It?!?"

Building the first prototype for SPR was rough. I had done much on my own, but I knew the day would come  when I would need assistance to proceed any further, so I began searching for developers.  I skimmed the internet and made contact with several app companies, all to discover one very intriguing commonality. Each one was reluctant to take chances. Time and time again I was asked "Is there anything like your app in the store already?", "Which app is it most functionally similar to?" Or, my personal favorite, "Can you show me something like it?", to which I would benevolently reply, "No I can't, because it's the first of its kind." What bothered me the most about this question was the lack of vision by the very people who were suppose to be visionaries.

Moreover, you wouldn't believe how many times I was told that the idea just simply wouldn't work. And each time I would think, "It doesn't matter what you think, if I'm paying you to make it, just make it!!" But it was only later that I realized, after finally finding the perfect team, that it actually did matter. Working beside people that shared my vision and were willing to go the distance to see it through was the key to turning my dream into a reality.

Wouldn't it be cool if...Continued (Vol. 2, Ch. 4)

A couple of weeks ago I shared my first "wouldn't that be cool if" moment that sparked the idea of creating SmartPhoneRecords.  Having the ability to sell music straight from a smartphone was just what us music artists needed, but where would I begin and what would I call it? Since the idea was to create a platform exclusively for smartphone use, and since I had an iPhone, I originally named the app iPhoneRecords. 

But what I wanted was something more universal, and the truth was, not everyone had the ever-so-popular Apple product. The last thing I wanted to do was limit the amount of people that could possibly benefit from using it, which is why, my friends, we call it SmartPhoneRecords.

Thanks for reading. See you next week.

Thanks to Jason, the Real MVP (Vol. 2, Ch. 3)

The SmartPhoneRecords (SPR) that you see now is not the SPR I originally had in mind and I owe it all to a guy named Jason Fried. When I first began working on SPR I included a ton of unnecessary features. I was under the impression that in order for an app to thrive in a competitive market, it had to have the most sophisticated algorithms, graphics and technology.  However, it wasn't until I read "Getting Real" by Jason Fried that I realized I had been approaching it all wrong. Instead, I learned the importance of knowing how to take a large project and break it down into smaller pieces, thus making it easier to manage. I was also introduced to the idea of "M.V.P.," an acronym for "minimal valuable product." Basically, build the product modestly, with only what's initially needed to get it functioning properly, and forgo the rest.

SPR BLoG

Just by adopting these two concepts alone, I was able to eliminate over $65,000 in developer fees and release SPR in six months rather than the two years I had originally forecasted.

Not only has this advice been beneficial to me from a business standpoint, but in my personal life as well. Eliminating the clutter, keeping things simple and breaking down projects into manageable pieces has made my life much more enjoyable, and also managed to save me a little money in the process. Thank you, Jason Fried.

What about your M.V.P.? It's never too late to simplify...
Thanks for reading. See you in seven.