Caroline Bottomley from Radar Music Videos (a startup I reviewed recently) was kind enough to answer my questions about her company, the Internet and also about her favorite music. You can find the first part of the interview below. The second (and final) part is here.
Full Name: Caroline Bottomley
Startup: RadarMusicVideos
PART I
THE STARTUP
Tell us a little about your startup. How was it conceived? What are its most distinctive features in your opinion?
I had been thinking about setting up a business nearly all my life. I had been thinking about doing something around short film and the internet but a lot of people seemed to be in that space already (2006). I’ve always loved music videos but had never worked in music video. I wanted to get back into working with music, plus I got that great inside buzz feeling about setting it up, so that’s what happened. It’s most distinctive features are it opens doors for directors.
What was the original launch date?
The first public launch of Radar was January 07, when it launched as a music video festival at the Apple Store in London. It’s changed a lot since then.
What has been the response so far? In which countries has it been more successful?
Nearly all the response I hear is positive – directors think it’s great and commissioners who use it also think it’s great. It’s been most successful in the UK, with some success already in the US.
What features can we expect to see implemented in future revisions?
For the moment development is mainly about making the site do what it does better – easier/faster/more intuitively etc. There are some plans for innovation, but we’ve innovated a lot recently and we need to tidy up what we’ve got already.
There is a certain tendency to demonize the Internet in the music industry. I think it is all a matter of perspective – it all depends on the uses it is put to. What is your opinion? In which areas has the Internet left an unquestionably positive mark?
I’m definitely one of the half-full people when it comes to the internet. It gives voice to a more diverse group of humanity. I learn a lot from it, one of the best things is that often enthusiasts are a better source of information than authority. I do have concerns about Facebook though, it’s becoming too omnipotently useful.
What advice could you give to anybody who is launching a music-related startup in the future? What are the obvious mistakes that should be avoided?
It seems to be the flavour of the day to be a practicing artist and then create a start up to fulfill a problem you’ve experienced, which is fair enough. However even though music recommendation doesn’t seem to have been solved from a marketer’s point of view I don’t know whether we need another music recommendation site.
Continue to Part 2.
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