Another great interview for you, this time with Mike Bishop from Record Together. As you probably remember (the site was reviewed last month on MusicKO), RecordTogether.com lets you crowdsource the recording of individual tracks for your own songs. The site is really ingenious, as it lets you ask people in other parts of the world to record their parts in exchange for a bounty.

The interview has got two parts. The first is about the site itself, and you can read it below. The second is about Mike’s musical background and his favorite artists, and you can read it here.

Full Name: Mike Bishop
Age: 23
Startup: Record Together
Position:  CEO

PART I

THE STARTUP

Tell us a little about your startup. How was it conceived? What are its most distinctive features in your opinion?

The idea came from some frustration I experienced trying to find studio musicians to collaborate with on recordings.  I felt like there had to be an easier way to find a talented violin or pedal guitar player.  That’s I think what makes it distinct, is that it’s the first free market on the internet for musical recording talent.

What has been the response so far? In which countries has it been more successful?  

We have had 342 registered users since we launched in November of 2011 with over $100 paid out to musicians.  The response has been much better than I had expected, and I’ve had a lot of people tell me they have wanted the same thing for a long time.  Most of our traffic is coming from the United States and Canada.  The has also been a lot of participation in England, Germany, and The Netherlands – pretty much all over.

What features can we expect to see implemented in future revisions?

More social networking features and an easier to use interface.  There isn’t really anything that I have to model this off of, so I am always looking for ways to make this easier to use.  I would also like more in depth tutorials for getting high quality recording results.  

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?  

The internet has made music far more accessible than ever before.  The people that don’t like this are usually the same people who made a lot of money off of the old distribution models.  I think getting your music out to people has become far easier, although that also means a lot more competition.  The best thing the internet has done for music is building a platform (such as Youtube) that allows talent to be recognized, without the bureaucracy of the music industry.  The internet isn’t going away and neither is piracy.  The music industry needs to accept this and adapt.

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?

My best advice is that it’s not about being the first one to have an idea, it’s about being the person to do it the best.  Always ask yourself:  how can I make this easier and more accessible for people?

Read Part 2 of this interview (“Music & You”)