Rob McCullough (the founder and developer of Clean Tab, a cool repository of tabs just reviewed on MusicKO) was kind enough to answer all my questions regarding both his startup and his musical background.
Without further ado, this is the first part of the interview. And the second (“Music And You”) can be accessed here.
Full Name: Rob McCullough
Age: 25
Startup: Clean Tab
Position: Founder/developer
PART I
THE STARTUP
Tell us a little about your startup. How was it conceived? What are its most distinctive features in your opinion?
CleanTab is an automated guitar & bass tablature search engine. We fetch tabs from all over the internet, clean them up, and display them with our customized font. CleanTabs have videos, and they are just as gorgeous printed on paper as they are in the browser.
What was the original launch date?
June 28th, 2010
What has been the response so far? In which countries has it been more successful?
The response has been great! There is only a small amount of resources available to me for for advertising. So, I am working really hard to grow organically and through word of mouth. We are most popular in the United States. But, Australia is not far behind.
What features can we expect to see implemented in future revisions?
I just implemented some new tweaks to the printable version of our tabs. Also, within the next few weeks we will begin updating our tab archive with new material daily! Finally, there is a lot of behind the scenes work going on to make sure all our our data is correct. We are removing duplicate tabs, and trying to fix up song titles that were skewed by their orginal creators.
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?
In my opinion, the internet itself, and the rapid speed at which we can access information, is an unquestionably positive thing! Human progress relies on our ability to learn from, and then adapt to, the findings of those that came before us. The internet has given more people access to more information at instant speeds than ever before in history. Any monetary loss to those who were unable, or unwilling, to adapt to the changing world is a miniscual set back.
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?
A few things. First, time management is crucial. Strictly for music related start ups, be aware of copyright laws and how they will affect your business. Avoid doing sloppy work with the intention of fixing it later.
Continue to Part 2: “Music & You”.
