MusicSpoke

MusicSpoke operates as a specialized online marketplace addressing the sheet music segment, an estimated billion-dollar industry. The company was co-founded in 2014 by the husband-and-wife duo, Kurt Knecht and Jennifer Rosenblatt, and later moved its operations to Kansas City in 2016. The venture stemmed from Knecht's firsthand experiences as a world-renowned composer and organist, who identified significant challenges within the traditional publishing model. These issues included composers relinquishing their copyrights and receiving only a small fraction of sales revenue, typically 5-10%. Rosenblatt, bringing her background from founding a creative agency, complemented Knecht's industry expertise to build the platform.

The platform functions as a marketplace for artist-owned sheet music, allowing composers to self-publish their work, retain their copyrights, and earn a significantly higher commission of 70% on sales. This model directly counters the traditional industry practice where publishers often take 90-95% of the profit. MusicSpoke vets composers before they can list their scores to ensure a level of quality and authenticity on the platform. The business generates revenue by taking a 30% commission from the proceeds of each sale.

For customers, such as conductors, performers, and music teachers, MusicSpoke provides a platform to discover and purchase new music. Users can search for scores by various criteria, including composer, mood, tempo, and ensemble type. A key feature is the ability for buyers to view the entire perusal score and listen to an accompanying audio recording simultaneously, ensuring they know exactly what they are purchasing before they commit. Scores are delivered as immediate digital downloads, eliminating the risk of music going out of print, a common problem with physical copies managed by traditional publishers. The platform also aims to build a community by connecting buyers directly with composers, opening possibilities for questions, commissions for new work, or even Skype rehearsals.

Keywords: sheet music marketplace, composer self-publishing, artist-owned sheet music, digital sheet music, music publishing disruption, choral music scores, orchestral music, band music, Kurt Knecht, Jennifer Rosenblatt, retain music copyright, composer commissions, online music scores, conductor resources, music teacher resources, ensemble music, perusal scores, digital music download, music tech, performing arts technology