We got how a lot of broadcast radio stations were essentially using Audioboo to generate snack-sized content (to use a new term, ‘legobricking’, ie developing a richer experience from really small bits) – this led us with a deal with Radioplayer where we can become a very economical and a very social listen-again service for the air.
A radio station can have a pro accounts and then very simply plug it in to a feature on Radioplayer that allows people not only to listen to their live stream but to get content the station has produced. The scaling costs are very small so it means that it’s not just big stations that can afford to have that kind of listen-again functionality – sometimes it can go all the way down to community and student radio. We’re enthusiastic about it and we’re excited when the Radioplayer goes international, we’re hooked into that initiative at the same time.
What’s the backdrop to this boom in tech startups?
I do believe what’s exciting about the technology sector may be the massive growth of the open source movement. I recall from my time at Playjam, we raised enough money to pay L1m on databases and servers and God knows what else. These days you can download a bunch of that stuff free of charge – you can hire services very simply in a physical location or in the cloud, and so i think the barriers to entry regarding trying new technology are tiny in comparison with what there were and now they’re affordable. It’s made a whole host of attempts to create new businesses.
I think the downside of that is that the UK doesn’t know how transformational the internet is when compared to the US. I think we’re considerably more focused on the physicality of an investment, whether it’s a factory, pharmacy or IP – something which we can see and hold. In the US, it’s very much about an opportunity. Investors can look at a business or start-up, they’ll sense the opportunity and then fund it to aid realise that opportunity. I don’t think we’re particularly efficient at that.
Given where i was in the UK ten years ago, I do believe it’s an amazing time to be a tech startup – we merely need to be a bit better at it.
Silicon Valley has been choosing 50 years and has built some very close connections while using universities out there – it is usually got a lot of the ex-employees from all the important companies of the last 5-10 years who be aware of tricks of the trade and we lack that cultural side of investment in technology. We have some big funds, however they don’t necessarily come in on the first round.
Two and a half years ago the thing that we heard was that we’re too early and I think that’s the part of the jigsaw that needs to change in the UK. A lot of it is cultural and it will take years.
How might digital media still evolve and how does Audioboo see itself evolving with it?
I’m terrible at predictions; if you look at the last two years on the Guardian you’ll know that, however i think on the tech front connected TVs are going to be massive before next Christmas. The ability of a TV to have an connection to the internet which can then allow you free use of services is huge. I was on the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) a couple of weeks ago and everything was ready connected TVs and tablets and I think it’ll be a fundamental shift from both paid TV services along with a set-top box to people coming up with interesting new models to essentially attach different kinds of data to traditional TV.
I do believe privacy is going to be a huge issue too, whether that’s regarding social giants like Facebook or even the Leveson enquiry and intrusion by traditional media into people’s lives. I do believe we haven’t begun to see the real ramifications of the yet.
I’ve got an open mind on Nokia – several things have been said about Nokia being on their last legs however i think that if they can harness their still immensely strong and powerful distribution network they are able to turn that around. We’ll have to wait and see on Blackberry.
As well as in terms of Audioboo, we’ve pretty much spent the very last 6 months working on partnerships. We’ve not witnessed ourselves as a massive disrupter, much more of a companion for traditional media to begin to explore these new mobile, social and native platforms. Hopefully a lot of those can come to fruition in the next few months, writes tagza.
Tags: Mark Rock, Founder Of Audioboo - The Future Of Startup UK
