🚀 TechTrack is officially underway! We kicked off the workshop series last week at Lift99 with 45+ participants and 13 ideas pitched.
What is TechTrack?
The goal of TechTrack is to bring together and connect people in the Estonian Music Tech scene, help them turn ideas into reality, and have some fun along the way. A hands-on workshop series designed for innovators, technologists, and music industry professionals to spark creative ideas, and develop real, viable solutions in Music Tech to shape the future of the music industry. Over the course of three sessions and a final pitch event, participants will go from idea to prototype, with the guidance of hackathon mentors and music industry experts.
A Look Back at Session 1
The first session of TechTrack was about inspiration and ideation – to introduce participants to trends in music technology, highlight industry challenges, and start generating ideas that could be developed further throughout the series.
We launched the session with a keynote from Karim Fanous (Innovation Manager at Abbey Road REDD), who delivered a fascinating talk on “A History and Future of Music Technology Through the Eyes of Abbey Road REDD.”Â
Idea Generation and 4 Focus Topics
Participants were divided into themed discussion tables with 4 focus topics led by industry experts, where they explored key challenges in the music industry. Each group discussed industry challenges and pain points in their focus fields and brainstormed possible solutions.
Live Music, Immersive Experiences & Sustainability
- Karl Sirelpuu – Owner at Booking, Management & Concert Production Agency RUUUM
- Kätlin Vesi – Event Manager & Advocate for Sustainable Practices at Milestone
Music Distribution, Marketing & Artist Development
- Aivar Laan – GM, Product & Engineering at Sony Music Entertainment
- Heiko Leesment – Manager, Musician at Sibyl Vane; Communication specialist
Data & Rights Management
- Tanel Maandi – Managing Director, Tech Research at Black Cat White Cat Music
- Kertu Mägar – Co-Founder & CEO at FAAR Music
Music in Other Fields
- Villem Rootalu – Composer, Music Producer, Sound Designer at Villem Rootalu Music
- Keit Kollo – Product Development Expert
13 Ideas Emerged From the Discussion Groups
From the discussion groups, 13 exciting ideas emerged. The ideas covered a wide range of topics within music tech, including AI-driven solutions for live music and production, tools for artist management and career development, platforms enhancing music distribution and monetization, and innovations in event access and audience engagement.
Here are the ideas that made it to the stage:
Streamfinger
A simple, quick and affordable way to make engaging video experiences. Streamfinger lets the audience choose and change their own view point in video. Viewers have multiple camera shots to choose from so that they would become the ultimate directors of their own unique video experience. The video production of such an engaging experience is simple, quick and affordable to any artist, event or venue – just a single static 4K camera is being used and even a mobile phone would do.
Show Data Manager
A backend booking platform to manage high-volume show bookings (150-200 annually). The system will centralize data, control information access for different stakeholders (management, musicians), and provide financial tracking and reporting tools.
Intelligent Live Operator (ILO)
ILO, an AI-powered control and diagnostic platform for live events. ILO integrates control of audio, lighting, and video devices into a single software interface, offering real-time diagnostics and device monitoring (e.g., battery levels, signal strength). The initial version is a manual control system, with a future AI-driven, fully automated version planned. The target market includes venues and rental companies.
Foreign Artist Hub
A platform or institution to support and showcase foreign artists in Estonia. The goal is to connect these artists with venues, promoters, managers, and potential employers, addressing the challenges they face in navigating the local arts scene.
Pulls Up: Easy Music Video Creation
A mobile video app designed to simplify music video creation for musicians. It addresses the frustration of tedious editing by offering in-app EQ, reverb, backing track integration (with optional visibility), a “mime” feature for playthrough videos, and audio level controls to prevent clipping. It also includes features for aligning audio and video using a click track, supporting various audio input methods (including phone sound and multiple mics), and minimizing latency issues.
Artist Hub: All-in-One Artist Management Platform
A centralized website/platform for artists and managers. It integrates social media APIs, AI tools, and CRM functionalities (email/text databases) into one login, simplifying artist management and reducing the overwhelm of multiple platforms. The platform also aims to facilitate collaboration between artists and their teams.
Record Labor: Collaborative Music Release Platform
A collaborative software platform designed to help artists, collectors, and independent labels manage music releases more efficiently. It provides release planning and task management tools, facilitates collaboration, and aims to implement smart contracts for shared ownership based on contributions. The platform also explores integrating fans into the process, enabling them to contribute to artist releases. It’s envisioned as a “Fiverr for musicians,” allowing collaboration on tasks and increasing artist revenue.
Sync Hub: Connecting Music Seekers and Providers
A platform connecting music seekers with music providers for synchronization projects, focusing on “proper hits” rather than library music. The platform will also manage communication and provide license expiration notifications.
Music Pro Hub: One-Stop Shop for Music Professionals
An online hub for music professionals, similar to e-Residency, consolidating various essential services. This includes licensing, royalty payments, metadata management, and other tools, aiming to create a centralized platform for all music industry needs. The project seeks to start with an MVP and grow from there.
Smart Event Access: Real-Time Ticketing and Crowd Management
A hardware/software solution to replace traditional single-use wristbands at events. Using existing standby technology, the system provides real-time tracking of attendees, offering organizers live visibility into ticket sales and entry/exit flow. This results in cost savings, increased efficiency, eco-friendliness, improved security, and tamper-proof data. The presenter demonstrated an MVP showcasing real-time data capture and timestamping.
Guitar Tone Emulation Plugin
A plugin that allows guitarists to easily emulate the tones of famous guitarists. Users search for a song, click a button, and the plugin adjusts their guitar sound to match. The technology involves audio source separation, clean signal recreation, and machine learning to analyze and replicate the desired effects. The initial release will be a DAW plugin for Mac and Windows, with future plans to explore hardware pedals or licensing the technology to other hardware manufacturers.
Wireless Synth Control Hub
A device that wirelessly connects and controls multiple synthesizers (both rack-mounted and analog) from a central computer. Addressing the cable management issues in studios, this device uses a low-latency 5.8 GHz radio signal instead of Bluetooth, enabling real-time control of MIDI and CV (control voltage) data. The presenter emphasizes the improved latency compared to Bluetooth solutions.
Music Data Insights: Connecting Artists and the Industry
A platform that collects and analyzes music data (e.g., audience demographics, ticket sales, streaming numbers) to provide insights for artists, promoters, sponsors, and other industry stakeholders. The platform aims to help identify promising artists beyond just follower counts, offering real-time data tracking, social media integration, live show analysis (lighting, visuals), and AI-powered optimization. Target clients include festivals, clubs, and sponsors. The team is seeking hardware developers, software developers, data scientists, and AI experts.
Audience Radar
The idea is to develop an AI-powered Audience & Revenue Optimization System that provides real-time insights into audience behavior and spending habits at festivals and clubs. Our system will integrate with event infrastructure to measure crowd movement, energy levels, sound dynamics, temperature fluctuations, and audience spending data. The collected data will be processed using AI algorithms to generate actionable insights that help organizers optimize music programming, bar sales, and overall audience experience.
What’s Next? Session 2 Coming Up!
The second session is happening on 19th of February, and this time, we’re diving deeper into idea development, team formation, and initial prototyping. If you didn’t attend the first session, you can still join by registering here and join the discussion in our WhatsApp group. New people are welcome to come listen to the keynote, join an existing team or pitch their own idea.
If you pitched an idea, now’s the time to refine it and start thinking about how to bring it to life. And if you didn’t pitch but want to contribute—teams are forming, so jump in!Â
Expect more collaboration, hands-on building, and expert guidance as we move closer to turning these ideas into reality.
See you at Session 2! 🚀🔥