Feeling the beat
MusIT’s programs let users break down their favorite music to create unique remixes
Photo courtesy of MusIT
MusIT is an interactive tool used in many schools to teach kids about music.
Rasmus Falck
Oslo, Norway
Music Interactive Technology is an interactive technology music development hub passionate about radically improving the way of music listening, music exploring, and music education. MusIT is a Norwegian company with offices and representatives in London and New York as well. The company was founded in 2000 in Bergen, one of Europe’s leading centers for music, by Gisle Johnsen and Yrjan Tangenes. Both are world-renowned music leaders and innovators who wanted to create a cutting-edge, next-generation music education product. So far they have secured over 10 million dollars in funding for research and development. Johnsen is the CEO and largest owner with 17 percent of the company, and they have six employees.
In Norway music sales increased by 6.9 percent last year. The country ranks among the top 20 countries for selling the most music, which is not bad for the world’s 120th largest country! This year digital sales surpassed physical sales worldwide. In Norway streaming already represents 80 percent of the market.
MusIT lets users break music down into separate tracks with layers for different instruments so that they can remix it any way they want and thereby create a whole new dimension to the music experience. They give the customer access to interactive music, synchronized with performed music on a multi-track format. This means that the customer can use the mixer to set up his own mix when learning, rehearsing, and performing the song.
They have a fully deployable music educational platform, already available in seven languages. The customer can explore the great composers and artists and their music through articles, videos, interactive stages, and exciting composing remix tools. The product has secured a 23 percent market share in Norway since its launch in 2012. It is already being used by over 140,000 school children and is ready to scale globally.
The company has an internal file compression system that “packs” and “unpacks” the music and text files automatically without requiring additional computer skills for the user. This automatic compression system considerably reduces the file size, simplifying the process of emailing music and text files between participants.
At this year’s International Jazz Day, the company’s app was chosen to present the event in 159 countries. For one day listeners could download a new record by Marcus Miller for free. The app was also presented during a lunch at the White House with Michelle Obama present. According to the founder, the president and first lady love music, and this was a unique possibility for the company to share their product with more people. He is expecting to have twelve employees in a year’s time. They have created an incubator in New York and hope to raise a total investment of 10 million dollars, hopefully including some Norwegian investors. The future looks bright!
Rasmus Falck is a strong innovation and entrepreneurship advocate. The author of “What do the best do better” and “The board of directors as a resource in SME,” he received his masters degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He currently lives in Oslo, Norway.
This article originally appeared in the July 1, 2016, issue of The Norwegian American. To subscribe, visit SUBSCRIBE or call us at (206) 784-4617.
