This post is part of the story behind the new Music2Deal.

This early layout from 2010 reminds me how much work went into Music2Deal behind the scenes.

Many people only see the front end of a platform. They see pages, buttons, colors and profiles. But behind that there are so many thoughts, changes, setbacks and compromises.

Music2Deal was never planned as just a simple contact database.

The idea was to build a community and marketplace in one place — with members who can offer or want artists, songs, licensing, vocalists, business contacts and other music-related opportunities.

That is much more complex than it may look from outside.

And the challenge was not only technical. The challenge was also to create a tool that makes sense for very different people in the music business with very different needs.

If I look back honestly, I would say the effort was always strong, but the usability was not always where I wanted it to be.

That is one important reason why this next update means a lot to me.

About the author:

Mario Christiani is the Founder-CEO of Music2Deal.
My profile on Music2Deal: https://music2deal.com/de/mariochristiani

Continue with Part 5: May XX – The New Music2Deal Is Finally Going Live

This post is part of the story behind the new Music2Deal.

This picture takes me back to POPKOMM 2010.

POPKOMM was an international music business fair, first in Cologne, later in Berlin, and at that time in competition with MIDEM in Cannes.

For me, events like this always showed very clearly what the music business is really about: people, trust, timing and staying in touch.

Quite early, it was clear to me that Music2Deal should not stay only German. In fact, already in summer 2004, Richard Rogers, ex A&R Warner/Chappell Music UK, became the first Music2Deal representative. I am happy to say he is still on board today, more than 20 years later.

Today we have 18 representatives.

So the international idea is really not new at all.

Act local but benefit from the international network of Music2Deal.

Even the translation system for representatives was part of this early concept. And to be honest, this was also one reason why the programming moved more slowly than I had hoped.

But I still believed this was the right way, because the music business is local and international at the same time.

About the author:

Mario Christiani is the Founder-CEO of Music2Deal.
My profile on Music2Deal: https://music2deal.com/de/mariochristiani

Continue with Part 4: Behind the scenes and complexity

This post is part of the story behind the new Music2Deal.

This was Music2Deal in 2010.

Of course, from today’s view, it looks old. But when I look at it, I can still clearly see what I wanted to build.

Music2Deal was never meant to be just another place where people create a profile and then disappear. The idea was to create something more useful for the music business.

One big challenge from early on was that it should fit very different people: artists, songwriters, singers, producers, managers, labels, publishers, licensing people and more. And also different levels — from newcomers to very experienced professionals.

Step by step it became clearer what the real value should be: not only getting in contact, but also staying in contact in a meaningful way.

In our business, it is not enough to know somebody. It also matters to know what they are doing right now, what they offer, and what they are looking for.

That was already a big part of the idea behind Music2Deal by then.

About the author:
Mario Christiani is the Founder-CEO of Music2Deal.
My profile on Music2Deal: https://music2deal.com/de/mariochristiani

Continue with Part 3: POPKOMM and the international idea