Francesco Baschieri has a dream: to do for audio what text has done for the Internet. That means creating an accessible, searchable database for as much content as any user can possibly think up—all available via listening device. It seems overwhelming that the amount of content each of us consumes each day could possibly be increased (and do we want it to?), but Baschieri’s vision provides the possibility of raw, real-time data that just might be the last frontier in user-generated content and maverick broadcasting.
It comes as no surprise then that the idea for Spreaker, founded in mid-2011 and incorporated in San Francisco, was inspired by the pre-70s wave of underground DJs who broadcast illegally during a time when radio frequencies were reserved for government use. Baschieri recalls listening to government officials break into a local radio station in his native Bologna to shut the station down, all of which was broadcast live until the very last minute.
Even with the freedoms and Howard Sterns of today, Spreaker has shown its ability to tap into that same anti-establishment movement: Last December, James MacArthur, ‘citizen journalist’ and writer of the Baltimore Spectator blog was involved in a standoff of several hours with the local SWAT team over an outstanding warrant. He used Spreaker to stream a live broadcast of the entire showdown. Whatever you might think about his legal troubles, the event heightened MacArthur’s profile and incited the support of thousands. Spreaker gifted the blogger a free subscription.
But that’s a rare and extreme application for the audio technology and how Baschieri and co-founders Marco Pracucci and Rocco Zanni view Spreaker’s potential. The app currently boasts more than three million users, who are loving the hybrid of YouTube-esque and social media features. And, there are likely more than another million users who are tapping into the musicians and wannabe radio hosts but haven’t yet registered for the product.
Although there are certainly other self-publishing audio apps on the market, what makes Spreaker unique is its impressive library of music tracks, beats and natural sounds, all available via an audio mixing dashboard, with ‘friend’ and ‘follower’ capabilities. This provides a direct publishing platform that simplifies a lot of conversion and copyright issues for the newly minted recording artist.
The average user content is currently primarily music based, but the potential for business applications is limitless—the same online publishing format can be replicated for literally any type of content and could be an important marketing opportunity for small businesses, with the informational qualities of Internet and radio advertising plus the flavor of social media.
Taking the potential one step further, Spreaker’s recent partnerships with Clear Channel and Microsoft are giving the product a higher profile that has trickled down to users themselves, some of whom have made the leap to gaining professional notice and career opportunities. Now, even celebrities want a piece of the trailblazing action and through Clear Channel, Spreaker offers exclusive interviews with names like Justin Timberlake and Katy Perry that are generating huge followings.
The company, which has doubled its employees in the last year and now has offices in both San Francisco and Berlin, is going through the typical startup growing pains. With a little under a million in seed money in 2011, Spreaker has yet to seek outside funding since then, although it could be a consideration to continue their rapid growth.
“We have some features that are 99% developed but need polishing,” Baschieri says, and there’s no middle management structure at the company as of yet to help smooth the process. Spreaker is truly the baby of Baschieri and his partners, who roll up their sleeves for whatever the task at hand is, whether that’s product development, project management or taking the trash out.
The next step for Spreaker is to broker a deal with a major audio technology company, like the kind that have exclusive connections to say, car radios. It’s uncertain how users would search content while driving without the station format of players like Pandora and Spotify, but Baschieri is confident it can be done: “In the car you want to have a laid back experience … it’s solvable, but involves curation on both sides.” We can’t wait to see the results.
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