MusicBee is a crowdfunding platform focused on independent music based in Hong Kong. The company stated its mission as to gather resources and help bring independent music projects into life, providing musicians with dreams and opportunities.[1] MusicBee has reportedly received $2 million funding over 15 music project within one year.[2]
MusicBee even supports up to 5.1 surround sound if you have an array of speakers and want the best result possible. Foobar2000 has a remarkable underdog story. An open-source music. MusicBee is a freeware media player for playback and organization of audio files on Microsoft Windows, built using the BASS audio library. Audio playback: MP3, AAC, M4A, MPC, OGG, FLAC, ALAC, APE, Opus, TAK, WavPack. MusicBee is a customizable audio player that helps with managing large music collections. Aside from playing popular audio formats, audiobooks, podcasts,. MusicBee is a perfect example of having features and options that many people will never touch. The default settings look nice and work well so if you don't want to play around with the app you. MusicBee's interface is a bit text-heavy, but it's easy to customize. You can move panels and windows as you wish, so you see less of the current playlist and more album art and song lyrics.
People who back MusicBee projects would be offered different tangible or intangible rewards designed by the project owner, such as mp3 link, tangible CDs, souvenirs and also a private concert etc.[3]
History[edit]
MusicBee was launched in February 2015, by artists Chet Lam Yat Fung, Fung Wing Ki Vicky, Tse Kwok Wai Victor.[3] Musicbee reportedly raised $2 million since its launch from supporters, including the general public as well as commercial brands Levi's, Sony, Doughnut, Dr Martens, Eipiphone and MOOV.[2]
Founder Chet Lam served as the editor of the site; accordingly, the hardworking musicians are like bees, such that the platform was named MusicBee in order to help the musician to gain honey.[4]
Model[edit]
MusicBee gathers money from public donors to virtually sponsor local independent artists via its crowdfunding space. Donors can support artists or musical categories, and popularize music they appreciate, which may not appeal to mainstream commercial industries.[5] MusicBee operates similar to the American-based crowdfunding platform Kickstarter,[6] which currently does not offer its services to Hong Kong artists, MusicBee aims to be an alternative outlet for local artists.
To launch a fundraising campaign, artists submit a creative proposal along with a deadline for the funding goal to MusicBee. There is no limit to the funding goal, but if the goal is not met by the set deadline, the project will not be funded. The “all or nothing” policy acts to balance the interest of artists and risks of donors, by encouraging donors to familiarize with the project before donating. Donors could do so through the Chat Bubble function on the site.[7]
The process throughout the project’s publication is free of charge. A 15% administration fee, that is subject to change, will only be charged on successful fundraising campaigns; applicants who failed to reach the set funding goal will not be charged of said fee. MusicBee supports payment by credit card, Alipay or PayPal.[8] Success is not guaranteed, but successful artists could provide donors with their products or discounts as equities for their donation.[9]
MusicBee does not partake in the project itself, nor does it have creative control over artists.[10] It reserves right to examine all proposals before accepting the application, some criteria being the project’s feasibility and legality of the music products.[11]
In an interview, lead singer of the 2009 local band Supper Moment Sunny Chan Chi-Sun said “It’s like you can just buy a belt from a shop, or some shops will host workshops where you can learn how to make a belt. I think that’s the difference. If you can take part in the project, then you’ll get more satisfaction out of it than just buying something. If you apply this to music, the buyers will be really invested in your work.”[5]
Notable projects and creators[edit]
According to the official statistics of MusicBee, starting from 2015, there have been 63 launched projects, 2 of which are still in progress. Among the 63 projects, 42 of them have been successfully launched. The success rate of launching a music project is around 66% and the total amount pledged is HKD$5,372,668.[12]
A Hong Kong singer-songwriter Chet Lam Yat Fung, who has released more than 10 albums, considered to have a crowdfunded music project. In February 2015, Chet put up his new album “Crossroads” on Musicbee as a platform for funding. Just over two weeks, he received more than HK$265,000 in backing, obviously exceeded his initial HK$200,000 goal. With that project he successfully launched the site.[5]
Supported by the crowdfunding on Musicbee, a concert named “Music Festival on the Rooftop” was held on 23 May 2015 and 27 June 2015 in Kwun Tong.[13] Musicians including Jabin Law, Teriver Cheung, Mara Measor, Another Kitchen, Jing Wong, In One Stroke and WATERFUNK put their idea of “It is time to keep Hong Kong Music alive!” on MusicBee, which attracted 97 sponsors to donate funds totalling in $28,660.[14]
One of the most discussed projects of MusicBee is the album of Michael Lai Hiu Yeung. Michael was originally a part-time performer who was still in school, armed with an acoustic guitar. Gaining increasing popularity, he realized his dream in music and decided to make his first album through crowdfunding on MusicBee. In June 2015, he received $201,090 of funds from 320 sponsors within 2 months.[15]
On 2016 February, the project ' MusicBee 1st Anniversary Concert' was launched, with the total funding time of 24days, it has gathered 618 funders and funded HK$714,000, became the project that has the most funders and most fundings till now. [16]
However, the chance of success to launch a music project is based on several factors, for instance, media exposure, personal fame and the type of music. Nobody can guarantee a musician can get the amount of money that he expects.
Controversies[edit]
Musicbee Windows 10
- In July 2015, an independent political singer, Banana Milk (香蕉奶)’s crowdfunding project was forced to be shut down, due to the unidentified sponsors. These sponsors provided fake contact or fake address. The crowdfunding project was criticized for its unclear source of fundings, and lack of full disclosure.[17]
- In March 2016, MusicBee as one of the crowdfunding platforms in Hong Kong, was criticized as an organization not supervised by the legislations nor regulated according to the local newspaper and the report by the Hong Kong Government. The sponsors may also be taking a relatively high risk, since they might not get back their funding or the music products.[18]
References[edit]
- ^'音樂蜂 MusicBee | 音樂蜂傳 音樂花開'. musicbee.cc. Archived from the original on 2019-01-21. Retrieved 2016-03-24.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^ ab'音樂蜂人園'. Pixelbread像素麵包. Retrieved 2016-03-24.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^ ab'「音樂蜂」頭炮 林一峰眾籌出唱片 | 立場報道 | 立場新聞'. 立場新聞 Stand News. Retrieved 2016-03-24.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^'綠是彩色：集資音樂蜂'. Apple Daily 蘋果日報. Retrieved 2016-03-24.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^ abc'Hong Kong crowdfunding site Music Bee hopes to generate buzz about indie artists'. South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2016-03-24.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^'Kickstarter'. www.kickstarter.com. Retrieved 2016-03-24.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^'我想於贊助前，聯絡該音樂單位要怎麼做？'. 音樂蜂求助中心. Retrieved 2016-03-24.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^'音樂蜂的收費如何？'. 音樂蜂求助中心. Retrieved 2016-03-24.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^'我核怎樣構思我的回禮清單呢？'. 音樂蜂求助中心. Retrieved 2016-03-24.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^'音樂蜂會干預我的創作自由嗎？'. 音樂蜂求助中心. Retrieved 2016-03-24.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^'既然不干預創作，為甚麼需要審批計劃呢？'. 音樂蜂求助中心. Retrieved 2016-03-24.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^'所有音樂計劃一覽 | 音樂蜂 MusicBee'. musicbee.cc. Retrieved 2017-09-17.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^'天台獨立音樂祭 呈現真音樂'. on.cc 東網. Retrieved 2016-03-24.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^'天台音樂祭 - Timable'. Timable (in Chinese). Retrieved 2016-03-24.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^'Five Hong Kong indie acts on the verge of breaking through'. South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2016-03-24.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^'MusicBeeProject: Anniversary'. MusicBee. Retrieved 2017-09-17.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^'香蕉奶贊助人身份成疑 音樂蜂將取消項目及退款 | 熱血編輯部 | 熱血新聞 | 熱血時報'. www.passiontimes.hk. Retrieved 2016-03-24.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^'「眾籌」理念大於回報 法例未有限制'. 頭條日報 Headline Daily (in Chinese). Retrieved 2016-03-24.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
Arrange, play, rate and enjoy your tracks or podcasts by using this software alone, without any plug-ins or extra pieces of software required to extract the most out of your tunes
MusicBee, as cute as the name might sound, is here to straighten your music collections out, making it easier for you, the user, to find and enjoy your song exactly when the mood strikes.
No matter what type of extensive music collection you're rocking, portable, on your computer, huge or small — this application will help you sift through the titles and give you an organized way of keeping all the tunes that inspire you.
Modern, airy interface
Now, when dealing with tools that aim to organize or tidy up files it's important to include a basic and easy-to-understand interface. The whole idea is to make organizing easier. MusicBee seems to understand that since the interface you'll be dealing with is nothing but simple and modern.
It's not basic, but rather airy so that no matter how many songs you've got, you'll never feel it's too crowded to add some more. MusicBee also includes a player which will help you when sorting out your collections. It's also a great app to carry around with you if you choose to deal with its portable counterpart.
Plenty of settings to use
Conduct internet research for elements such as album covers, artists, and genres. Mark your tracks depending on whether they're instrumental versions or include someone singing a couple of lyrics. Rate your songs in order to have the best always hanging at the top. The app can be reduced to a minimal version for when the user needs to save as much space as possible on the desktop, but giving up on music is not an option.
Shuffle your tracks and create as many playlists as genres that might be tempting you. One can also organize and keep track of podcasts. MusicBee plays well with other services such as the iTunes Store, Digital Podcasts, or NPR Podcasts. An alphabetical arrangement will keep everything fresh and easy-to-access.
MusicBee is a simple audio player with solid tidy-up capabilities that should prove helpful to any user looking to bring order to an infinite amount of tracks that don't seem to make much sense anymore when one has to spend hours to find them first.
Filed under
Download Hubs
Musicbee Source Code
MusicBee is part of these download collections: Play WV, Open WV
MusicBee was reviewed by Tudor Sprinceana
- At least 512 MB of physical RAM
- At least 50 MB of available space on the hard drive
- Soundcard
- Second release candidate that also addresses changes in bing search results for artwork searches
MusicBee 3.4.7805
add to watchlistsend us an update- portable version
- A portable version of this application is available: MusicBee Portable
- runs on:
- Windows 10 32/64 bit
Windows 8 32/64 bit
Windows 7 32/64 bit - file size:
- 9.7 MB
- filename:
- MusicBeeSetup_3_4_Update1.zip
- main category:
- Multimedia
- developer:
- visit homepage
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