1. In a few words, can you tell us about Horus and how it works?

Horus Music is a global music distribution, publishing andartist and label services company. Established in 2006, we offer independent artists and labels simple and affordable solutions for all their music needs. We have our own custom-built in-house technology, so our artists can easily upload and deliver their music for distribution and publishing, manage their royalties and view regularly updated analytics all at the click of a button.

2. What differentiates Horus from other distributors?

We strive to put our artists’ needs first, offering honest and professional advice. Unlike our competitors, our artists can easily reach us via email and phone to talk through their release plans, concerns and resolve any issues without getting stuck in ticketed systems. We also make it a priority to listen to our artists and develop new opportunities in line with what they are looking for from their music partner to deliver the best service possible. By popular demand, we have also recently launched our brand-new music publishing service, Horus Music Publishing. This enables our artists to manage both their distribution and publishing needs in one space.

3. Which artists have seen the most success working with Horus?

We work with thousands of extremely talented artists and have been very lucky to help many achieve their dreams. Through our direct partnerships with DSP’s, we’re able to pitch directly to editorial playlists which has resulted in a significant increase in digital presence for our talented artists.

Some of our highlights include working with the incredible Manchester based Indie-Rock outfit Gathering of Strangers who have seen a major rise in their monthly listeners, starting out with just 200 and increasing to over 25,000 with just a few releases since we partnered with them for distribution on our more hands-on artist and label services model. As their following continues to grow, the band have also secured editorial placements across stores such as Apple Music, Boomplay, YouTube, SoundCloud, Deezer and FLO; with highlights being Apple Music’s ‘New in Rock’ playlist. 

We’ve supported Nigerian sensation Ajimovoix Drums – the creator of ‘Focus Dance Beat’ which went viral across TikTok – skyrocketing his career. Ajimovoix has seen success across platforms like Spotify, SoundCloud, Tidal, YouTube, Boomplay and Vevo, with highlight placements including ‘New Music Friday Naija’ on Spotify.

 We’ve had the absolute pleasure of working alongside India based singer-songwriter Frizzell D’Souza, who has seen consistent success across stores such as Apple Music, FLO and Spotify including securing editorial placement across Apple Music’s ‘New in Pop’ and ‘New Music Daily’. Frizzell has also recently won the Indian Music Diaries 2023 award for best pop artist/singer-songwriter of the year and is embarking on a tour across India.

4. What are the biggest distribution tips you can give artists?

There are so many things to think about when distributing your music and if it’s not something you’re familiar with, it can feel overwhelming. Our top tips would be:

1. COMMUNICATION: Talk to your distributor to understand exactly what you need to submit your music and understand terminology like ‘metadata’ and the difference between a UPC (barcode) and ISRC. This knowledge may seem basic for some, but having an understanding will really go a long way in helping you navigate the landscape.
2. TIMING: Lead time is everything – it might seem great that we can distribute your releases within 24 hours, but if you’re wanting to see success, keep in mind that over 100,000 songs are digitally distributed every day. To break through the noise, a marketing strategy requires time – especially pre-release. It’s also important to note that stores process releases at different rates, so whilst some may be super speedy and push your release live within a 24-hour timeframe, it can take others up to 2 weeks to fully ingest the information and display live; so leaving a longer lead time is essential for ensuring your music is live across on platforms on your release day.
3. METADATA: Ensure all your metadata is correct. It’s so easy to upload your release information and not think to check for spelling mistakes or that the correct audio file has been uploaded. Whilst some errors can be fixed once a release is live, in some cases such as uploading the wrong audio file, your release would have to be taken down and re-uploaded as a brand-new product; so we always advise our artists to check and check again before submitting to ensure a smooth and seamless release.

5. What piece of advice would you give artists looking to explore music publishing?

Music publishing can often be deemed a grey area in the music industry. With an increasing demand of independent artists and songwriters looking to fund their music careers without the intervention of a label taking a slice of the pie, sourcing additional revenue streams outside of distribution is essential for the survival of the independent music scene. Music Publishing can be an incredibly lucrative revenue stream for artists of all genres and calibres, so the first step to growing your music revenue is to sign up with a music publisher like Horus Music Publishing. We offer a transparent, reliable, and affordable service, with our single songwriter subscription priced at just £3 per month. Choosing a publishing partner you can trust to correctly handle your admin and register your songs can save you a lot of hassle and time, providing you with more opportunities to focus on being creative. If you’re not overly familiar with music publishing and would like to learn more about what publishing is, the benefits of having a music publisher and how having a music publisher can take your music career to the next level, we’d recommend reaching out to our team at publishing@horusmusic.global who will happily assist.

6. What can Groover users expect from this partnership with Horus?

We have lots of exciting opportunities going on over at Horus HQ, from distribution to publishing and marketing options, we have something for everyone. We’re delighted to also be offering Groover artists an exclusive 50% discount on our digital press one sheet service, alongside a free playlist plug to Spotify and Apple Music to help you boost your digital presence and further increase your profile to unlock new audiences.

👉 To have access to this offer, all you need to do is drop us an email to social@horusmusic.global and include the code GROOVER50.

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Send your music to the best music curators on Groover ⬇️

L’article The best distribution tips from Horus Music est apparu en premier sur Groover Blog.

Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, Anghami has offices in Beirut, Dubai, Cairo, and Riyadh and operates in 16 countries across MENA. It remains close to its customer base, not only thanks to its pan-regional presence but also via the 56 million user data points it generates every day.

In conversation with Anghami’s Content Operations Manager, Salam Kmeid, and Head of Curation, Fady Ferraye, here are some questions we asked about the brand’s journey and offerings.

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Submit to Anghami’s editorial playlists directly on Groover 👈

1. Tell us the story about how Anghami started

Anghami started in 2012 as a startup in the Middle East and North Africa. The name Anghami stands for “My Tunes” in Arabic. At that time, the region was highly dependent on piracy, there was no legal way to listen to music and have the music industry remunerated. Anghami today is the biggest audio streaming service in the MENA region, with over 70+ million users and 72+ million Arabic and International songs, podcasts and audiobooks. 

Anghami shifted from being a startup to being a public company on NASDAQ in February 2022.

2. What makes Anghami unique compared to other DSPs?

Anghami is a local player which understands Arabic music and its consumption across the different cultures around the region, and also knows how the region consumes International music differently. What’s unique about us is that we’re able to cater to each country in a unique way, which makes us more relevant to our core audience.

3. Tell us more about both of your journeys and roles at Anghami

Salam: I started at Anghami around 11 years ago as a music intern. I grew today with the company and leading on all Content and Music related initiatives. My role is focused on strategy, on empowering artists and creators, on creating activations around music and releases, and growing the artist’s fanbase and user base through music.

Fady: I started my journey at Anghami 9 years ago. My job was to identify the appropriate, trending and relevant content to be added to playlists based on genre, mood and activity. Today I am leading the Curation team, a group of passionate music lovers, whose role is to discover new music, local, international, indie and mainstream in order to curate and maintain varied playlists that are relevant to the musical taste and everyday’s soundtrack of the Arab world.

4. What does Anghami offer to artists that they can benefit from?

Anghami offers artists unique tools and opportunities that they can use to grow their fanbase in the region. Through Anghami for Creators, artists have the ability to upload music for free to the platform, earning 100% of their royalties with $0 fees. They also have access to pitch their music to thousands of playlists and boost their music through our Amplify program. In addition to taking control of their profile, artists also have access to Live Radio, which is a unique feature to Anghami, which allows artists to go live on the main Anghami app and interact with their fans in a private room. They get the chance to host virtual meet and greets through Live Radio, have exclusive listening sessions, play music, reach a high number of claps, and engage with their audience globally.

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Submit to their editorial playlists directly on Groover 👈

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5. What’s next for Anghami? 

Anghami will keep focusing on Arabic music to grow the local scene and bridge the gap between the Arabic and Global scenes .

We launched Anghami Lab Riyadh as one of our 2022 initiatives, which is the largest and first-of-its-kind rooftop entertainment venue in Saudi Arabia, located at Boulevard Riyadh City, creating a unique space for original new music, live performances, and culinary delights. There’s a lot to look forward to in 2023, including our new “Anghami for Creators” platform which allows artists, podcasters, and creators access to more tools to grow on Anghami and engage with their fans.

Groover is a great way to submit your music directly to Anghami – Here’s how:It’s quite simple; create an account on Groover for free and you can get in touch with Anghami here through Top Curators. Follow the step-by-step indications to send your music to the platform and get your music heard by our team.

Want to try Groover out? Anghami users can now enjoy a 10% discount. Sign up on Groover and use the code ANGHAMIGROOVERVIP [more explanations on how to apply the special discount here]

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| Read also: How to get featured on editorial playlists

L’article Anghami, the MENA’s biggest streaming platform is on Groover est apparu en premier sur Groover Blog.

Tell us more about how the idea of Qrates came to life

All of the co-founders of Qrates have had various experiences in music and tech all throughout our careers. What united us to start Qrates was our love for vinyl for starters, and a common mission to make something that would positively impact the sustainability in the careers of independent artists. Having been on the receiving end of streaming royalties as artists and labels, we know that vinyl can really make a real difference for artists in terms of revenue, and to be able to do so through a beautiful format like vinyl that really celebrates the music is truly rewarding.    

How does Qrates work?

Qrates is a self service vinyl platform for artists or labels at any stage of their career. We provide a one-stop service to press vinyl, make cassettes and create a storefront so artists can sell them directly to fans. All of the production management hassles, warehousing, shipping and customer service for your fans are built in, meaning artists can focus on the music. We can press as little as 100 copies for vinyl, 50 for cassettes and the entire production costs can be crowdfunded so artists have zero financial or inventory risk. You don’t need to sign up to try it out. 

What is the best recommended way for artists to use Qrates?

By visiting our website and getting started! It is free and once you sign up and save a project, you get access to our back end which offers more insights into your project status as well as a direct message feature to get in touch with our internal support team. Whether you’re a seasoned label or making vinyl or cassette for the first time, you can rely on a team that will guide your each step of the way.  

Are there any vinyl or cassette productions on Qrates that you’re really proud of? 

I think one vinyl that we’re really proud of and was done recently is Wong’s Cafe from Vulf Records. Not only have they been pressing with Qrates since our beginnings but also recently exceeded their crowdfunding goal by over 5 times, which was a record for Vulf Records as well. We’re really proud of that and hope they are too!

What are the future projects at Qrates?

Some things we can speak on and share are our expansion to the EU and our warehouse now available in the UK to provide a bit more ease for our EU artists and their fans. International shipping can be tough so we’re helping make that a bit easier and accessible. Another thing we’re bringing to Qrates is cassettes and we’re excited to invite more artists to be among the first released cassettes on the site. It is a faster, cheaper, more accessible way for artists to make a physical copy of their music as we also only require a minimum of 50 cassettes versus the vinyl minimum of 100.

Thank you folks again and very excited to share Groover with artists on Qrates and beyond 🙂

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Next interviews:

> Looking for gigs and revenue opportunities? Interview with Muso
> Want to grow your fanbase, streams and sales? Check out our interview with feature.fm

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Looking to get your music heard? ⬇️

L’article Want your music to be available on vinyl? Check out our interview with Qrates est apparu en premier sur Groover Blog.

1. Can you explain what is IndieFlow and how it works?

IndieFlow is an all in one music management platform to take the workload off of independent music creators  and assist them in what they are best at – making music. 

An artist who signs up to IndieFlow gets access to one dashboard where he can manage all his day to day needs from release planning, collaborating with team members, distributing their music, admin of publishing, splitting and managing royalties, creating content, booking gigs and more… 

2. Can you tell us how the idea of IndieFlow came to life?

Sure! The idea came through a brainstorm my cofounder (Omer Matz) and I had. We noticed an interesting trend that was happening: The way content is being consumed by audiences has changed and while shifts in technological tools have transformed the gaming and video industries, the music industry has been left behind.

More and more products are being created for niche industries rather than serving any industry tools. There is a general understanding that independents in the music industry have specific needs in engaging their audiences & managing their careers –  however a product which solves this problem for indie artists in the music industry did not exist. 

Given that both Omer and I come from creative backgrounds we felt a need to create a tool which serves music creators. We see this startup and company as a creative process within itself.

3. In a few words, can you explain to artists how important it is for them that a product like yours exists?

Definitely 🙂 Having the ability to track your progress as an independent musician and managing your day to day career needs in one platform is essential for independent artists. IndieFlow allows an artist to both have visibility on where they are as an artist, creates a simple roadmap to how to reach the next stage of their career and gives the artist the tools to bring this roadmap into life, all within in one easy to use tool. 

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Are you trying to promote your music?
Send your music on Groover and contact the best media and pros of the music industry ⬇️

4. Do you have any success stories of artists that used the platform that you can share with us?

The best way for us is just to describe a few of the amazing artists on our platform – Kooma, DNTST, Samurai Velvet, Bitter Coast, Crashing Atlas are a few. The variety of tools on IndieFlow allow independent artists of any stage to thrive. As IndieFlow’s tool is dynamic each artist is making use of the tools we offer in different ways – the end goal is for artists to feel comfortable with the product and really shift their operations into one tool that is dynamic and elastic enough to serve several needs as we understand that creators thrive and flourish in this kind of environment.

5. Can you break down the costs for artists to use IndieFlow? (over here we’d include any promo offer).

Currently the cost for IndieFlow is $240 a year. As a Groover partner we would be happy to offer this price at a discounted rate of $150 for the first year of IndieFlow.

6. What’s in the pipeline for IndieFlow in the future?

We are currently extremely hyped about an upcoming launch to our opportunities marketplace. The opportunities marketplace will basically assist music creators in one of their most urgent pain points – monetization. The marketplace will connect  music creators to brands, sync / licensing and booking opportunities through the platform – allowing artists of all sizes to reach opportunities they could not be exposed to before IndieFlow.

Read also :

• The best tools to know to promote your music
• 8 Instagram tools to use in unique ways

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Send your music on Groover and contact the best media and pros of the music industry !

L’article IndieFlow, a set of tools to help you manage the operational side of music est apparu en premier sur Groover Blog.

1. Can you explain what is Rotor Videos and how does it work?

Rotor is a video creation platform tailored for the music industry. Musicians or their team can easily upload a track and create music videos, visualiser videos, cover artwork based videos, Spotify canvas videos and lyric videos – all on one service. We’re striving to make the service as quick and easy as possible – and keeping the entry price low (currently as low as $9 for a video). 

2. Can you tell us how the idea of Rotor Videos came to life?

The CEO Diarmuid has the simple idea of a website that makes music videos. He asked myself and a few others to come onboard as founders to build the first beta, which launched a few years back. My background is in music video direction, and I thought that there was a market for musicians to have a certain type of simple video for their music that they found difficult to make themselves. There were very few options available for making video when we started, and a lot of indie musicians didn’t want to spend time learning how to edit or spending tons of cash hiring video teams to make them. There was a market there that we thought we could accommodate.

3. In a few words, can you explain to artists how important it is for them that a product like yours exists?

Musicians need tons of video content to market their product, and it seems like more and more types of video pop up all the time. We’re providing an easy way for musicians to create great video content for as many platforms as possible, allowing them to share their music with the widest possible audience.

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Would you like to promote your videos and gain vues on Youtube? ⬇️

4. Do you have any success stories of artists that used the platform that you can share with us?

Yes! We recently posted an interview with the musician Ruth Koleva on our blog – her rotor created videos have been shared widely – even broadcast on TV.

5. Can you break down for us how much it costs? (over here we’d include your promo offer).

It costs as little as $9 for one credit – which will get you one video. You can buy extra credits for things like premium content and video styles. You can get 10% off too using our Groover promo by using the code [will send on these details].

6. What’s in the pipeline for Rotor Videos in the future?

We have some awesome AI tech come down the pipeline which will really shine with our upcoming new lyric video creator! Look out for it!

For 10% off on Rotor videos, click here: rotorvideos.com/groover

Read also:

• How to make your music know on Youtube?
• 9 tips and tricks to create music videos for small budget productions

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Upload your music to Groover and get in touch with the best media and music industry professionals
– Guaranteed listening and feedback in less than 7 days –

L’article Create videos at an affordable rate, with Rotor Videos est apparu en premier sur Groover Blog.

1. Could you tell us more about how the idea of Muso came to life?

Muso came together in 2017 when Brandon (one of the co-founders) was a venue manager and was finding it difficult to find new artists for his venue. He had a roster of a few artists that were on rotation but wanted variety and didn’t know where to start. He discussed this with two friends, Jeremiah and Alan. The latter of which was a touring artist. Alan’s insight was that artists had a similar problem when it came to gigging. The old method of walking into local venues with a disk of their music and a resume was time consuming and usually fell on deaf ears. Venues either had their own contact or used an agent to book their venues so how were young upcoming artists to break into this space without a network or experience?

The three of them started interviewing venues and artists around Melbourne to find out if this was a common problem. It was. They started Muso so that venues and artists could have an easier way of finding each other. Venues needed a way of vetting an artist to see if they were right for their venue and artists needed a direct line into all local opportunities. The Muso marketplace was born.

2. How does Muso work?

Muso allows artists to create a profile that acts as a ‘digital EPK’ of their work, including their music, photos and a biography detailing their style, influences and where they have played before. This is then broadcasted to venues looking for artists to fill a gig.

Artists can receive offers from venues which are logged on their Muso account. Once the gig has been completed, there’s no need to raise an invoice, Muso does it for you. Artists can track the expected date of payment through their muso account.

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Looking for live opportunities?
Get in touch with bookers ⬇️

3. How has Muso helped artists so far and what’s the best way for artists to use the platform?

Since launching in 2019, Muso has helped over 5,000 artists book over 30,000 gigs in over 500 venues around Australia. In 2021 alone, Muso paid £4M to artists in gig fees. What they are most proud of is the many artists who started consistently gigging with Muso and have since created a sustainable living which has transformed being a musician from a passion to a primary income.

4. What would you say has been Muso’s biggest success story to date?

The first musician to use Muso in Sydney, Australia was an artist called Little Green. With her feedback, she helped shape the product from the ground up. Through Muso she has played over 36 gigs, including opening sets for large acts, launch parties and virtual events. She was also connected to the Muso network which began a snowball effect that eventually ended with her being signed by Lemon Tree – the same label that represents Tones & I.

5. Tell us a little bit about Muso’s future projects.

Muso continues to look to improve the platform and find more venues that are looking to expand their offering to live entertainment. Through this, we hope to create more paid opportunities for artists around Australia and the UK. In the future, Muso hopes to become a global company, allowing artists to tour internationally.

| Apply to the current music springboards – Don’t miss any more opportunities !

Read also :

• How to find concert dates?
• Where to perform in NYC as an independent musician?

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Send your music on Groover and get in touch with the best media and professionals of the music industry !

L’article Looking for gigs and revenue opportunities? Interview with Muso est apparu en premier sur Groover Blog.

1. Can you tell us how you got into the music industry at the start of your career?

I grew up in a small town in London called Morden, and the only reason anyone ever visits is because they fall asleep on the Northern Line. Luckily though I have two older brothers and they’d started a band by the time I was 12. I didn’t play music myself and took the more organisational route, so I was putting on sold-out all-ages shows at the age of seventeen. I moved to Leeds at 18 to study Events Management, and started organising 400+ capacity monthly club-nights, one-off warehouse parties and created a ticket-selling website. I also started working for a promotion company in Leeds called Futuresound, and on major music festivals, as well as the London Cultural Olympiad. I then moved to Vienna, Austria in 2012, and set-up two more monthly club-nights, and started to run the events department for the international tech company Zuvoo, overseeing 50+ yearly events in Europe and the US. I moved back to London in 2017 to take on the stewardship of the Music Cities Events brand, helping to grow the brand into the biggest, global series of music cities focused events & conventions, whilst also launching the Music Cities Awards, Music Cities Community and forming the brand into its own company in January 2020.

2. Can you explain what Music Cities Events is and how artists can benefit from the platform?

A music city is a community with a vibrant music economy, where music is integrated into the ecosystem, right from policy and infrastructure, to private actors, ranging from business professionals to audience members.

Music Cities Events is an organisation whose mission is to educate people on the economic and social value of music, and to showcase the best uses of music by individuals, organisations and cities all over the world. The events we organise bring together stakeholders from the music industry, as well as government, real estate, tourism, health, education and beyond to find, discuss and implement best uses of music in tourism, city branding, night-time economy, social and economic development, placemaking, real estate, policy making and more. The Music Cities Awards recognise individuals and organisations working towards building better music ecosystems in their cities, and our Music Cities Community helps these stakeholders continue conversations beyond our events.

Our work directly impacts the way people perceive the value of music, creating a more supportive environment for artists and music making in cities around the globe. Apart from this, artists also work with us to showcase their music at our events.

3. Can you tell us how the idea of Music Cities Events came to life?

Music Cities Events started initially as the events brand for the conferences Sound Diplomacy started organising in 2016. Sound Diplomacy was already working with various organisations around the world on developing music strategies and helping to support music in cities, and wanted to amplify the impact by bringing people together to discuss these topics and share best practices. MCE was then turned into its own company at the start of 2020 to help it to grow and be able to reach even more stakeholders around the world.

4. How important is it for the music industry that an organisation like Music Cities Events exists?

Music Cities can provide a city with significant economic and employment benefits beyond their cultural and social benefits. For example, at our previous Music Cities Convention in Alberta, Canada, we discovered that indigenous music and musicians can be supported, showcased and promoted around the world through better music cities policies. We looked at the meaning of experiential hospitality and its importance for a music city. We also looked at location-based, digital music museums and their role in driving tourists to the city.

Our events help stakeholders come together to have many such important conversations that help music cities build better policies and communities for artists to thrive in, their art to be taken more seriously and invested in. We as an organisation would love for more and more artists to be involved in these events and conversations, hence we encourage them to use our special artist discounts(available at the end of this article) to attend our events and even join our Music Cities Community to engage in conversations with stakeholders across multiple job functions.

5. What’s in the pipeline for Sound Diplomacy in the future?

We have multiple events in the Autumn, including the Music Cities Forum in Hamilton Canada in September, Music Tourism Convention in Cape Breton Island in October, and the Music Cities Convention in Tulsa USA in November. As well as these conferences we have the Music Cities Awards in November (application period is still open for this), plus we will be running an EU capacity building programme to support the development of thriving music ecosystems in Europe, which is a part of the European Music Council’s MusicAIRE funding programme, and planned alongside Sound Diplomacy.

– Luke Jones, CEO, Music Cities Events (Part of Sound Diplomacy).

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Here’s a 50% discount code that artists and professionals can use to buy tickets to any our upcoming events

Code: GROOVER50

To get your discounted ticket, please head here, select your event and ticket category and then paste the code “GROOVER50” in the “Do you have a promo code” section of the check out form.

Upcoming Events:

Music Cities Forum, Hamilton, Canada, Sept 7-8 2022 – Link
Music Tourism Convention, Cape Breton Island, Canada, Oct 5-7 2022 – Link
Music Cities Convention, Tulsa, USA, Nov 2-5 2022 – Link
Music Tourism Convention, Cleveland Mississippi, USA, April 11-14 2023 – Link

Join our Music Cities Community here! Follow us to stay tuned on event updates and more!

Website: www.musiccitiesevents.com
Instagram: @musiccitiesevents
Twitter: @musiccitiesSD
Facebook: @musiccitiesevents

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Read also:

• How to find concert dates?
• Where to perform in NYC as an independent musician?

Send your music on Groover and contact the best media and pros of the music industry ⬇️

L’article Bringing Ideas Together To Create Better Music Cities est apparu en premier sur Groover Blog.