BandLab Technologies is a

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

an company that operates a social music platform, called BandLab, and also owns a variety of music-related brands. Founded in 2015, these include

Harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. Howev ...

and Heritage Guitars; ''Guitar.com'', '' NME'', ''

Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...

'' and ''MusicTech.com'' media platforms; and Swee Lee musical instrument retailer and distributor. In December 2021, the company announced a reorganisation under the newly formed parent company Caldecott Music Group (CMG). BandLab Technologies is the music technology division of CMG.

History

BandLab Technologies was founded in 2015 by Kuok Meng Ru and Steve Skillings. Kuok was a Singaporean mathematics graduate from Cambridge University who is the son of agribusiness conglomerate

Wilmar International Wilmar International Limited (); is a Singaporean food processing and investment holding company with more than 300 subsidiary companies. Founded in 1991, it is one of Asia's leading agribusiness groups alongside the COFCO Group. It ranks amon ...

's billionaire founder and CEO

Kuok Khoon Hong Kuok Khoon Hong (; born 1949) is a Singaporean business magnate, entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is the co-founder, chairman and CEO of Wilmar International (), having built it into one of Asia's leading agribusiness groups, and the world' ...

, and Skillings was the developer of the JamHub audio mixer. Kuok was also the owner of music retailer Swee Lee, acquired in 2012. BandLab Technologies' first product, a Cloud Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) called BandLab, was released in November. In July 2016, the company acquired Composr, an iOS app for recording audio and making music. The app and its users were integrated into BandLab. In September, the company acquired MONO Creators Inc, an American manufacturer of instrument cases, straps and accessories. Also in September, BandLab Technologies acquired 49% of iconic American music magazine

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...

from publisher

Wenner Media Jann Simon Wenner ( ; born January 7, 1946) is an American magazine magnate who is a co-founder of the popular culture magazine ''Rolling Stone'', and former owner of ''Men's Journal'' magazine. He participated in the Free Speech Movement while ...

. In September 2017, the company acquired Chew.tv, a video streaming service for DJs. The service was renamed Chew By BandLab, and was integrated into BandLab's web platform. Also in September, the company signed a sales and marketing partnership with Heritage Guitars. In November, the company announced it was relaunching the Harmony Company guitar and

Teisco Teisco was a Japanese musical instrument manufacturing company from 1948 until 1967, when the brand "Teisco" was acquired by Kawai (河合楽器製作所; Kawai Gakki Seisakusho). The company produced guitars as well as synthesizers, micropho ...

musical instrument brand names. In February 2018, BandLab Technologies acquired

digital audio workstation A digital audio workstation (DAW) is an electronic device or application software used for recording, editing and producing audio files. DAWs come in a wide variety of configurations from a single software program on a laptop, to an integra ...

Sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects on ...

from musical instrument company Gibson, after Gibson acquired and closed Sonar's developer, parent

Cakewalk The cakewalk was a dance developed from the "prize walks" (dance contests with a cake awarded as the prize) held in the mid-19th century, generally at get-togethers on Black slave plantations before and after emancipation in the Southern Unit ...

. Sonar was renamed Cakewalk by BandLab. In October, the company acquired brands including ''The Guitar Magazine'' and ''MusicTech'' from UK-based publisher Anthem Publishing. In January 2019, BandLab Technologies sold its 49% stake in Rolling Stone to American publishing company Penske Media. In May, the company bought the music publications ''NME'' and ''Uncut'' from United Kingdom publisher

TI Media TI Media (formerly International Publishing Company, IPC Magazines Ltd, IPC Media and Time Inc. UK) was a consumer magazine and digital publisher in the United Kingdom, with a portfolio selling over 350 million copies each year. Most of its tit ...

. In August, the company announced that it was integrating its livestreaming service Chew into BandLab and renaming it as BandLab Live. In July 2020, the company released BandLab Albums, software for digital distribution for independent artists. In October 2020, the company reported that 22 million people were using the BandLab app. In March 2021, BandLab Technologies reported that there were 30 million people using the app. In November 2021, BandLab acquired DIY artist services platform ReverbNation for an undisclosed sum. In December 2021, the company announced a new parent company, Caldecott Music Group. Caldecott Music Group (CMG) oversees three divisions: BandLab Technologies (technology and software), NME Networks (media), and Vista Musical Instruments (manufacturing, retail, and distribution).

Brands

Brands within the BandLab Technologies division of CMG: *BandLab – a free online Cloud Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) tool for creating music and collaborating with other musicians. It works in a browser or with a standalone app. Bandlab includes BandLab Albums, a digital distribution tool for musicians, allowing them to also create exclusive content for listeners such as demo tracks and behind-the-scenes videos. The tool also includes BandLab Live, a livestreaming feature. * Cakewalk by BandLab – a digital audio workstation formerly known as Sonar. Brands now under NME Networks, a division of CMG (previously part of BandLab Technologies): *Guitar.com – a music news website that also published ''The Guitar Magazine'' (published from 1991-2021). It ceased physical magazine publication in December 2021, announcing it would focus solely on the digital offering from January 2022 onwards. *lab.fm – an online music publication. *''MusicTech'' – an online music technology publication. *''NME'' – formally known as New Musical Express, a UK-based music journalism website and former print publication. *''Uncut'' – a UK-based monthly music and entertainment magazine. (also includes magazines published under the names ''The Ultimate Music Guide'' and ''Ultimate Genre Guide''). Brands now under Vista Musical Instruments, CMG (previously part of BandLab Technologies): *Harmony Company – originally America's largest musical instrument manufacturer, relaunched in 2018 by BandLab with guitars and amplifiers. *Heritage Guitars – a United States-based guitar manufacturer. *MONO – a manufacturer of instrument cases, straps and accessories. *Teisco – a brand of musical effects pedals. *Swee Lee – a Southeast Asian musical instrument distributor and retailer.

Business model

BandLab Technologies doesn't charge for its software or digital musical content, but instead focuses on retail, manufacturing and media advertising sales.

References

External links

Official website

BandLab website
{{BandLab Technologies Multinational companies headquartered in Singapore Singaporean brands Singaporean companies established in 2015 Music companies Music journalism 2016 mergers and acquisitions 2017 mergers and acquisitions 2018 mergers and acquisitions 2021 mergers and acquisitions