The digital age has transformed the music industry, replacing physical CD vendors with streaming services. In fact, Musical Pursuits reports that 84% of U.S. music revenue now comes from streaming.
This shift opens up a goldmine of opportunities for music startups to innovate everything from the concert/event industry to audio collaboration software. But with so many music businesses entering the marketplace, how do you land funding?
Investors want to see your clear solution to a real problem. A memorable pitch deck showcasing your edge in the constantly evolving music landscape is crucial. In this guide, we will equip you with all the knowledge you need to create a music startup pitch deck that resonates with potential investors and propels your startup forward.
What is a music pitch deck? What is its purpose?
An effective pitch deck is the greatest asset in a founder’s toolkit when seeking investors. Pitch decks are generally structured as 10-15 slide presentations and should clearly capture the core elements of your business. Your startup’s deck should clearly and concisely outline the problem you’re solving, your solution, and the revenue potential for the business.
What slides should be in your music startup’s pitch deck?
Here’s a breakdown of the essential slides an effective music pitch deck should include:
Cover Slide
Every pitch deck should begin with a cover slide that features your company’s logo and tagline — optionally, some founders will also include contact information. Most cover slides include an image, either in the background or the foreground (ie. a product mockup or lifestyle photo). Make sure that the design of your cover slide matches your branding.
Problem
The problem slide should clearly define the challenge your business will solve. For example, some music startups solve challenges faced by independent musicians, while others fill a gap in the streaming market. Use data and anecdotes to provide evidence of why this is a real-life problem that the music industry faces.
Solution
The solution slide should demonstrate how you will solve the problem you outlined earlier. Explain your product or service concisely and highlight the value you offer to consumers. Showcase key features and benefits, such as personalization or a community.
How It Works
Don’t over-explain the technical details of your product on this slide. Instead, focus on the overall user experience. You can use screenshots, mockups, or a short video demonstration. Tailor the slide to your specific idea; a music application startup could show the user dashboard, while a festival pitch could include a moodboard or reference photos to showcase the attendees’ experience.
This slide should help investors grasp your broader vision without getting overwhelmed by technical details.
Competitive Advantage
This slide should showcase what makes your startup stand out from the crowd. Describe your unique selling proposition and how you’ll establish a “moat” to defend against other competitors.
For example, exclusive access, community, and user engagement are some of the best competitive advantages in the music industry. You should also discuss any barriers-to-entry that you anticipate and how you plan to overcome them (through licensing, exclusive artist partnerships, exclusive venues, etc).
Market & Opportunity
Quantify the market size and growth potential for your business using data about industry-specific trends to demonstrate the demand for your solution. Be specific with your data — don’t just cast a wide net over the entire industry’s market size. For example, if your startup focuses on the problems that independent artists face, your data should highlight the percentage of streaming revenue that unsigned artists are responsible for.
Applications / Target Users
Describe your target users in this slide. Include demographics, music preferences, and consumer behavior. Explain how this specific demographic of music listeners will benefit from your offering, and how it matches with recent shifts in the music industry.
Traction
Use this slide to showcase your progress so far, such as waitlists, audience growth, secured partnerships, press, or intellectual property. The goal of this slide is to make the investors afraid to miss out on being a part of your company.
Later-stage startups should weave traction into every slide of their pitch to show credibility and momentum.
Business Model
Explain how your business generates revenue. Detail your pricing model, revenue streams, and unit economics like profit margins and the lifetime value of a customer (LTV) versus customer acquisition cost (CAC).
Team
Introduce your team and showcase their expertise and experience, particularly within the music industry or other relevant fields. This slide should bolster the investor’s confidence in your team’s credibility.
Investment
Be upfront about your funding needs in the investment slide; state the amount of capital you are seeking and how the investment will be used to fuel your business’s growth. Clearly outline the allocation of funds and be realistic with your budget planning.
Roadmap
Provide a timeline of your plans, with clear milestones and an achievable path for growth over the next few years. Outline your development and launch plans. Make sure your roadmap showcases a commitment to continuous improvement.
Vision
This slide should explain your long-term vision for your company. Describe the impact you aim to have on the music industry, and how you plan to innovate over time.
Call-to-Action
Encourage investors to take the next step by visiting your website, scheduling a follow-up meeting, or contact your founders. Make it as easy as possible for investors to contact you.
Examples of successful music pitch decks
Explore these pitch decks of music industry giants to understand how established companies communicated their value proposition:
- Spotify: This pitch deck was used by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon to launch Spotify, which is now a global leader in music streaming.
- Chartmetric: Chartmetric used this pitch deck to raise funding for their innovative music analytics platform.
- OurSong: OurSong’s goal was to democratize NFTs, music creation and distribution. Their pitch deck helped them win backers including Grammy-award winner John Legend.
Tips for designing a music pitch deck
Here are some additional tips to keep in mind as you craft your music startup pitch deck:
- Focus on the Market & Opportunity: Investors are more interested in the “why” than the “how.” Prioritize showcasing the statistics about market size, growth potential, and industry trends to validate your business opportunity instead of describing your product’s technicalities.
- Dive Deeper than Market Size: Use data and trends to highlight why your solution is needed now, not later. An effective pitch should make investors feel the pressure to join your specific market in time.
Ready to start building your music pitch deck?
While building a music startup is exciting, building a pitch deck can be a challenge for founders. To streamline the process of creating your music pitch deck, check out this expertly designed Music Pitch Deck Template by VIP Graphics!
