Based in Oklahoma City, Beats Music Festival organizes an annual music festival along with a series of smaller events throughout the year. Partnering with local brands and organizations, the festival aims to support and elevate local artists by providing them with opportunities to perform and connect with the community.
Can you tell us how and why you started your business?
After attending many live shows and music festivals, I saw the impact and the need to provide local artists with a bigger platform to showcase their music in a larger, more dynamic setting. That’s where the idea for Beats Music Festival (BMF) was born. Our mission is to not only support local music and art but to also foster a creative community where artists, supporters and local businesses can connect. We’re dedicated to building a space where creativity thrives and awareness grows, uniting people through music, art and collaboration. I gathered a team at The Academy of Contemporary Music at the University of Central Oklahoma (ACM@UCO), and we got busy!
What services do you provide within the music industry?
BMF is all about creating business opportunities for local companies to invest in the live music entertainment scene while providing artists with venues and events to showcase their talents. By partnering with local businesses and organizations, we offer platforms for musicians to perform, while creating a vibrant and collaborative community that benefits artists, brands and supporters alike.
How has your company grown to meet the needs of Oklahoma’s music industry over the last 3-5 years?
BMF is only one year old, however in that year we became BBB accredited, partnered with over 15 local businesses, reached over 150,000 online impressions, and nearly 1,000 users on Facebook were ‘interested’ or ‘attending’ on the BMF page. From this, we were able to promote our artists and brands very well and create value for all parties involved. We anticipate these numbers to increase exponentially in the upcoming year.
What are the benefits of basing your company’s operations in Oklahoma?
Central Oklahoma has a very supportive business environment, as well as many production companies, venues, up and coming artists and stellar local brands that are all inclusive and aligning to what BMF is trying to accomplish. Overall, Oklahoma City and the surrounding areas are very friendly to live music events and companies that work in it.
What would you consider your business’s greatest accomplishment to date?
Teaming up with the amazing folks at Scissortail Park right here in Oklahoma City for the very first Beats Music Festival was a huge undertaking, and in the end that was the greatest accomplishment come to life, just being able to create a free-to-attend music festival for anyone and everyone in such a beautiful location.
Are there any recent successes your company would like to highlight related to work within the Oklahoma music industry?
Beats Music Festival hosted 12 bands/artists for our first event!
What are you working on now/next?
Now that we have had our first successful “test” run of a music festival, we are gearing up and not only prepping for next year’s festival, but also planning multiple smaller scale events that will create more exposure for our performing artists and our partnered brands!
What is your goal/vision for the future of your company?
Long term, the vision for the future and face of BMF is to be a leading force in the local and regional music scene, to create very impactful opportunities for local and regional artists to continue to climb to the next level, to perform, collaborate and grow on even larger platforms. We also aim to expand our partnerships with local businesses and brands to provide more engaging and immersive events that create value that will go right back into local businesses. Ultimately, we want BMF to be recognized as a driving force in shaping the cultural identity of live music and music history in Oklahoma and beyond.
What advice do you have for others who are considering starting a music business in Oklahoma?
Just do it, measure your risks and make calculated decisions – the first barrier to succeeding is never trying.
What opportunities do you believe await Oklahoma’s music industry in the future?
I think big things are in store for Oklahoma’s music industry. There is so much talent in the area, and I think that those who take the opportunity to network and work together, can accomplish anything.
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