As music-makers we can measure progress by how much we learn. This is also true for startup co-founders. By the numbers, Orbital Music Park had an absolutely amazing first year on both fronts!

We’re so grateful to the 231 people who registered this year for our match-making events at Art Works. Thank you! Our goal in 2017 was to understand better the musical people of Richmond, Virginia. Now we have some compelling insights to share about this community.

Here are some of the highlights:

7 events, 20 days, 121 hours

We faced some steep challenges from the very beginning. In January 2017 we had no idea who would respond to an invitation to make music blind-date style. We also didn’t know exactly where we would host the events. Oh, and I was living in Budapest — 4,500 miles away from Morgan (co-founder) and the scene in Richmond. With the time difference, we communicated through Slack between 6:30am — 4pm ET.

Morgan (on the screen) in RVA and Tom in Budapest work out the matches for the January 2017 event. We’re in the same zip code now thankfully.

By June four events were complete. We had better clarity on the problems we wanted to solve for music-makers, radically refined and simplified the registration and playing experience, and I finally moved to Richmond.

By December we had registered 231 people, hosted 7 events in 20 days over the course of 12 months, and created 121 hours of music collaboratively. Each event provided musicians across the spectrum of skill, style and instrument (and us co-founders) with new insights and fresh inspiration.

A quintet of strangers worked up a solid set of tunes in about 90 minutes — and left as a band.

Collaborative play

After one match, a player explained to us: “Any talent or ability I may have as a musician doesn’t seem to reveal itself (even to me) unless I’m playing with others…” Exactly. Most of us practice alone — and we also miss opportunities to apply what we learn with a group. Some people form bands or join groups for this purpose. Many people don’t have the time or tools to find their tribe.

After registration and some follow-up phone calls, Morgan and I curated groups of people who we thought would have a good time together. Our first attempts in January and February produced mixed results because our matching algorithm was immature (i.e., our instincts + spreadsheets). By the end of the year we saw a much higher satisfaction rate from players (95% felt good about their matches). In all we curated 81 groups — each one by hand. Morgan played along with 54% and I played with 36% (in some cases we played in the same groups to round out the sound).

A group works up an original song on the spot.

Matches were informed by skill level, instrument, style and schedule. We also asked people during registration (Mar — Dec) to choose from a list of potential goals. Nearly two-thirds identified with the need for more social interaction musically:

Be more social musically. Meet other musicians like me. (30%)

Learn from other musicians. (19%)

Maybe start a band. (18%)

Do something different. Get out of my comfort zone a little. (15%)

Get some inspiration. (12%)

Get some feedback on my playing. (6%)

Other (5%)

Our conversations with players at match events helped us gain a deeper understanding of the challenges of finding compatible people to play with and creating space for connection.

At our last event we offered a menu of musical adventures. Improvisation was the most popular choice, followed by songwriting.

Freeform: open ended improvisation with some twists (34%)

Songwriter: a workshop for original songs, critique and collaboration (21%)

Jukebox: each player brings two songs — build a set together (13%)

Gameplay: a series of musical games, puzzles and scenarios (3%)

Buffet: a little bit of everything (29%)

In 2018 we want to refine these options and experiment with some new ones (e.g., something for people who want a teacher without the baggage of formal lessons).

Instrument diversity

We advertised events on Facebook, Reddit, Craigslist and through our mailing list. The invitations were always open to players at all levels and on all instruments. So we didn’t try to reach any specific group or instrument type. Interesting to see the mix of instruments:

Guitars (38%)

Bass(16%)

Vocals (13%)

Drums (11%)

Other instruments (11%)

Keyboards (7%)

Other instruments include bass trombone, saxophone, harmonica, cello, fiddle, viola, trumpet, mandolin, and ukulele. Vocalists include two amazing rappers. Keyboards include two amazing accordions. Groups were evenly mixed between electric and acoustic instruments.

In 2018 we want to have an even broader spectrum of instruments in the mix — orchestral, electronic, and more cultural diversity (e.g., gamelan). And yes, we can always use more cowbell.

Ben, a vocalist, brought along this homemade percussion stick. Tamborine, cowbell, pie pan with sleigh bells nailed to a wood post. Super fun to play — and the first instrument donation to the OMP library collection! Thanks so much, Ben!

Skill levels

Since the beginning we wanted players at every part of the spectrum to feel welcome. We jammed with people who had been playing less than 6 months and with people playing more than 30 years.

We know we must take self-reported skill assessments with a giant grain of salt. Ok, maybe much more. Anyway, we asked registrants to estimate where they are on the path to mastering their instruments. Interesting to see the concentration in the middle stages (74%).

Expert: I’m a pro or close to it (8%)

Proficient: I have some solid experience (42%)

Competent: I’m fairly confident (32%)

Advanced beginner: I’m getting the hang of it (16%)

Novice: I’ve only just started learning (2%)

Morgan kicks a beat. Tenor guitar (wild!), electric guitar and bass create the soundscape.

We listened to each person play (and often played along with them) — so we were able to validate this skill spectrum to some extent. It’s actually pretty close. Post-session surveys suggest around 13% re-calibrated their levels down a notch after playing with a group.

In 2018 we want more advanced beginners and novices of all ages to join the mix. We’ll work a bit more on services tailored to people who are in the first third of their musical journey.

Inclusiveness

Orbital Music Park is for everyone. The full rainbow. Inclusiveness is at the heart of what we do. We believe we can inspire a more peaceful and creative world by encouraging diverse musical people to play together more often.

We still have much to do to realize this vision. We are committed to improving the mix of people and sounds in the mix.

Greg rocks an electric ukulele bass. It sounded as funky as it looks (super cool).

We did not measure the variety of musical styles explicitly — and it turns out that would be tough to do because so many groups created hybrids of music styles. From swing jazz, math metal, freestyle rap, gospel-infused blues, bebop, hiphop, reggae, standards and electronica — we were amazed by the reference points, traditions and textures. Sometimes within the same song!

We didn’t track ages, but we noticed players ranged from 16 to 60 plus.

We didn’t track ethnicities, but we noticed players represented a broad spectrum of world cultures and skin tones. Next year we want more players from Asian, Indian, African and South American musical traditions in the mix.

We didn’t track gender, but we made inferences. Here we do have some stats: 18% women and 82% men registered. We are determined to create a more balanced ratio next year.

We didn’t track physical or cognitive disabilities, but we did notice some players required accessibility affordances. Art Works was helpful in some ways (e.g., ramps, ground-floor space) — and we feel like we have a better understanding of the features and services we’d need to provide when we design our first location.

In 2018 we will work harder to create a full rainbow of people in the mix. Our vision for music community includes everyone. We know we can and must do better next year.

Outcomes

We surveyed players shortly after their matches. We asked them to quantify how they felt about themselves, their matches and Orbital Music Park immediately before and immediately after their sessions. We were attempting to measure feelings of personal improvement, connection and trust.

People who left feeling good about themselves as musicians (87%)

Respondents who left feeling good about their matches (83%)

Respondents who left feeling good about OMP overall (98%)

As we mentioned earlier, people with lower levels of skill and competency sometimes rate themselves higher. People with higher levels of skill and competency sometimes rate themselves lower. The surveys helped us calibrate somewhat by suggesting 13% came to a session feeling more advanced but left with clarity about where they actually are on the spectrum. In some cases, these players shared comments about how they were glad to reset their perceptions.

Matching satisfaction improved as Morgan and I refined the registration and group curation processes. February’s match satisfaction was 74% and December’s was 95%.

OMP is a new thing in RVA and Morgan and I are not very well-known in the current scene (we had our heydays). Nevertheless, 200+ people made a leap of faith to try something new. We respect the courage it takes to stretch beyond the comfort zone. We were thrilled to learn how many people joined a session unsure about this OMP thing and left sessions as fans! This is our baseline for 2018!

Before Orbital Music Park, we called the company SongX. Karen’s accordion anchored this group in February 2017.

Gratitude

We want to thank everyone who fueled our efforts with advice, feedback, ideas, and encouragement. In particular the startup scene in RVA has been tremendously generous — from founders to investors to architects to real estate specialists.

We want to thank all the musical people in RVA who registered and played with us this year. Your presence, energy and talents are amazing.

Constant love and support

Bridgette Huff and family

Shelley Illmensee and family

Space

Glenda, Albert and the team at Art Works

Legal and strategic advice

Justin Laughter and Chris Gatewood at Threshold Counsel, PC

Instrument loans

Jay Holdren

Aaron Walker

Storytellers

Jonathan Spiers at Richmond BizSense

Angela Lehman with the Open Source radio show on WRIR

Volunteer of the year

Jonathan Mostowy

Special guest star coach

Steve Van Dam

Advice, feedback and inspiration

Startup Virginia

804 RVA

Thrive Mentor Network

Lighthouse Labs

Escape Room RVA

Lamplighter Coffee

VCU da Vinci Center

Trolley Ventures

Every person near and far who gave feedback on our pitches and models (too many to list)

People who played at multiple events

Rhonda Newsome

Robert Newsome

Dave Coogan

Erik Kutzler

Luke Rhodes

Jonathan Mostowy

Noah Chapman

Nancy Nolte-Shotwell

Jenni Weatherly

Matthew Edwards

Carl Schlaudt

Jonathan Kirven

Jay Holdren

Paul Ronson

Mary Elfner

Jeremiah Shriver

Archie Miller

John Runyan

Aaron Kuzemchak

Matt Lisk

Tim Cox

Dan Gillespie

Noah Saval