MusicShake, an LA-based startup that offers a music and sound effect mixing service for amateurs that goes by the same name, has completely redesigned its website and added a couple of features to make the service more social and fun to use on a regular basis.
MusicShake offers a free desktop application (unfortunately, Windows only for now) that lets users create personalized, professional sounding music using a variety of modules and pattern-combination methods, which is quite addictive once you get the hang of it (takes about 10 minutes and there are templates to help get you started). You can convert music you make to mp3 and download them to your computer, or convert them into a personalized ringtone. You can also show off music you create to your friends and place it in charts to promote your work to others.
So far, there have been close to 50,000 music tracks created with the service, which can individually be purchased in the MusicShake store; the company gives back 10% of the revenues back to the original creator. There’s also a subscription option that gives you a month of unlimited MP3 downloads and ringtones in exchange for 1,499 in “Shake Cash” (or $14.99).
TechCrunch readers are in for a treat today: the first 1,000 readers to sign up for the service using the promotion code “PROMOTC” get access to 3 free mp3 downloads (worth $3.00 each).
The new website comes with a redesigned UI and color scheme, and also adds a social layer on top of the online part of MusicShake: direct communication between members, a dedicated page that gives an overview of users’ profiles, forums, a way for registered users to build and share their own playlists etc. Music tracks created through MusicShake can also easily be shared via Facebook, Imeem, YouTube, and other communication channels.
The service was launched in September 2007 at the TechCrunch40 conference – see video below – when the company was still based in South Korea. MusicShake has raised $3.5 million in two funding rounds.
