Name: BreakoutBand
Quick Pitch: Hone your musical skills and compete against others for prizes and virtual fame.
Genius Idea: A music-based social game that require skill — but not too much skill.
Music-oriented games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band have allowed everyone and their mother to have a rock star moment. Online social game BreakoutBand kicks that experience up a notch, letting users create, record and share songs, as well as compete against other users for fame and glory.
“Guitar Hero and Rock Band were awesome, but it seemed that the natural evolution was to enable players to actually become the artist and make their own songs,” says founder David Moricca. Moricca has more than 10 years experience working in youth media and entertainment; he previously worked as director of online learning services at Scholastic.
There are a ton of platforms out there for musicians that allow bands to share music and enter remix competitions. BreakoutBand is like training wheels for services of that ilk. Users can join for free to create their band profiles, after which they can start making music. All jams are created via the site’s beat maker, where users can choose a song kit, complete with all the instruments one requires to compose a tune. One can then go into the vocal booth to warble away.
Naturally, users have to pay for said song kits. The site has a virtual currency called Breakout Bucks that you can purchase or earn by achieving certain milestones as an artist.
Once a song is completed, users can release their song, which will then be posted to...
