Students, faculty, and professionals discuss new wave in online music

Management of Technology student Luis Cavallos, '09 presents his business recommendations for Indaba Music.

There’s a new wave in the online music industry, and it’s not an easier, sleeker way to listen to music; it’s an easier, sleeker – and global – way to collaboratively create music.

On December 17, Polytechnic Institute of NYU’s Manhattan campus hosted a seminar focused on Indaba Music, a New York City-based startup that provides musicians, producers, and engineers with an online platform for composing music.

Professor Nina Ziv of the Department of Technology Management recently authored a case study about Indaba Music. “I asked students in the Management of Technology and Information Management executive master’s programs for their recommendations on how Indaba should evolve and face management challenges as it moves forward,” said Professor Ziv. “The results developed into this action learning seminar, which we planned in cooperation with the Indaba management team.”

The seminar featured Professor Ziv’s presentation of her case study; a presentation about the company by Indaba co-founders Matt Siegel and Dan Zaccagnino; and student presentations from Mary Ellen Amundson (MOT, 2009), Luis Cevallos (MOT, 2009), and Anita Louis (IM, 2009).

Current executive master’s degree students, NYU-Poly alumni, industry professionals from Silicon Alley, and members of the Indaba Music leadership team attend the event. And as Professor Ziv explains, “while no definitive conclusions were reached, it was clear that Indaba, and other companies like it, are the leading edge of a new wave of innovation in the music industry.”