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INDUSTRYPROFILEIndie music turned biz 2.0Local startup imusic.hk recently won the SME Group gold prize in the Top 10.hkWeb site competition organized by the Hong Kong Internet Registration Corporation(HKIRC). We caught up with founder Vince Hon By Teresa LeungCWHK: What’s your professional background?Vince Hon: I worked as a programmerfor two years after graduation from thebusiness school of CUHK in 2003. In2005, I founded Nasthon, a Web designand development company.CWHK: When was iMusic.hk founded?How many founders were there?VH: I founded iMusic.hk in 2008 bymyself.CWHK: Why indie music [independentmusic]?VH: I play the guitar and love music.As there was a lack of opportunities forcomposers to showcase non-commercialworks, I thought a platform for sharingtheir works would be unique. Besidessongs composed by artists, there are alsoartists who upload their cover versionsof famous songs.CWHK: Is Nasthon subsidizing the indiemusic site?VH: Though I am still fine-tuning iMusic’sbiz model, I don’t see Nasthonsubsidizing it, but the two sites shareresources. Indeed iMusic.hk helps enhancethe Nasthon brand because a sitelike iMusic.hk isn’t easy to create. Whenpotential clients look at iMusic, they areimpressed with the Nasthon team’s capabilities.CWHK: While signup as an artist isfree, is it free to upload content?VH: An artist/composer can upload100MB of content free of charge. I considergiving artists who create professionalquality work and achieve high hitrates more free storage up to 500Mb.CWHK: Some overseas visual art sitescharge a small amount of fees for creatingan artist profile and uploading imagesof works, while they also have revenuesfrom advertising. Will you do thesame in the future?VH: I won’t do this in the coming 12 to24 months, but will give some thoughtwhen traffic volume is high. Free storageis particularly important to a market likeHong Kong.CWHK: Who are your rivals?VH: There are two mature indie musicsites in Taiwan. I don’t think there areany in Hong Kong. Though Alivenotdeadis an online artist community, it’s more acelebrity, movie star type of space.CWHK: What was the monthly averagegrowth of the number of registered memberin the past year?VH: The average monthly member[those who have no content to upload]registration count grew 51.8 percentyear-on-year in 2010 and the averagemonthly artist registration numbers grew185 percent.CWHK: How will you enhance the site?VH: Make the user interface easier touse to attract people from different ageiMusic.hk’s Hon: . 香港 domain won’t havemuch impact in the short termgroups. I also plan to add social networkingelements within 12 months sothat audiences are immediately alertedwhen their favorite artists upload newworks beyond 12 months, and I aim tohave more support for users of iPhones,Android phones, and iPads. At the momentartists can’t upload their works viamobile devices though audiences canview content, listen to music, and leavecomments [on these devices].CWHK: Will you expand into other geographies?VH: iMusic’s major market is HongKong—60 percent of our traffic comesfrom local audiences and majority ofoverseas users are immigrants and studentsfrom Hong Kong. We also attractusers from China, Macau, and Taiwan.I am also planning a simplified Chineseuser interface because of the huge potentialof the mainland market.CWHK: Do you think the . 香港 Chinesedomain can help boost your business?VH: Our users are used to .hk and Englishdomain names. In addition, we provideChinese content [that matters muchmore than a Chinese domain]. I don’tthink . 香港 will have much impact in theshort term. 336 Computerworld Hong Kong April 2011 www.cw.com.hk
We have the permission.We are your trustworthyEDM partner!E – Easy & ConvenientD – Direct ResponseM – Measurable ResultFor more information please contact:Computerworld HK List Rental ServicesReach IT purchasing decision makersthrough a direct response medium withour highly selective databases.Our email list consists of members whohave given permission to receive vendorinformation.Simon YeungPublisherDirect line: (852) 2589 1370Mobile: www.cw.com.hk(852) 9458 7688Email: syeung@questexasia.comConnie YipAccount DirectorDirect line: (852) 2589 1373Mobile: (852) 9407 5454Email: cyip@questexasia.comApril 2011 Computerworld Hong Kong 37
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