RouteNote Blog

Trackbout, Inc. offers new online platform for weekly global music production competitions.

An online platform has launched from Trackbout Inc., makers of the free Ripchord plugin. The platform is offering the chance to enter international music production competitions, with prizes up for grabs.

Trackbout was launched to help independent music producers. It was made by producers, too, with the idea to help others develop skills, build connections and stay motivated. The main goal of Trackbout is to get producers “actually making music instead of just talking about it.” The competitions are one way to encourage producers to share their craft and collaborate with each other, as well as gain exposure.

Prizes will include gear like music production software or hardware. Trackbout is partnering with different pro audio companies each week to sponsor the prizes. The sponsor of launch week, for example, was Los Angeles-based software developer Baby Audio. They provided plugins as prizes for the winners.

The music production competitions will run each week, with entrants submitting a 90 second track. A chord progression will be posted each Thursday for producers to get inspired. From then, everyone will have until the following Tuesday to come up with a track using some or all of the chords.

What happens next? After the entry window closes, preliminary voting will choose the tracks that go through to finals, as all submitted tracks are made public on the Trackbout website for everyone to vote on. Trackbout has also partnered with Stripe through Stripe Connect, so that producers can earn money through an online tip jar service.  

Every Thursday at 10am (Los Angeles time) there’ll be a livestream on the Trackbout site where the host will playback the finalists’ tracks, with the finalists invited to discuss the creation of their songs. A final round of voting then determines the winners.

Find out more information and how to enter this week’s competition here.