about Bruce Warila
Best way to contact me…
please feel free to just call me @ 978.368.1424
or, I am brucewarila - on gmail, skype, facebook and twitter
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Consultant, Advisor, Entrepreneur, Occasional Investor
Since 2003, I have been involved in strategic planning, product design and managerial roles pertaining to the development of digital products and services for the music industry. I am well versed in all facets of the music industry, music industry startups, music industry products and services, music promotion, music information retrieval science, and the obstacles and challenges that artists, record labels and rightsholders must overcome to be financially viable.
Since 2008, in cooperation with vertical industry partners in music, display technology, education and mass-customization, I have been launching marketing cooperatives on the Internet. These unique community sites enable contributing participants to bypass traditional (expensive) press outlets and tedious SEO activities to establish authority and to obtain marketplace traction on the Internet.
I have also been the founder of a successful wireless Internet startup, as well as the founder of several highly successful companies within other industries. I have numerous technology patents pending. My passion is to design, manage and successfully launch products and services on the Internet.
Along the way, I have developed notable expertise in the following areas: overall business execution, strategic planning, coaching and management, user interface design, application design, business presentations, collaborating with with software developers, writing for artists as an audience, blogging strategies, business plan writing and making friends.
Ongoing goal: To make it incredibly cost effective for artists to obtain maximum marketplace traction.
Notable Experiences / Recent Engagements
I am, or have been, a stockholder in many of the entities listed below.
Emergent Discovery - http://www.emergentdiscovery.com
Emergent Discovery is a music industry startup. Product manager for SwaysUs, a submission, group evaluation and ranking utility for songs, artists and digital content. Responsible for branding, product strategy, product design and tech team coordination. SwaysUs is currently under development.
Music Think Tank - http://www.musicthinktank.com
Instrumental in site conception, design, strategy, value proposition communication, contributor recruitment, and the management of the community. In July of 2010, I merged Music Think Tank into HypeBot. I have been influential in growing Music Think Tank into one of the most popular blogs for independent artists in the world. I also contribute regularly to Music Think Tank; you can read my contributions here: http://www.musicthinktank.com/blog/author/brucewarila
Music Xray - http://www.musicxray.com
As VP of Product Development I was responsible for branding, product strategy, product design, technical team recruitment and tech team management for MusicXray’s Song Presentation Packages and for MusicXray’s Automated A&R / Submission Engine. I am a part owner of MusicXray and an active advisor to the CEO.
SONGboost - http://www.songboost.com
As VP of Product Development I was responsible for branding, product strategy and product design for SONGboost’s music retail and promotion technology. SONGboost was sold to Platinum Blue Music Intelligence in 2009. Through SONGboost, as an investor, I presently own patent-pending technology for a unique platform that enables the creation, distribution and monetization of bundled digital music assets.
RockSource360 - http://www.rocksource360.com
Advised RockSource360 on creating and building a community site for online music education (rock genre). Advised the founders on creating a community where music education, artist exposure and ultimately music discovery could be folded into one proposition.
Audience - http://www.audience.fm
Advised the music industry startup called Audience on technology, strategic planning and fundraising. Audience is a unique artist cooperative that is currently in beta.
University of Massachusetts at Amherst - http://www.designmymajor.com/
For DesignMyMajor.com, I have been responsible for site conception, branding, strategy, design and implementation. On an ongoing basis, I work with the BDIC program at the university. BDIC is building a community platform for current and incoming students that desire to design their university degree program.
Display Alliance - http://www.displayalliance.com/
As product manager of Display Alliance, I am working with display industry participants to build a community blog site similar to Music Think Tank that will function as a marketing coop whereby participants can bypass traditional press and SEO to establish authority and obtain traction on the Internet. I am responsible for site design, implementation, value proposition presentation, and contributor recruitment.
SQGO - http://www.sqgo.com
Recruited and managed a top-tier team to identify, prototype and file patents on inventions that are going to be necessary to delivering today’s rich, interactive, wireless applications. Designed SQGO’s thumb-driven interface. Responsible for branding, business planning and capital raising. SQGO has numerous patents pending.
Jediah - http://www.jediah.com
Filled the roles of A&R, manager and advisor for this popular New England-based band. I designed a legal framework (in 2005, but known today as a 360 deal) that enabled the business of Jediah to operate like a startup. Jediah’s legal documents (http://bit.ly/LihdE) are used throughout the independent music industry as a template for creating 360 deals.
Longview Recording Studios
Financially bridged this legendary recording studio during a difficult restructuring process. Managed the effort to scale back and reposition the studio business. Created a business plan to make Longview into an investment-backed song factory that would work with artists on a song-by-song basis.
For Yospace (London) http://www.yospace.com
Investor and one of four founders of Yospace. Wrote Yospace’s business plan; created the funding presentations; managed the cap table and all the equity incentives offered by Yospace. Responsible for branding and product management. I also managed the sales team that initially successfully sold Yospace’s products to many of the wireless network operators around the world. Yospace has been acquired twice.
For Crawford Group
Founder and CEO. Far prior to the ‘green movement’ (prior to 1998), I positioned and operated Crawford as a premier, environmentally conscious recycler. Crawford was a US leader in many of the segments the company operated within. Recruited and managed a staff of thirty sales and support/operations personnel that serviced approximately 20,000 customers annually. Designed and developed a market intelligence and bidding application that enabled the company to source inventory through auctions at the highest possible return on investment. Most of Crawford’s assets, including the software, became part of Ford Motor Company in 1999.
The Lancaster Marketplace
Positioned the largest indoor-outdoor ‘flea market’ in New England as an up-market destination where shoppers can find (treasure hunt for) unique and unusual items. Coined the term ‘pretiques’ (pre-antique). Created a highly-successful, ongoing regional radio ad campaign and I wrote all the sixty-second spots that helped this marketplace to attract record crowds and obtain profitability during year one of operation. The Lancaster Marketplace has been acquired.