launchpad: translating culture and community into currency

Article written by
Hattie
launchpad
March 2, 2022

For business entrepreneurs, a strong community is key to a successful venture.

Our second Launchpad workshop will be on the importance of community, titled 'Translating Culture and Community into Currency' and be hosted by Robbie Murch.

The session will focus on building an engaged online community, tips on moderation, growth, and monetisation. This session will share invaluable knowledge on how Robbie built his 100,000+ community and leveraged it to create a company earning revenue, supporting a full team that works with global brands.

The Coach

Robbie Murch - Bump Agency / IOM

Today, Robbie helps brands build commercial propositions in music culture, but in 2015 he was a "hungry DJ" looking for tracks in the Identification of Music (IOM) Facebook Group.

Identifying, discovering & sharing niche musical knowledge with fellow music nerds meant platforms such as Wired called them "The Human Shazam", Vice said they were "changing the way people use the internet", and Mixmag called them a "Goliath within the online music community."

In 2019, IOM entered into the ‘International Music Summit Visionary’ competition and won. With nothing other than the belief in online communities, Robbie then spent 2 years meeting members trying to formulate an equitable community business plan.

In 2021, two years on from taking the project full time, Robbie launched BUMP agency, taking its name from when members would ‘BUMP’ – [Bump Up My Post] to get their favourite tracks to the top of their feeds. The mission? To be the world’s number one music insights agency, harnessing IOM’s global member base to provide local knowledge for brands looking to work in culture.

Last year, BUMP grew from a sole employee to 15 employees. They delivered insight & strategy for the likes of Kanye West, Atlantic Records, Kickers, Pioneer DJ, Pirate Studios, AIAIAI, Rolling Stone & Durham University, and today the team of self-confessed 'music nerds' provide global music insight at local levels to brands, agencies & music companies who want a ‘bump’ in the cultural space through our 150,000 IOM community.

Be the first to hear about Launchpad, get free credits to use in the space, and stay up to date with halley news and events by signing up to our mailing list.

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