Quadio is the upcoming music streaming, social media app designed for inspiring creative collaborations across college campuses — and some Belmont students are already using it to their advantage.
The app’s design revolves around building a community, discovering new music and creating a professional team for musicians. While artists can upload completed songs to compete in Quadio’s charting system, they can also upload works in progress and seek help amongst fellow musicians and designers to complete their project.
Set to launch later this month, four Quadio campus representatives at Belmont have been busy inviting collegiate musicians, designers, artists and more onto the beta phase of the website.
One of these representatives is Lindsay Cashman, a sophomore studying the entertainment industry at Belmont.
“We essentially have 400 (invitation codes) for Belmont and we get to invite artists to go on the platform before the official launch in February,” said Cashman.
While the app is free and artists don’t get any royalties for their songs through Quadio, Cashman believes building a professional team and community of supporting artists far outweighs the few cents a musician receives through other streaming platforms.
Through the discovery and collaborative features on the app, a user can filter their exposure to new music through tiers of geography—national, state, regional and university levels. These filters aren’t limited to music either; the app allows users to engage with photographers, graphic designers, managers, booking agents and many more industry workers and students.
“Our motto from day one has been ‘make music make friends,’ because our mission is to bring the best two things in life together in a way that is fun, easy, exciting, and totally free,” according to Quadio’s website.
Alejandro Sierra, a Belmont artist who recently joined the Quadio platform, is most excited for expanding his creative network and interacting with other artists on the app.
“The goal is for artists to find collaborators, not only within Belmont, but beyond,” he said.
Sierra compared how Quadio distinguishes itself when compared to other streaming platforms like Spotify or Apple Music.
“On Spotify you can’t freely message or add anyone. You can follow artists, but you can’t interact with them … (On Quadio), there are thousands of things you can pick from, or you can list what you’re looking for. Because it’s a new app, everyone is willing to engage … It’s a very interactive platform. You can comment, like and direct message.”
Available for all Belmont students in late February, Quadio hopes to reinvent the traditional idea of streaming services by offering a more interactive, personalized platform for both a creator or an average listener.
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Article written by Henry Gregson. Contributing reporting by Kailee Doherty.