When you mix passion, data, and a few good friends, incredible things can happen! Just ask Oskar Eichler, the DJ-turned-entrepreneur behind Songstats—a powerful music analytics platform that’s transforming how artists and record labels understand their impact. Alongside friends Evan Sacks and Jacob Merlin, Oskar built Songstats from scratch, now generating nearly $1 million in annual recurring revenue with over 6,000 loyal clients.
Curious how they made it happen? Let’s dive in!
The Start of Something Big
Growing up in Germany, Oskar found himself drawn to electronic music at an early age. His love for music led him to create a YouTube channel featuring DJ mixes, quickly amassing over a million subscribers. By 19, he was managing his own music licensing network, Arcane, in Hong Kong, where he learned to run a company and connect with artists around the world.
In 2017, after selling Arcane, Oskar teamed up with Evan and Jacob, and they noticed a big gap in the music industry: artists were struggling to access their data and leverage it for growth. With that spark of insight, Songstats was born—a simple yet sophisticated tool that could aggregate insights from all major music platforms in one place.
Building Songstats: The Ultimate Music Analytics Tool
After selling Arcane in 2017, Oskar and his team saw an opportunity to create a tool that would harness data from multiple music platforms, empowering artists to make data-driven decisions. With a mission to bring critical performance metrics together in one simple, stylish platform, Songstats aggregates insights from 14 major services, including Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and TikTok. It’s a one-stop-shop for artists who want to grow.
Early Hurdles: Building a platform isn’t easy, especially with limited funding. Early on, they hired an external team, but after months of delays and drained funds, they brought the development in-house, relying on close friends who shared their passion for music.
Game-Changing Decisions: In 2020, they rebranded to Songstats, expanded features, and launched an easy-to-navigate interface with a sleek dark mode. This strategic shift hit a chord with users, and they were profitable just months later.
Attracting & Retaining Customers
Songstats attracted customers through a blend of email marketing and social media outreach. They launched “Songstats Lab,” a blog loaded with valuable industry insights and guides for artists—content that drove traffic through top-ranked Google search results.
Pro Tip for Retention: Every new customer receives a personalized welcome, a small gesture that makes a big difference.
Growth and What’s Next
In 2021, they launched the Songstats API, allowing enterprise clients to integrate Songstats’ raw data directly into their systems. For 2023, the team has even bigger plans, including enhanced features and new marketing tools to expand reach in the music world.
Top Tools & Tech Stack
- Communication: WhatsApp, Slack, Ferdium
- Task Management: Trello
- Tech Stack: React / React Native on the frontend, Rails backend, PostgreSQL database
Favorite Books, Podcasts, and Resources
- Medium: Inspiring daily newsletters about tech, design, productivity, and the music industry
- YouTube & Twitter: Keeping up with industry trends and keynotes from top tech companies
Oskar’s Advice for Budding Entrepreneurs
Oskar’s advice? “If you can, stay bootstrapped. It allows you to retain full control over your product, which is a huge advantage. Build a team of friends who share your vision and passion, people you can trust and rely on, even if that means scaling a bit slower. Remember, faster alone, but further together!”
In a world full of streaming and downloads, Songstats is a rare success story of friendship and passion intersecting with data and music. It’s an inspiration to anyone looking to turn their passions into a profitable business.
So, are you ready to make your mark in the music industry?
