Rapchat Lets Everyone Create a Song Anywhere with Anyone in the World
Rapchat, a startup that serves millions of seasoned, aspiring, and newfound rappers worldwide, offers a unique way for today’s rap enthusiasts to create, collaborate, and connect with tomorrow’s stars.
By combining the convenience of a mobile recording studio with the power of social networks, Rapchat gives artists, producers, and fans plenty to love.
Rapchat serves users in 200+ countries. It is one of the largest and most engaged communities in the mobile music creation game.
Rapchat co-founders Seth Miller and Pat Gibson started working on the idea for Rapchat when they were in college. Miller pitched the idea at The Ohio University’s Startup Weekend and took home first place. He began working on the early versions of the app and recruited Gibson, an aspiring rapper/producer, and professional marketer.
“Rapchat is disrupting the creation, collaboration, distribution, and discovery of music worldwide,” Gibson said, “all through an app on your phone.”
With the app, users can search the Rapchat library for beats and record on the spot, wherever they are when creativity strikes. Once recorded, they can upload their music to their feed or directly to friends and get instant feedback from real listeners.
Rapchat users can share raps across social media via Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and more. They can also text or email raps. Listeners don’t have to have the Rapchat app, they can listen directly from the text or social media.
“No matter what your situation is,” Gibson said, “you can have zero dollars in your pocket, but with Rapchat, you are able to get discovered on your talent alone. You can record a song and distribute it anywhere. You don’t have to have Spotify or Apple Music, nothing in the world has done that today.”
The Origins of the Rapchat App
“When I was starting out, I didn’t know any producers,” said Gibson, aka P-Holla on Rapchat. “I taught myself how to make beats. I downloaded software. I had to learn how to record, mix, and engineer. Once I had a song, I had to market myself and find a unique way of promotion to get it played.”
Gibson put everything he learned into making the Rapchat experience simple for anyone who wants to create or listen to rap. Miller tackled the software side of the business and taught himself how to code.
“We offer a set of beats,” Miller said, “and people submit entries to win prizes like microphones or studio time. We’re also working with artists who have a single or album coming out to structure a specific contest feature. Our users love that.”
Rapchat Community Connections Happen Naturally
“The community aspect of Rapchat is crazy,” Gibson said. “Rap is very competitive, almost like a sport. We thought it would take work to foster and create conversation and spark the interactions between artists. Instead, it has happened on its own and so naturally.”
People are hustling to get their music heard. “They’ll share each other’s music,” Gibson said, “they’ll say, ‘yo follow me back, or let’s collab on a song!’ We’ve even seen people use the Acapella beat (silent track) to record guitar in the background and send it to friends to rap over. They take it and run with it. It’s creative in ways we didn’t intend.”
“We are building a platform that gives a voice to everyone,” Gibson said. “That’s the game-changer. That’s the billion-dollar idea.”
