When Covid meant having in-person music lessons was breaking the law, teachers quickly adapted to lessons online. Now, there are tech platforms expanding his opportunity for them.
Due to the urgency of finding new ways to provide music lessons, while people were not allowed physical contact, online lessons skipped the concept phase. Teachers just turned to their phones and video communications when facing the loss of their work.
But it wasn’t long before tech entrepreneurs were taking this to the next level. Icelandic entrepreneur Margrét Sigurdardottir, a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music in London, had already founded and led a gamified music learning app, known as Musilla, when she got the idea for Moombix, a website that connects teachers and professional musicians from anywhere in the world to people seeking lessons.
“We started with trying to get teachers or professional musicians on board and connecting them with potential students,” she said.
The customers don’t have to be trained teachers, but must be professional-level musicians to join.
“And then we have the students coming in to browse the web community and find the teachers that suit them best,” said Sigurdardottir.
A professional musician herself, she said that after leaving Musilla, she was contemplating about 10 ideas for another startup.
Covid effect
Sigurdardottir told Computer Weekly that the idea for Moombix came to her when her daughter was learning to play the violin. “It was 2020 and I was contemplating what to do next,” she said. “Then along came Covid and my daughter was doing a lesson in the living room with her teacher on the iPhone.
“I never thought that it would be possible to teach a musical instrument remotely because music is so delicate, and you really have to hear the nuances,” said Sigurdardottir. “She was playing the violin in the living room and her teacher was on her iPhone, and it just sounded like the teacher was in the living room as well. I thought, ‘this actually works’.”
This was at a time when ways of working were changing, with a “shift in the way people communicated already taking place”.
“Everyone has realised that the shift we saw in Covid was a simple one, with things like online meetings, but I think it’s a much bigger cultural shift,” she said.
Established in Iceland’s capital, Reykjavík, Moombix is in its early stages after launching only a matter of weeks ago. It has three members of staff, CEO Sigurdardottir, a chief technology officer and a marketing boss. The company has already received 230 million Icelandic króna (£1.3m) in early stage investment.
The Moombix learning platform is currently web-based with desktop and mobile versions, with an app planned. A few weeks from launch, it has 150 teachers on the platform, mainly from the UK, but it can expand globally, according to Sigurdardottir.
“We are in the early days and will make major improvements over time,” she said. “We are still figuring out what our customers like and what we need to do to get people on board.”
Biggest challenges
Sigurdardottir said the biggest challenges Moombix faces stem from its roots in music, including getting teachers to join and catering for demand for many different styles. “A traditional music lesson is very non-digital and there is a lag in the take-up of a fully digital offering, so I think it’s time to step up,” she added.
To this end, Moombix offers a booking and payments platform, and a “comprehensive learning” tool that allows lesson planning, progress updates, the sharing of music sheets through video clips, audio or notes, and homework.
Iceland is a small country. About 130,000 people live in its capital, and Sigurdardottir said this has been an advantage for her gaining knowledge due to its close-knit community, as well as the flair for tech innovation in the city.
“I think the small size of our community is very helpful, and that means we adapt quickly to new things,” she said. “I was a professional musician myself, and when I transitioned to become an entrepreneur and form a tech company, I was very low-tech.”
Sigurdardottir said she had to learn basic programs, and used the community for support. “It helped that the country is so small,” she said. “I remember, I called up an old school friend of mine who was a CEO and he reviewed my concept, which was very helpful. Everyone was just a phone call away. You can meet people, including the funders.”
However, Iceland’s size can also be a limiting factor for investment. ”It’s good being in a small country, but it’s also troublesome because there are only three of four local investors and many projects,” said Sigurdardottir.
She added that the company got “quite generous funding” from the government’s Technology Fund Iceland, along with angel investors who believed in the project.
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