If you love music, you’ve probably heard of PureVolume. It’s a website that allows you to upload your music files and let others listen to them. PureVolume was the first independently-run music website. Its founders were Mitchell Pavao, Brett Woitunski, and Nate Hudson. Those three guys have since founded other music websites, but they’re no longer affiliated with PureVolume.
Before the recent sale of PureVolume, the website offered a way for musicians to share their music with the world. They also hosted yearly parties at music conferences, like SXSW. Those parties were discontinued after the company sold the site to Buzzmedia. In their place, the Hype Hotel was put together by the same people who put together BrooklynVegan. Now, PureVolume is closing down. And we’re not the only ones who were envious.
This website was founded in 2003 to help indie musicians and artists find new fans. Founded with the goal of helping artists, it grew into a valuable A&R tool for music labels. Fans could interact with artists through profiles and track their favorite artists. The site featured a section for artists to interact with their fans, and PureVolume also included editorial content. A few months before it closed, the site shifted its color from orange to blue.
After being acquired by BuzzMedia, the website became part of the company Hive Media, which also owns Hype Machine and Pop Matters. While PureVolume isn’t a household name yet, it’s still a popular site. PureVolume is unlikely to become one of the world’s biggest websites any time soon. So what’s next for PureVolume? Hopefully, it continues to stay relevant.
