Entrepreneur Develops Creative App Out Of Personal Necessity & Impacts The Music Industry

Los Angeles based opera singer Nadine Levitt was born in Switzerland and has lived all over the world, having performed with many of the biggest names in the music industry. She's also a tech expert and creator of the app Wurrly. This app allows singers of all types to record themselves and tune the product in the manner of a professional recording studio. It also gives performers the option to find backing music to popular songs that not only caters to their vocal range but also allows the singer to adjust the key, leading to a better performance. Levitt talks about the inspiration behind the app and how she developed it.

Born of necessity

Levitt developed Wurrly when she was performing a show and couldn't find proper backing music. She states, "I am a singer and created Wurrly out of my own personal need! Like many other singers, I was doing a lot of covers for shows, but I always liked to make them my own. One day, I got the chance to open a show for Steven Tyler for a vocal health gala and was asked to sing an Aerosmith song. I tried to find a backing track, but found that they were all in the wrong key, and it was impossible not to hear Steven Tyler's voice when you heard the full band track. I ended up just working with my pianist, and said to him, 'Wouldn't it be nice if there was an app that lets me customize music via key and speed, that also gave me acoustic options so I could fully make it my own, then record myself and share it?'"

Find the right fit

Although Levitt has a knowledge of technology and app development, she did reach out to get some help building the final product. "I wrote out the user flow myself, and then spoke to a dozen or so developers to hear how they would develop this. I then picked the developer that was the best fit and self financed the prototype." The app appeals to singers of all types, so the developers had to make it user friendly. "Wurrly helps singers with their technique and creative expression due to the flexibility that the customization tools provide. The video component also helps performers with their stage presence. Most importantly, Wurrly helps people share music, which gives users the opportunity to be discovered and helps artists better connect with their fans on a personal level."

Connecting and promotion

The Wurrly app offers hundreds of songs that users can cover, which lends itself to running successful promotional campaigns. Levitt describes one of the company's more successful promotions. "We ran an Ariana Grande competition for the 'Most Dangerous Wurrly,' and the winner ended up being shared by Ariana herself on her Facebook page! In less than two weeks the developing artist had 730,000 plays, 67,000 likes and 1,900 shares!" The app however, appeals to more than just aspiring singers. "It is really just as much for my 2-year-old to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star as it is for the 13-year-old girl who is waiting to be discovered. Wurrly is about self expression through music."

For artists who may be thinking of similar ways in which to solve problems, Levitt advises to draw up a business plan to ensure that the product is being marketed to the right people. With good ideas and great promotional skills, anyone can find a useful way to solve problems in any industry.

This article was written by Alaina Brandenburger  of Examiner.com for CBS Small Business Pulse.