Reinventing music through fan patronage and viral analytics.
Airborne Music (2011—2013)
Airborne was my first major entrepreneurial leap — a peer-to-peer patronage platform that gave musicians direct support from their fans. Long before today’s creator economy, we imagined a world where artists could earn from micro-subscriptions, track their music’s viral spread, and build audiences without traditional industry gatekeepers. The platform reached 168 countries in 150 currencies, and we pioneered viral-tracking analytics that prefigured features now standard across music streaming. I delivered a TEDx talk, Rethinking the Music Industry, sharing both the ambition and the lessons of this journey. While Airborne didn’t survive, it shaped me as a founder: I learned the importance of resilience, clarity of design, and product–market fit. Airborne taught me that success or fail, things move forward — and that visionary ideas need both courage and pragmatism to endure.
Highlights
Global reach: 168+ countries, 150 currencies
First viral-tracking analytics for artists
TEDx talk: Rethinking the Music Industry
In the Press
Mail & Guardian — 'Giving music wings': https://mg.co.za/article/2012-01-11-giving-music-wings/
Ventureburn — Airborne profile: https://ventureburn.com/2011/12/airborne/
Ventureburn — Anatomy of startup failure: https://ventureburn.com/2014/02/anatomy-of-startup-failure-the-airborne-story/
TEDx Cape Town — Speaker page: https://tedxcapetown.org/speakers/justin-r-melville
