Waveforge empowers musicians backed by the tech of Zoho

The Company

Waveforge Music was founded in 1998 in Switzerland to regain creative control over music, image, and overall artistic direction.

It specializes in various styles of contemporary electronic music and operates its labels Waveforge and Waveforge Dance. Their story began when an artist sought greater control over his work. A need was felt that artists need to retain decision-making power regarding production and marketing and distribution without interference from any third parties.

"Waveforge Music is able to offer more freedom and flexibility compared to major labels," Christoph, Waveforge's owner, says. "Artists can experiment with different genres, collaborate with a diverse range of musicians, and release music at their own pace, without being bound by strict contracts or commercial expectations."

Waveforge Music began operating its own recording studio and started CD duplication for its own artists. As the digital music landscape began to dominate the industry, Waveforge adapted and embraced the shift towards digital distribution and online platforms. As part of a reorganization, Waveforge Music dissolved its own recording studio and optimized the digital distribution and promotion of its artists through existing  third-party DIY platforms. Over the years, Waveforge has tried supporting artists and emerging talents in multiple ways, regardless of whether they're signed by them.

 

"We were looking for a easy and intuitive solution that would deliver professional results—well-made responsive sites. Our goal was to focus on our artists and support them rather than programming php, css and html and worrying about db connections and stuff like that."

- Christoph, Owner, Waveforge Music 

 

The Challenge

Waveforge Music used Yahoo Services for emails and websites. That worked for a while, but the team was looking for something more innovative with integrated apps—a powerful software suite that would help them with the digital transformation.

"We were looking for a easy and intuitive solution that would deliver professional results—well-made responsive sites," Christoph says. "Our goal was to focus on our artists and support them rather than programming php, css and html and worrying about db connections and stuff like that. The Visual Editor of Sites was exactly the tool that met our needs."

The Solution

Waveforge moved to Zoho Sites. "We saw a significant increase in feedback and leads," Christoph says. "Overall, we could establish our website as a central hub for digital presence. This helps us to expand their reach, increase credibility, and drive growth in today's digital-centric world."

Benefits and ROI

Soon, the benefits of the switch to Sites became visible. "Zoho Sites aims to make website creation and management a hassle-free experience by prioritizing ease of use and accessibility," Christoph says. "This approach enables us to focus on our artists and creators rather than the technical intricacies of website development. This emphasis on simplicity and accessibility allows us to save time and effort, ultimately streamlining the website creation and management process. We managed to create a good-looking, functional, responsive website as central hub for digital presence without much effort." Christoph also uses Zoho Workplace and Campaigns on a daily basis because it integrates great and saves them a lot of time. "We're currently evaluating several Zoho products like Sign, Creator, Backstage to further improve our workflows."

"This emphasis on simplicity and accessibility allows us to save time and effort, ultimately streamlining the website creation and management process. We managed to create a good-looking, functional, responsive website as central hub for digital presence without much effort."

- Christoph, Owner, Waveforge Music

 

Looking Ahead

While Waveforge Music doesn't sell directly on its website, Christoph sees the importance of having a central hub for their digital presence with a stunning design. "We see great opportunities for the integration of a merchandise store to improve the promotion and awareness of the brands, as well as develop an additional source of revenue. Collaborations between music, gaming, film and other entertainment mediums have become increasingly common. We want to optimize the integration and automation of various third-party online services to focus more on artist development and curation, as well as cross-media collaborations."

To learn more about Waveforge, visit their website https://www.waveforge.com/