PTC: So Ethan, what’s your background and what inspired you to start Ovaze?
Sefchik: Although Ovaze is an all-in-one hub for the music world, my early ideas weren’t related to technology. I’m always thinking of new concepts and find that I enjoy the process of creating something out of nothing. For example, I created a prototype for improving consumer food handling for the food industry and it’s still something that I play around with. However, Ovaze came out of love and inconvenience. I love music! I can’t go a day without it. I became frustrated by having to jump to different streaming apps to find certain music and discover new artists. Out of that love and inconvenience was born a one stop shop for everything music from news to discovering the new artists gracing the music world.
PTC: It seems like such a smart solution to consolidate music platforms making it easier to find the music you want. How does it work from a user standpoint?
Sefchik: Ovaze functions as an accessory for the current streaming platforms rather than a competitor. Users are able to navigate multiple pages on our application to search and view which platforms music is available on, view the top charts, view new released songs on each respective streaming platform, and keep up to date on music news. No matter which route a user takes to end up on a song, they will be able to open that song on their desired platform, or play the song directly on our interface to see if they are interested. We will continue to add updates to the application to revolutionize the music discovery and streaming process and become the go to tool for everything music.
However, Ovaze came out of love and inconvenience. I love music! I can’t go a day without it. I became frustrated by having to jump to different streaming apps to find certain music and discover new artists. Out of that love and inconvenience was born a one stop shop for everything music from news to discovering the new artists gracing the music world.
PTC: How does Ovaze generate revenue through the platform?
Sefchik: Ovaze is still in its infancy, but we believe there’s a lot of opportunity in advertising, sponsorship and collaboration with streaming platforms and music-related companies with whom we partner. Although money is important, our main focus is creating a product that makes our customers wonder how they ever lived without it.
PTC: How do you see Ovaze growing over the next six months?
Sefchik: Our main goal for the next six months is to grow our user base. With having just launched in the past month, we were focused on the application running properly and working out any errors that may have occurred. Even at this point we are still working out minor errors and there is endless room for improvement. In conjunction with growing our user base, we have numerous planned updates which will be integrated into the platform periodically. Ovaze is currently available on the Apple App Store, but we will eventually expand to Android devices as well. Overall, we want to continue to develop our platform as a whole and pay close attention to user feedback to do so.
PTC: What tech trends are you paying attention to in 2020?
Sefchik: AI and the application of it through machine learning is something which we are paying close attention to. We feel that AI and Machine Learning could be applied to our application to help the user discover new music, even in their favorite genres, that they wouldn’t actively search for otherwise. There are many songs that one would enjoy, but does not want to take the time to find them. AI and Machine Learning could be used to make that process effortless.
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PTC: So Ethan, what’s your background and what inspired you to start Ovaze?
Sefchik: Although Ovaze is an all-in-one hub for the music world, my early ideas weren’t related to technology. I’m always thinking of new concepts and find that I enjoy the process of creating something out of nothing. For example, I created a prototype for improving consumer food handling for the food industry and it’s still something that I play around with. However, Ovaze came out of love and inconvenience. I love music! I can’t go a day without it. I became frustrated by having to jump to different streaming apps to find certain music and discover new artists. Out of that love and inconvenience was born a one stop shop for everything music from news to discovering the new artists gracing the music world.
PTC: It seems like such a smart solution to consolidate music platforms making it easier to find the music you want. How does it work from a user standpoint?
Sefchik: Ovaze functions as an accessory for the current streaming platforms rather than a competitor. Users are able to navigate multiple pages on our application to search and view which platforms music is available on, view the top charts, view new released songs on each respective streaming platform, and keep up to date on music news. No matter which route a user takes to end up on a song, they will be able to open that song on their desired platform, or play the song directly on our interface to see if they are interested. We will continue to add updates to the application to revolutionize the music discovery and streaming process and become the go to tool for everything music.
However, Ovaze came out of love and inconvenience. I love music! I can’t go a day without it. I became frustrated by having to jump to different streaming apps to find certain music and discover new artists. Out of that love and inconvenience was born a one stop shop for everything music from news to discovering the new artists gracing the music world.
PTC: How does Ovaze generate revenue through the platform?
Sefchik: Ovaze is still in its infancy, but we believe there’s a lot of opportunity in advertising, sponsorship and collaboration with streaming platforms and music-related companies with whom we partner. Although money is important, our main focus is creating a product that makes our customers wonder how they ever lived without it.
PTC: How do you see Ovaze growing over the next six months?
Sefchik: Our main goal for the next six months is to grow our user base. With having just launched in the past month, we were focused on the application running properly and working out any errors that may have occurred. Even at this point we are still working out minor errors and there is endless room for improvement. In conjunction with growing our user base, we have numerous planned updates which will be integrated into the platform periodically. Ovaze is currently available on the Apple App Store, but we will eventually expand to Android devices as well. Overall, we want to continue to develop our platform as a whole and pay close attention to user feedback to do so.
PTC: What tech trends are you paying attention to in 2020?
Sefchik: AI and the application of it through machine learning is something which we are paying close attention to. We feel that AI and Machine Learning could be applied to our application to help the user discover new music, even in their favorite genres, that they wouldn’t actively search for otherwise. There are many songs that one would enjoy, but does not want to take the time to find them. AI and Machine Learning could be used to make that process effortless.
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We commit this issue of TEQ to AI and of course, why not?
We have seen the utilization of AI seep into our everyday use since the “end” of COVID, faster than the rapid onslaught of Facebook at its earliest growth (eons ago). Not a conversation can be had without discussions of tools, ethics, privacy, integrity, applications, the future of work, national security, research and plagiarism, amongst them. There is fearfulness and protectionism, including tech titans asking to be regulated!
Of course, this sea change did not appear overnight. The likes of every search engine have been anticipating and amalgamating our online search inquiries since the dawn of the internet. Our collective outrage over innovation has always tugged at the emotions and intellect of our species. In the past century, we have reacted to radio, television, telephones, drones, robots, analogue-to-digital, streaming, disease curation, voice recognition, online learning, remote work, aerospace, calculators, computers, “handheld devices,” bring-your-device-to-work (BYD) and bandwidth limitations/interferences amongst the thousands of iterations that make our life what it is today.
Should we stop? Pause? Take heed of the tsunami of AI? Grind the brakes and craft legislation to create gridlock? Were we not worried when search engines would eliminate criticality and legitimacy to research? Do we overlook the complex opt-in/out agreements of every app installed on our devices that limit developer liabilities because we enjoy the functionality?
Yes, we have become numb to the array of changes, but on the other hand, we expect this. We expect that we will have ubiquitous capabilities in our daily lives; we ostensibly demand it. We assume that processes will improve, and we expect solutions in rapid fire. Who could blame the researchers and innovators who race to the commercialization of AI? I’m thankful that we have people who understand the market demands, and yes, with that comes application that is dark, breaches privacy and grinds us to our weakest spots. That is the dichotomy of change.
Why not focus on how AI can help lessen the digital divide? Close the economic divide? Provide access to those who have been left out of innovation and personal growth? How can we use tech for good to ensure that while our regional population is widening the chasm of equity, we are closing it...for good?
Keep yourself educated. The Pittsburgh Technology Council has expert practitioner members who provide services to companies ready to embrace AI. Reach out to us, and we will connect you.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec id tempor velit. Mauris feugiat gravida urna, nec venenatis neque. Nam ac molestie neque. Vestibulum pretium sapien in pulvinar efficitur. Nullam at ultricies nibh. Vivamus nibh enim, porta quis lorem vulputate, blandit cursus arcu. Sed euismod elementum mauris ac tincidunt. Cras ut ex turpis. Phasellus consequat auctor porttitor. Aenean auctor lacus felis, id posuere sem placerat at. Curabitur libero nibh, bibendum quis pretium nec, sollicitudin vel nisl.
