What is PIXI.FM?
At its simplest PIXI.FM can be described as a non-stop music video experience. If you are older you may remember some TV channels were once like this. A non-stop collage of music videos is the perfect background to any situation and we provide it.
On top of that we are layering the latest Internet technologies to provide a comfortable experience that is satisfying to control and capable of surprising you when the AI selects music videos that hit the target dead center.
Our goal is to socialise music, so we design our systems to work with people. For example PIXI.FM can be remote controlled by a room full of people, together at the same time, each using their own smartphone, without even downloading the app.
We are trying to make PIXI.FM simple at the surface, with deep layers to what you can do with it. Users who take the time to understand how it works will have a much more rewarding experience.
Who are we?
We are a small team of software engineers who love building things and love music even more. We have been on a big job before so we know how to make it work. Having built several successful businesses from scratch, we feel that now is the right time to do something for the love of it.
As Emmy and BAFTA award winning games industry veterans we have turned our talents to building the ultimate music video experience.
We are funding PIXI.FM with our own time and money because it's a product we believe in. If you like it please help us to make it a success.
Is there a PIXI.FM mission?
Our mission is to build the world's best music video screen.
- We believe in controlling the music.
- We believe the music should never stop.
- We believe in discovering something new.
- We believe in shared experiences.
- We believe in the artists.
If you have the time, we encourage you to please read our manifesto.
Which platforms does PIXI.FM work on?
You can enjoy PIXI.FM on:
- iPhone
- iPad
- Android phone
- Apple TV
- Android TV
- Amazon FireTV*
- Desktop browser
It is designed to be watched in the background but enjoy it how you like.
How much does this cost?
Our aim is for the profits from PIXI.FM to benefit the artists we love. We have artist friends who lost out massivily during COVID and who are still struggling. They desperately need another source of income to support their streaming royalties.
For now, we are not charging or making money from this service. We showed PIXI.FM to music industry executives and they love it but they said we have to get big before they will take an interest, and we don't want to be charging without their involvement.
Right now we are covering operating costs and working on PIXI.FM for free because we believe in the higher purpose.
Who is paying for this?
We are not funded. No one.
Where do you get your music videos from?
Where would anyone go to find videos? YouTube. We are currently using the YouTube embed API to find and deliver the correct music videos to you. Our systems are platform agnostic so can work with any other source or even something that's not music, but that's a story for another day.
Why are you using YouTube?
YouTube is undisputably the world's largest collection of video content. They also provide an embeddable API. They also have already negotiated rights with music owners. To get PIXI.FM up and running as soon as possible we decided to use them for now.
Are you paying royalties?
We met with rights companies and record labels. They told us that because we use YouTube's embedded player, the content is covered under their existing agreements. They clarified with us that since content goes directly from YouTube servers to a user's player, we are not involved in the mechanical distribution of the content.
Of course our goal is for PIXI.FM to become large enough that we can generate money and contribute healthy royalties for recording artists.
Have you spoken to the major record labels?
We met with various major labels and other industry bodies. We were always told how much they liked the product, but until it is big they aren't able to get involved.