Boston: The Hidden Hub of Music and Technology

Virb
Headquarters: Boston
Year Launched: 2003
Founders: Nate Hudson, Mitchell Pavao, Brett Woitunski

PureVolume, owned by Virb, is a straightforward site that links musicians and listeners. Artists and bands can upload songs, photos, blog posts, touring schedules, and the like to their own mini-websites. Listeners can download MP3s free of charge, track their favorite bands, and share music recommendations with friends. Over 400,000 musicians—mostly alternative, indie, and punk rock genres—have used the service, according to the company’s website. The founders at Virb (formerly Unborn Media)—Brett Woitunski, Nate Hudson, and Mitchell Pavao—are all alumni of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and say they started PureVolume partly to fill the vacuum left by the (temporary) shutdown of music-sharing site MP3.com in 2003. The company has also launched Virb, a social networking site that focuses on uniting people with common tastes in music, art, fashion, and film.

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Author: Wade Roush

Between 2007 and 2014, I was a staff editor for Xconomy in Boston and San Francisco. Since 2008 I've been writing a weekly opinion/review column called VOX: The Voice of Xperience. (From 2008 to 2013 the column was known as World Wide Wade.) I've been writing about science and technology professionally since 1994. Before joining Xconomy in 2007, I was a staff member at MIT’s Technology Review from 2001 to 2006, serving as senior editor, San Francisco bureau chief, and executive editor of TechnologyReview.com. Before that, I was the Boston bureau reporter for Science, managing editor of supercomputing publications at NASA Ames Research Center, and Web editor at e-book pioneer NuvoMedia. I have a B.A. in the history of science from Harvard College and a PhD in the history and social study of science and technology from MIT. I've published articles in Science, Technology Review, IEEE Spectrum, Encyclopaedia Brittanica, Technology and Culture, Alaska Airlines Magazine, and World Business, and I've been a guest of NPR, CNN, CNBC, NECN, WGBH and the PBS NewsHour. I'm a frequent conference participant and enjoy opportunities to moderate panel discussions and on-stage chats. My personal site: waderoush.com My social media coordinates: Twitter: @wroush Facebook: facebook.com/wade.roush LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/waderoush Google+ : google.com/+WadeRoush YouTube: youtube.com/wroush1967 Flickr: flickr.com/photos/wroush/ Pinterest: pinterest.com/waderoush/