Splink Media links area musicians and businesses

Wednesday, February 23, 2011 | Source: Concentrate

Vaughan Taylor, AKA Texture, worked the underground music scene in Ann Arbor for much of the last decade as an emcee and producer for locally renowned hip-hop crew Athletic Mic League.

That experience, along with a degree from the University of Michigan and a Masters in Entrepreneurship from the University of Central Florida, laid the groundwork for Taylor to launch Splink Media, a marketplace for linking artists and businesses.

"I noticed the strengths of independent artists were in their ability to organize and get followers," says Taylor, CEO and co-founder of Splink Media. "It's not in selling records."

The Ann Arbor-based start-up provides a platform for companies to tap into the creativity of local artists for marketing campaigns and advertising while also promoting these artists. The 1-year-old start-up is allowing that access on an invitation-only basis while its team of four works out the last of the website's bugs. Taylor expects to open up the site to more people by this summer.

"We'd like to see this as a local ecosystem for local artists and businesses," Taylor says. "[This could] be like a phone book for local artists."

Source: Vaughan Taylor, CEO and co-founder of Splink Media
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.