SmartMusic
MakeMusic operates MakeMusic Cloud, a subscription-based web platform providing interactive music catalog, sight reading, dynamic accompaniments, and automatic pitch-and-rhythm grading for K-12 music educators, students, and school districts in the United States.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1990
- HeadquartersEden Prairie, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What SmartMusic does
MakeMusic, Inc., operating the SmartMusic brand legacy and the current MakeMusic Cloud platform, is a privately held Colorado-incorporated music education technology company headquartered in Louisville, Colorado. The company builds a web-based platform that combines interactive music notation, professional-quality dynamic accompaniments, sight reading exercises, and automatic pitch-and-rhythm audio assessment for K-12 music programs. Its catalog spans more than 10,000 interactive titles, including 5,000+ state-list-approved selections and 24,000+ catalog entries, sourced through partnerships with major publishers such as Alfred, Disney, Warner Brothers, Suzuki, and FJH.
The underlying technology stack centers on a cloud-based practice and assessment platform that ingests student audio recordings and returns granular feedback on pitch and rhythm, syncs grades into Google Classroom, Schoology, or Canvas, and layers on configurable sight reading generation. The portfolio also encompasses MakeMusic Studio (formerly Fons) for notation, Garritan virtual instrument libraries, Alfred publishing assets, and the MusicXML open standard maintained via the W3C Music Notation Community Group. The Foundations Series, composed by Brian Balmages, anchors a prescribed curriculum layer on top of the catalog.
MakeMusic monetizes through subscription licensing, with freemium 14-day individual and 90-day classroom trials funneling into quote-based, annual site or district licenses sold by a US-based academic sales team. End customers are K-12 music educators, band and orchestra directors, and their students, with school districts acting as the procurement buyer. The company cites marquee deployments at Los Angeles Unified, Dallas ISD, Lewisville ISD, Loudoun County Public Schools, and Gwinnett County Public Schools, alongside self-serve teacher onboarding via home.makemusic.com and quotes.smartmusic.com.
SmartMusic firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- SmartMusic
- Legal name
- MakeMusic, Inc.
- Website
- https://smartmusic.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1990
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- MakeMusic operates MakeMusic Cloud, a subscription-based web platform providing interactive music catalog, sight reading, dynamic accompaniments, and automatic pitch-and-rhythm grading for K-12 music educators, students, and school districts in the United States.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
SmartMusic industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Music Education Software
- NAICS
- Fine Arts Schools (61161), Record Production and Distribution (51225), Sound Recording Studios (51224)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Music Education & Practice Software (Ear training, tutors, metronome tools) (MPAIAIAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Online / Virtual Music Instruction & Platforms (EDAMANAI), AI Music Creation & Assistive Tools (Generation, Separation, Mastering) (MPAIAIAG)
Keywords
Where SmartMusic is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Eden Prairie
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
SmartMusic business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Subscription Licensing: MakeMusic Cloud operates on a subscription model, likely per-seat or site license for educational institutions. The platform offers free trials (14-day individual, 90-day classroom) before conversion to paid subscriptions. Academic sales team handles district-level quotes and purchase orders.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free Trial - Individual |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Classroom Trial |
| Subscription | Annual | Institutional/School Site License |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
SmartMusic product offering
Product offeringCore offering
MakeMusic Cloud is a web-based K-12 music education platform that combines an interactive catalog of 10,000+ titles with practice tools featuring professional dynamic accompaniments, customizable sight reading exercises, and automatic pitch/rhythm grading via audio recognition. The platform is sold as a subscription to individual music teachers and school districts, integrating with Google Classroom, Schoology, and Canvas to sync grades. Supporting offerings include The Foundations Series curriculum supplement, MakeMusic Studio notation tool, and acquired brands Finale and Garritan.
Product overview
MakeMusic Cloud (formerly SmartMusic) operates as a unified platform-plus-modules architecture. The core offering is MakeMusic Cloud, a comprehensive web-based music education platform that unifies the Music Catalog (10,000+ interactive titles), Sight Reading Studio, Dynamic Accompaniments, and Advanced Analytics into a single integrated system. Supporting products include The Foundations Series curriculum supplement by Brian Balmages, and MakeMusic Studio (formerly Fons). The company also maintains acquired brands Finale (notation software, support ended) and Garritan (virtual instruments), plus the MusicXML open standard. Key differentiators include automated pitch and rhythm assessment for student assignments and integration with LMS platforms like Google Classroom, Schoology, and Canvas.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Sight Reading Studio: Unlimited, customizable sight reading exercises with immediate feedback for music learners.
- The Foundations Series
- Sound Innovations
Products and services
- MakeMusic Cloud
Quantifiable outcome
- 2x student practice time
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use SmartMusic
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
SmartMusic technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
AI capability2 records
Feature5 records
SmartMusic partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Google ClassroomcoreNative integration allowing grades to automatically sync to Google Classroom gradebook, simplifying assessment workflows for educators using Google's ecosystem.
- SchoologycoreLMS integration for assignment and grade management within Schoology's learning management system.
- CanvascoreLMS integration for assignment and grade management within Canvas learning management system.
- Alfred MusiccoreMajor music publisher providing content catalog; Brian Balmages serves as Composer & Director of Digital Education for both Alfred and MakeMusic. Featured publisher with titles in catalog.
- DisneyminorMusic content licensing for popular Disney titles featured in the catalog.
- Warner BrothersminorMusic content licensing for Warner Brothers titles (including Harry Potter Foundations series) featured in the catalog.
- SuzukiminorMusic publisher featuring method books and repertoire in the MakeMusic Cloud catalog.
- FJH Music CompanyminorMusic publisher featured in catalog selections.
- Brian BalmagescoreComposer and Director of Digital Education for Alfred and MakeMusic; created The Foundations Series specifically for the platform.
- W3C Music Notation Community GroupcoreMakeMusic maintains the MusicXML format through this standards community group at W3C.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
SmartMusic competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Noteflight: Noteflight (a Hal Leonard company) offers web-based music notation, composition, and sharing tools for music education, overlapping directly with MakeMusic Cloud's notation and classroom collaboration features.
- Flat.io: Flat.io is a cloud-based music notation and collaboration platform used in classrooms and ensembles; it overlaps directly with MakeMusic Cloud's notation, assignment, and assessment features.
- QuaverEd: QuaverEd provides interactive K-12 music curriculum and platform tools, including assessment and a large content catalog, competing head-to-head with MakeMusic Cloud for district-level music program contracts.
- MusicFirst: MusicFirst is a K-12 music education platform offering a curriculum, online learning tools, and assessment — directly competing with MakeMusic Cloud for the same school district customers and lesson workflows.
Broad incumbents
- Avid (Sibelius): Avid's Sibelius is an industry-standard notation software competing with MakeMusic's former Finale product for professional, academic, and educational music notation users.
- Steinberg (Dorico): Steinberg's Dorico is a professional music notation competitor to MakeMusic's discontinued Finale; it competes for the same professional composer, educator, and collegiate users that Finale historically served under the MakeMusic umbrella.
- Soundtrap (Spotify): Soundtrap, owned by Spotify, provides cloud-based music creation and audio recording with education tiers, overlapping with MakeMusic's audio capture and student assignment features for K-12 music programs.
Emerging players
- BandLab for Education: BandLab for Education provides free, cloud-based music creation and classroom tools for K-12, overlapping with MakeMusic Cloud on collaboration, audio recording, and assignment workflows in music classrooms.
- Yousician: Yousician provides interactive music practice and assessment via audio recognition; it overlaps with MakeMusic's automatic pitch/rhythm assessment and dynamic accompaniments, though its primary go-to-market is consumer/subscription rather than district sales.
Others
- JW Pepper: JW Pepper is a major sheet music retailer and content curator that issues the Editor's Choice distinction referenced in MakeMusic's marketing; it functions as both an ecosystem partner (catalog distribution and recognition) and adjacent competitor for K-12 music content budgets.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
SmartMusic social profiles
Digital presenceSmartMusic financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
SmartMusic leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
SmartMusic subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries5 records
SmartMusic funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
SmartMusic M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about SmartMusic
What does SmartMusic do?
MakeMusic Cloud is a web-based K-12 music education platform that combines an interactive catalog of 10,000+ titles with practice tools featuring professional dynamic accompaniments, customizable sight reading exercises, and automatic pitch/rhythm grading via audio recognition. The platform is sold as a subscription to individual music teachers and school districts, integrating with Google Classroom, Schoology, and Canvas to sync grades. Supporting offerings include The Foundations Series curriculum supplement, MakeMusic Studio notation tool, and acquired brands Finale and Garritan.
Is SmartMusic a public or private company?
SmartMusic is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was SmartMusic founded?
SmartMusic was founded in 1990. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is SmartMusic based?
SmartMusic is headquartered in Eden Prairie, United States, in the North America region.
How does SmartMusic make money?
One revenue line is on record: subscription Licensing.
Who are SmartMusic's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Noteflight, Flat.io, QuaverEd and MusicFirst. Broad incumbents are Avid (Sibelius), Steinberg (Dorico) and Soundtrap (Spotify). Emerging players are BandLab for Education and Yousician. JW Pepper is listed as an others.
Does SmartMusic have an API?
No public API is recorded for SmartMusic.
What industry is SmartMusic in?
SmartMusic's product category is Music Education Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAIAIAJ, Music Education & Practice Software (Ear training, tutors, metronome tools), with a secondary code of EDAMANAI, Online / Virtual Music Instruction & Platforms. Its NAICS code is 61161 and its SIC code is 7372.