Soundwaves Recording

What Soundwaves Recording does

Soundwaves Recording, LLC is a privately held Ohio-based (Huron) audio and video recording service that has operated for approximately 30 years since its 1994 founding, specializing exclusively in the US music education sector. The company sends engineers on-site to music education conferences and school concerts to capture live performances by choirs, bands, orchestras, jazz ensembles, gospel groups, and percussion ensembles, then sells the resulting recordings as digital downloads through its e-commerce storefront at soundwaves.org. Individual ensemble recordings are priced at $20 per MP3 or $35 per MP4, while full conference sets range from $120 to $220 depending on format, with discounted MP3+MP4 bundles available at $45.

The core technology is professional live-event audio and video capture, delivered as downloadable digital files rather than physical media. The catalog comprises over 3,000 recordings and 15,000+ songs spanning elementary through collegiate levels, organized by conference, state, and musical category. On-site recording services are offered with local, regional, or national coverage, and the company supports institutional buyers through invoice payment and account-login infrastructure on its website.

The business operates on two revenue streams: digital recording sales (one-time license) and on-site professional recording services. Go-to-market is event-driven and direct-to-consumer, with conference presence serving as both content acquisition and top-of-funnel distribution. Soundwaves holds preferred-vendor relationships with multiple state and national music education associations, including ACDA (national and regional divisions), OMEA, WMEA, ASTA, CASMEC, and others, with the 2025 storefront explicitly listing expanded partnerships across roughly 15 state-level associations. The company is founder-owned with 1-10 employees, no external institutional investment, no parent company, and no public financial disclosures.

Name

Soundwaves Recording

Legal name

Soundwaves Recording, LLC

Website

https://soundwaves.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Soundwaves Recording is a privately held Ohio-based audio and video recording service founded in 1994 that captures and sells digital recordings of performances at US music education conferences and school concerts, serving K-12 and collegiate music educators nationwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Music Recording Services

NAICS

Sound Recording Studios (512240), Other Sound Recording Industries (51229)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Audio Engineering Services (Tracking, Mixing, Mastering) (MPAIAHAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Audio Learning Content (Podcasts, Audiobooks, Listening Programs) (EDAGALAM), Music & Audio Streaming Platforms (BPAMAJAC)

Keywords

• Music recording services
• Conference audio recording
• Concert video recording
• Music education recordings
• Ensemble performance capture

Headquarters

HQ city

Huron

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Digital Recording Sales: Sale of MP3 audio downloads and MP4 video downloads of recorded concerts and performances. Individual tracks priced at $20, with full conference sets ranging from $120-$220.
2. On-site Recording Services: Professional audio/video recording services provided at music conferences, capturing performances for later sale as digital downloads.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Soundwaves Recording provides professional on-site audio and video recording services at U.S. music education conferences and sells the resulting performances as digital MP3 and MP4 downloads through its e-commerce store. Individual ensemble recordings are priced at $20 and full conference sets range from $120–$220, marketed to music educators, schools, and music education associations for keepsakes, teaching tools, and fundraising.

Product overview

Soundwaves Recording operates a digital music store serving music educators with over 3,000 recordings and 15,000 songs. The core offering consists of two interconnected products: (1) Conference Recordings sold through the Music Store, featuring MP3 audio and MP4 video downloads of performances from ACDA, OMEA, WMEA, and other music education conferences nationwide, available as individual ensemble recordings ($20 each) or Full Conference Sets ($120-$220); and (2) On-Site Recording Services where Soundwaves engineers capture live performances at concerts and conferences. The company has served music educators for 30 years, providing audio keepsakes for fundraising and educational purposes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Music Store Digital Downloads
• Conference Recordings
• Individual School and Ensemble Recordings
• On-Site Recording Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 30 years of service to music educators
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Emerging players

• Smule: Smule is a mobile music creation and singing app (e.g., Sing!) with broad consumer reach in choral and vocal performance. While its audience skews consumer rather than educator, it competes for student attention and represents the digital, mobile-first direction that could erode demand for downloaded ensemble recordings over the long term.
• Lessonface: Lessonface connects students with music instructors via live online lessons, including choral and ensemble coaching. It is thematically adjacent (music education delivery) and could intersect with Soundwaves' educator audience as schools increasingly adopt remote and hybrid teaching models.
• ArtistWorks: ArtistWorks is an online music education platform offering video lessons and exchanges with master musicians. While focused on instruction rather than ensemble recording, it competes for music educator attention and budget and represents the broader shift toward digital, on-demand music education content that Soundwaves' catalog must adapt to.

Others

• TuneCore: TuneCore is a digital music distribution service placing independent artists on streaming platforms. It does not serve the music education market, but represents the broader digital music distribution ecosystem where Soundwaves could choose to distribute archival content if it pursued streaming or platform partnerships.
• Disc Makers: Disc Makers manufactures CDs, vinyl, and DVDs for independent artists and educators. It is adjacent infrastructure for any music recording provider that wants to offer physical media, and historically served as a downstream supplier for schools running recording-based fundraisers — making it ecosystem-relevant rather than a direct competitor.

Broad incumbents

• MakeMusic (SmartMusic): MakeMusic's SmartMusic is a leading music education software platform used in schools for practice, assessment, and accompaniment. It serves the same end-user (music educators and students) but through software rather than live recording — relevant as both a substitute for catalog use cases and a potential platform partner or competitor for archival recordings.
• Alfred Music: Alfred Music is a major music education publisher serving K-12 and collegiate programs with method books, recordings, and digital learning tools. It competes for the music educator's wallet and content shelf rather than for the on-site recording service itself, but represents a credible incumbent that could bundle or substitute for Soundwaves' catalog.
• Hal Leonard: Hal Leonard is the largest music education publisher in the U.S., supplying sheet music, instructional materials, and digital tools to the same music educator buyer. While it doesn't specialize in live conference recording, it sells adjacent educational content (recordings, method books) to the same institutions Soundwaves serves, and could plausibly extend into the conference-recording niche.

Direct peers

• Baldwin Audio Recording: Baldwin Audio Recording provides on-site recording services for school music programs and ensembles, with a similar catalog-and-services model targeting music educators. Overlap is direct in both product (concert recordings) and customer base (K-12 and collegiate music directors).
• Mark Custom Recording: Mark Custom Recording is one of the most established direct competitors, providing professional audio and video recording services for school bands, orchestras, choirs, and music education conferences across the U.S. It mirrors Soundwaves' core service offering — on-site capture plus direct-to-consumer digital and physical sales — making it the closest comparable in product, customer, and business model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/soundwaves-recording

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Soundwaves Recording