A new streaming service is bringing music made in Michigan to your phone or other listening device.
When you open the Sonic Coast music app, you’ll likely hear an announcer introduce tracks coming up from both more well-known artists like Stevie Ray Vaughn and Joe Jackson and newer homegrown bands like J. Michael and the Heavy Burden. The Ann Arbor group is just one of the dozens of Michigan acts featured on Sonic Coast.
Founder Brian Maloney started the service after retiring from a lengthy career in commercial radio. He says a favorite part of his work has been exposing listeners to local bands.
“I decided when I retire, I’m going to give back," Maloney said. "I’m going to take my 40 years of experience. I am going to build a meaningful platform where local artists can get exposure on. So far, the response has been absolutely tremendous.”
The platform mainly focuses on Americana-roots rock, so you won’t hear a lot of heavy metal or rap on Sonic Coast.
Maloney says he started the service by scouring the internet for musicians from Michigan, but it didn’t take long before the word got out and acts started reaching out to him for air time.
“I had been on the air, like, two weeks, and I was getting five, six bands a day reaching out to me," he said.
"I got three this morning, Michigan bands [saying] ‘Hey, we’ve got new music coming!’ And so, that’s been great. Michigan artists are the best, man, they just get it done! Great work ethic.”
The emphasis is on Michigan artists, but the announcers fill out their shows with more well-known music. According to Maloney, the Michigan musicians seem to enjoy sharing time with the superstars.
“I’ve really gotten great feedback from the bands themselves," he said "They like being played next to Jason Isbell or Bob Dylan. And guess what? Their music is good enough to be played next to those artists, Springsteen and all of that. So, that’s why I do it.”
While the audience may be somewhat small at this point, Maloney thinks these acts have a better chance of finding listeners on Sonic Coast than they might on the more well-known streaming services.
“They have a far better chance of being heard or discovered on a platform like the Sonic Coast than Spotify who has 100,000,000 songs and is completely programmed by algorithms.”
The free Sonic Coast app has been downloaded about 6,000 times in its first 18 months and has earned a couple hundred five-star reviews.
You may hear about musicians from Michigan you wouldn’t have otherwise known about, and not just their recordings but also when and where they can be seen live.
