Music Tectonics Launches 2025 Swimming with Narwhals Pitch Competition for Startups

Applications open July 1 at 12 noon Pacific Time

The Music Tectonics Conference has opened applications for its annual Swimming with Narwhals Music Tech Startup Pitch Competition. Entrepreneurs in music and media tech are invited to apply for the competition and attend the conference November 4-6, 2025 in Santa Monica, California. Early Bird rate tickets are available for $349 before August 19 (when prices go up), plenty of time to buy a badge before Pitch Competition applications close August 8, 2028 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time. Find competition applications and conference tickets at MusicTectonics.com.

Applications will be open from July 1 to August 8 on the Music Tectonics website. A panel of music tech entrepreneurs, investors, and experts will review all applications. The ten semi-finalists will pitch at an online preconference event judged by Bruce Hamilton, Everybody Ventures; Scott Sugino, Yamaha Music Innovations fund; and Sun Jen Yung, Nfluence Partners. 

The four finalists they select will move on to demo and pitch in person at the Music Tectonics Conference in Santa Monica. A jury of investors will evaluate pitches on originality, likeliness to succeed, and product-market fit in order to select Jury Choice winners. Meanwhile, attendees vote on an Audience Choice winner. 

“We had already enjoyed attending the conference once, so RealCount was really excited to participate in the pitch competition in 2023,” remarks Diana Gremore, RealCount CEO and 2023 Audience Choice winner. “The virtual semi-final pitch led to great feedback, and at the finals I was proud to share how far we’d come in our roadmap since then. I am a bit of a nervous public speaker, so being able to win the audience over with RealCount was a triumph for me personally as well as for the company.”

The conference offers a host of opportunities for other applicants to level up their startups. All three days of the conference offer unparalleled opportunities to connect, learn, and network with investors, industry leaders, and peers. The last day of the conference brings a sharper focus on startups’ needs, featuring speed-networking sessions with investors that are open only to Narwhal applicants. Winners of the competition will be announced and awarded their symbolic narwhals. The programming lineup for the rest of the day is yet to be revealed, but past years have focused on connecting startups with record labels and investors.

Prizes for winning Swimming with Narwhals include being featured in a press release about the competition, founder interviews on the Music Tectonics Podcast after the event, and a free badge for the 2026 conference. But according to past winners, the real dividends of participating are the connections, experience, and knowledge founders gain.

“Pitching at Music Tectonics was a great experience,” recalls Jessica Powell, Audioshake CEO and 2022 Narwhal winner. “I originally came from a tech background, so pitching Audioshake in a room full of music people was a great opportunity to connect with the industry. Music Tectonics attendees are a great mix of startups, DSPs, and other kinds of music companies we wanted to meet, and after I pitched people came up to start conversations. It's a warm, friendly competition as well.” No sharks at Music Tectonics, just narwhals— the unicorns of the sea.

Competition Timeline:

July 1     Applications open on the Music Tectonics website

August 8     Applications close at 11:59pm Pacific Time

August 19     Last day to purchase badges at Early Bird rate of $349

September 4     Ten semi-finalists announced, selected by a panel of music tech

entrepreneurs, investors, and experts

September 17     Semi-finalists pitch at the Music Tectonics Online Preconference

September 23     Finalists announced

November 4     Startup demos at the Music Tectonics Conference & Creator Fair in Santa

Monica, CA

November 5     Finalists pitch in-person at the conference

November 6     Jury choice and Audience Choice winners announced at the conference 

Find competition details and an application form at MusicTectonics.com.