Various music apps have been dominating the industry over the past few years, but M&M Media, a California-based digital media company, is ready to bring Trebel Music to the top of the charts.
Trebel Music, an app that was piloted successfully over the past year at five universities, in conjunction with major and indie record labels, has a unique model that delivers free music to college students’ mobile devices.
The app allows users to earn virtual currency for watching ads when they search, preview and download music. Students can use the currency to “pay†for playing ad-free music or to outright own their favorite songs. For users with a low currency point count an advertisement will play every five to six songs.
“I was watching friends get music on apps full of fake tracks that couldn’t be heard offline. The user experience left a lot to be desired,†said Juliette Mekikian, co-founder of Trebel Music. “Ours is the social media and mobile generation.  We are using these technologies to solve a problem in a way that’s beneficial to everyone in the value chain, especially artists.â€
Tech entrepreneur and CEO of Trebel Music Gary Mekikian founded the company alongside his co-founders and daughters, Juliette and Grace. Mekikian explained that Trebel Music is set apart from other music apps because the designers are predominantly college students and young adults. Unlike any other app, students can see a live feed of the most popular songs downloaded on their campus and see what people around them are listening to.
Mekikian explained that the “social†tab is one of the most interesting aspects of the app. This segment allows students to “follow†other students on their campus, and see what types of songs others are listening to and have downloaded. Students can send their currency to each other and create playlists to be shared.
“The majority of college music listeners take part in free services or free tiers of premium services that don’t allow individual song selection on mobile devices,†said Corey Jones, chief of M&M Media. “Trebel is for the student that can’t afford to pay but wants total control over what they listen to. We’re legitimizing the free download experience in a way that’s never been done.â€
Jones explained that M&M partnered with major and indie record labels in 2014 to test service at a few universities in hopes of refining user experience and design. The five campuses included University of California, Los Angeles, Ohio State University, California State University, Long Beach, California State University and Alabama University. Mekikan said that they worked closely with 200 students to obtain constructive feedback. After data was generated, Trebel Music came in third with other music apps, placing behind Spotify and Pandora.
Mekikian said that URI was chosen because he loved the demographic, as well as the amount of students that were social media savvy and active.
“URI is a large and socially active campus in an influential region,†Mekikian said.  “We want to develop long-term relationships with students who understand the main point we are addressing for young music fans and are excited to be part of it at an early stage.â€
Trebel Music’s presence at URI is part of a three-step process. Mekikian said that first, they are trying to gain popularity through the press, then bring the app to URI and refer to an existing base of users. Lastly, Mekikian and Jones will actively recruit paid writers to blog about their experiences with Trebel Music.
Lyft, and app that gives students rides, will be partnering with Trebel Music to give students promo codes. When a student downloads Trebel Music, they will receive a promo code redeemable for $20 off of their first Lyft ride.
Trebel Music can be downloaded at www.trebel.io/dl or by searching ‘Trebel Music’ in the Apple app store. This link, when entered on a mobile device, will take a person to the page where they can download the iOS version of the app. If interested in becoming a writer or sharing your experience with Trebel Music, contact Jones at [email protected].