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Quadio
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UCF chapter.

If you’re a big music fan like me, then you’ll be excited to hear about Quadio, a new streaming service that’ll help you discover the next big hit. The platform is a free music service targeted towards college students and emphasizes local artists near you!

Quadio was designed to expose listeners to new and relevant music. Founders Joe Welch and Marcus Welch created the platform as a way to connect music lovers on a more personal basis. Their motto, “Make Music, Make Friends” highlights how Quadio creates a new relationship between artists and listeners not found in other streaming services.

Quadio is essentially a location-based streaming platform, connecting listeners to artists from the same state, region or even the same college. By connecting users through location, Quadio ensures a more personal relationship between artists and listeners because of the familiarity gained through the location-based system. 

Quadio slogan
Quadio

Back in college, Joe Welch, who created his own EDM music, became popular after releasing a song at his university. His song was played at home games, tailgating tents and even house parties. Everyone at the university became familiar with him and his music because of the exposure it got and the hype that surrounded the song. It made Joe realize the impact local communities can have on artists. He wanted to connect listeners to artists that they would never believe even had musical talent, from their neighboring suitemate to their lab partner. Music becomes more impactful when you know the person, which becomes obvious as students want to support fellow students and show their pride towards their college.

Quadio is interesting because it‘s not just a streaming platform, it’s also a social media platform. With messaging and commenting features, it allows you to engage with local artists in different ways. For example, if you’re an artist that needs vocals in a song, Quadio allows you to message artists that specialize in vocals to create collaboration efforts. Quadio also allows listeners to support work in more ways than just streams. You can ‘like’ or comment on a specific song to show your support. 

By harvesting communities, Quadio separates up and coming artists from overly saturated streaming platforms dominated by bigger names in the music industry. Its focus on local artists helps give them exposure to a national level. In fact, it acts as a “middle man” by introducing artists to listeners in a relative way and level the playing field for local artists. 

What makes Quadio unique from other music streaming platforms is that it doesn’t try to compete with other services. Ultimately, Quadio is about connecting listeners with artists in a more individualized approach, rather than superficially through algorithms and numbers. By connecting listeners with artists through location, it gives up and coming artists exposure to people in their own town and gives listeners a chance to support those artists. 

Check out Quadio when it launches nationally at the end of February!

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Part-time pop music enthusiast and full-time bookworm, Kiara is a senior hoping to graduate with a bachelor's in ad/pr and sociology. Her passion for the arts, both written and unwritten, has led her to frequent concerts, museums, and even gardens. Kiara hopes that her dedication to both writing and music will begin her media career in the music industry.
UCF Contributor