Our Mission

Soundshop exists to break down the silos that exist in the music industry, to facilitate meaningful connections between creatives, music industry professionals, and music lovers.

Our Story

Soundshop’s story began in January 2017 when founder Akpanoluo Etteh invited ten musicians to his Williamsburg, Brooklyn apartment to share and discuss their work with each other. This idea of a music “salon” was formed when he facilitated introductions between his friends in the music industry in Los Angeles. Akpanoluo wanted to combine his passions for music, networking, and conversation into an event that helped his friends develop connections and support one another in their creative endeavors.

The energy of the first salon led Akpanoluo to expand the event into a monthly session. For its first three years, a large and dynamic community of musicians and music-lovers alike met regularly across New York City to network, present, and discuss their music in an open-minded and intellectual setting. The diverse pool of talent varied each month, showcasing classically trained singers, rappers, EDM artists, acapella groups, singer-songwriters, R&B artists, and jazz musicians.

During the pandemic (2020-2021), Akpanoluo experimented with Zoom events, Instagram Live interviews, expanding work on The Soundshop Music Blog, and a return to smaller conversational events akin to Soundshop’s earliest days in his apartment. 2021 marked Akpanoluo’s first full-time role in the music business as Bandcamp’s Head of Data, in 2023 the Music Salon returned in full force. He now hosts those events monthly at Club Curious, the speakeasy of non-alcoholic brand Curious Elixrs.

To see the latest from Soundshop (including a dash of Circle Singing!), follow Soundshop on Instagram, and sign up for the email list on the home page.