BandSim & MusoMatic

Players live the life of an aspiring musician, from garage band dreamer to selling out arenas. The twist? Every in-game song created is real, blurring the lines between fiction & reality.

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BandSim: From Garage Band Dreamer to Sold-Out Arena

The music industry sim blending fiction with reality

Inspiration

We wanted to tap into that universal fantasy of musical success and make it accessible to everyone.

Coming from a family of musicians—my dad a professional guitarist, brother an award-winning songwriter, and sister who teaches music by day and fronts a David Bowie cover band by night—I was the computer nerd with zero musical talent. But not anymore!

By blending three favorite games (The Sims, Guitar Hero, and Football Manager) with AI technology, we've created virtual gaming with real-world outcomes. What if your in-game success could translate to actual musical achievement?

"What if we could create the Eurovision of virtual artists?"

A game where players don't just simulate success, but actually achieve it through virtual creations becoming real artists with real fans, streams, and revenue. Think America's Got Talent meets The Sims—but your virtual performances can launch actual music careers.

During this hackathon we created two apps (who doesn't like a 2-for-1 deal😉 ): BandSim (the game) and MusoMatic (standalone AI Music Maker)—hum your song, write your lyrics, and get a custom track in minutes!

Accounts work across both apps—your tokens and songs from MusoMatic are available in BandSim and vice-versa, creating a unified experience using the same OneSignal, RevenueCat, and Firebase backends.

What it does

BandSim transforms music gaming by letting players build virtual music empires that create real songs and potential to earn actual revenue.

Core Innovation: Simply by playing the game player's can create REAL songs!

Your in-game avatar isn't just pixels—they become actual recording artists. When your band tops the in-game charts, those songs get professionally produced and released. In the future, we'll integrate with Amazon Music and Spotify so users can earn royalties from their virtual success. Gaming skill translates to real music industry success with royalties, fan bases, and household name potential.

In the future, we'll integrate with Amazon Music and Spotify so users can earn royalties. Imagine telling your friends you have your own songs on Spotify!

The Three Pillars:

🎵 AI Music Creator

  • Zero musical skill needed—create songs in seconds
  • Hum or tap beats into professional music
  • Lyric writing assistance across dozens of genres
  • Studio-quality output in 30-90 seconds

👥 Virtual Band Builder

  • Create photorealistic talking avatars
  • Design band brands, logos, and profiles
  • Manage band chemistry and virtual world tours
  • Build real artist profiles for generated music

🏆 Real Competitions

  • Win real money prizes ($45-$150 per competition)
  • Crowd-funded business music briefs
  • Chart competitions with streaming royalties
  • Battle of the bands tournaments

Gameplay combines Football Manager, The Sims, and Guitar Hero—journey from struggling garage band to selling out stadiums.

How we built it

Technical Architecture:

  • Custom end-to-end AI music generation pipeline
  • 30-90 seconds per professional-quality song
  • $0.03-0.05 per song generation cost
  • Breakthrough hum/tap → beat conversion technology

Development Stack:

  • BandSim: Unity game engine for immersive simulation
  • MusMatic Flutter
  • Firebase for DB, Auth and CloudFunctions
  • CloudFlare for AI,image, video Storage
  • Node,Python and Pytourch
  • Real-time avatar creation and management systems
  • Custom AI music generation pipeline

Token-Based Economy:

  • 5 tokens per song ($0.75)
  • 20 tokens per music video ($3)
  • 10-20 tokens for competition entry
  • Target ARPU: $3-8/month

Competition System:

  1. Business Posts - Companies need custom music ($75-$250 budgets)
  2. Players Create - Multiple participants compete with AI-generated songs
  3. Community Votes - Peer review selects top 3 entries
  4. Winner Earns - Prize money + ongoing streaming royalties

Real Customer Solutions:

Wedding songs, podcast intros, corporate jingles, TikTok sounds, retail ambiance—delivering 95% cost savings versus traditional composers ($2K-$10K) with 48-72 hour turnaround.

Challenges we ran into

Technical Hurdles:

  • AI Music Quality: Achieving professional studio output competitive with human-created music
  • Real-Time Generation: Optimizing AI pipeline for 30-90 second high-quality songs
  • Virtual-to-Real Pipeline: Seamless integration between game achievements and music platform releases
  • Beat Detection Innovation: Intuitive hum/tap interfaces converting amateur input to professional beats
  • Queue Management: Implementing systems to control inference costs and manage concurrent song generation jobs

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Technical Breakthroughs:

  • Innovative Virtual-to-Real Music Pipeline - Converting game success to actual streaming careers
  • Democratized Music Creation - Professional-quality output requiring zero musical skill
  • 95% Cost Reduction - Making custom music accessible for all
  • Innovation in AI Music - Hum/tap to professional beat conversion

What we learned

Technical Discoveries:

  • AI music generation quality now enables virtual artists to compete with humans on streaming platforms
  • Hum/tap interface breakthrough made music creation truly accessible to non-musicians
  • Real-time generation (30-90 seconds) crucial for maintaining gaming flow and engagement
  • Virtual-to-real pipeline creates unprecedented gaming value proposition

Market Insights:

  • Universal rock stardom fantasy transcends traditional gaming demographics
  • Real money competitions drive significantly higher engagement than virtual rewards
  • Business customers desperately need affordable custom music solutions
  • Educational approach needed to explain revolutionary virtual-to-real concept

Business Model Learnings:

  • Token-based economy provides sustainable monetization with low individual creation costs
  • Crowd-funded competition model aligns all stakeholders
  • Streaming royalties create long-term value beyond initial wins

What's next for BandSim

Phase 1: Foundation (1K Users)

  • Target revenue: $36-96K annually
  • Launch core competition platform with wedding songs, podcast intros, corporate jingles
  • Basic avatar creation and band management
  • Initial AI music generation refinements

Phase 2: Character Depth (5K Users)

  • Expanded Day Jobs System: Hairdresser, tattoo artist, stylist, sound engineer, music journalist
  • Character Customization Hub: In-depth personality creation affecting band chemistry and fan appeal
  • Skill Trees: Each day job unlocks unique abilities (stylists boost image ratings, sound engineers improve production quality)
  • Economic Simulation: Balance day job income with music career investments

Phase 3: Social Dynamics (15K Users)

  • In-Game Messenger System: Band members communicate via realistic chat interface
  • Dynamic Relationship Engine: Band chemistry affects song quality, tour success, and breakup potential
  • Social Media Simulation: Manage band's virtual Instagram, TikTok presence affecting real-world streaming
  • Reputation System: Player actions influence industry relationships and collaboration opportunities

Phase 4: Visual Revolution (50K Users)

  • 3D Band Animations: Full-body motion capture for live performances and music videos
  • Virtual Venues: Photorealistic concert halls, festivals, and intimate venues with audience reactions
  • Interactive Music Videos: Players direct and star in AI-generated music videos
  • Avatar Progression System: Characters evolve their styles & visual as careers progress

Phase 5: Ecosystem Expansion (100K Users)

  • Multi-Platform Integration: Steam, Epic Games Store, mobile app stores
  • VR Concert Experiences: Immersive performances in virtual reality
  • AI Collaboration: Band members develop distinct AI personalities for autonomous interactions
  • Global Tour System: Real-world location-based concerts affecting local streaming charts

Phase 6: Industry Integration (500K+ Users)

  • Music Equipment Partnerships: Allowing users to purchase virtual versions of brand name instruments
  • Live Event Integration: Virtual concerts at real music festivals
  • Educational Partnerships: Music schools use BandSim for artist development
  • Creator Economy: Top players become virtual talent managers earning from others' success

Advanced Features Roadmap:

  • Procedural Venue Generation: Infinite unique concert locations
  • Fan Club Management: Direct fan interaction affecting loyalty and streaming
  • Merchandise System & Virtual Instruments: Design and sell virtual/real band merchandise, buy instruments to improve your sound quality
  • Documentary Mode: AI-generated career documentaries for successful virtual artists
  • Cross-Platform Battles: Band competitions across different gaming platforms

Long-term Vision

Transform BandSim into a living, breathing music industry metaverse where virtual success translates to real-world achievement. Players don't just play music careers—they live them, with every relationship, creative decision, and performance shaping their path from bedroom producer to global superstar.

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