I run a band called Birmingham Electric. Our album features Peter Hook from Joy Division and New Order on bass, Marco Pirroni from Adam and the Ants on guitar, and Malcolm Holmes from OMD as co-writer and producer.
It sounds glamorous. The reality is spreadsheets.
Songwriter splits tracked in one Google Sheet. Gig contacts in another. Release timelines in a third. Task lists in Notion, then Trello, then back to Google Sheets because nothing quite fit. Calendar events scattered across three accounts. Press contacts in my inbox somewhere. Publishing registrations in a folder I optimistically named "Admin."
I've been a product leader for over a decade — I've built software for startups, run teams, shipped products used by thousands. And yet I couldn't find a single tool that understood what it actually takes to run an independent band.
The tools that exist are either designed for major labels (too complex, too expensive) or they're glorified to-do lists with a guitar pick icon. Nothing sits in the middle where most of us live: serious about our music, doing everything ourselves, trying to be professional without a label's infrastructure.
So I built Riffboard.
One dashboard for your band's entire operation. Releases with songwriter splits and publishing admin. A venue database that tracks who you've pitched, who said yes, and what their tech specs are. Contacts and fan tracking. Project budgets so you know what the album actually cost. Task management that understands band workflows — not generic project management with a music skin.
And here's what makes it different: Riffboard is AI-native from day one.
Every feature is accessible via MCP (Model Context Protocol) — 99 tools and counting — which means AI assistants can read your data, create tasks, research venues, track metrics, keep your booking contacts fresh, and draft pitch emails — all through your Riffboard workspace. I use this myself, daily. My AI assistant monitors support slot opportunities across Europe and tracks our Spotify metrics while I'm in the studio.
This isn't a gimmick bolted on after the fact. The AI integration is foundational. It's how I actually run Birmingham Electric.
Riffboard is in closed beta now. I'm building it in public, using it for my own band, and refining it with real musicians. If you're an indie artist or small label tired of managing your career across a dozen tabs, I'd love for you to try it.
Your band deserves better than a spreadsheet.