The Sydney couple behind online music education portal Amplify is seeking $2 million from investors to plough into an international expansion.
Founded in January 2022 by music teacher Ricky Kradolferon and his wife Natalie, Amplify Music Education got its start on the back of a combined $300,000 of seed money tipped in by Sony Music Australia, friends and family.
Amplify Music Education offers ready-made music programs for primary schools.
“The goal [is] to ensure that every student has access to contemporary, inspiring and engaging music lessons that meet the curriculum,” the company says.
Amplify Music Education website.
Over 500 schools in Australia – the vast majority of them based in NSW – are running the programs. Pricing is not listed on the website, rather opportunities for a free trial.
The Kradolferons said the video-based courses “had to be super easy for teachers to use and really engaging for students”.
In an interview with the Australian Financial Review the couple said that by March 2025 Amplify will be in more than 1,000 schools.
“We have completely rebuilt the first version of the software, which has a lot more functionality.”
In one scenario on the Amplify website, “The school previously had a music teacher who taught music to all students, but has since left and the school has been unable to replace them”.
The company’s solution is that all classroom teachers “use Amplify to deliver the compulsory music curriculum for their class.
“Because the custom built-platform is super easy to use and all onboarding and training is provided, teachers feel confident to teach music in the classroom. Alternatively, a generalist teacher could use Amplify and the school could continue having music as their teacher relief subject,” Amplify said.
Ricky Kradolferon previously played in the South Australian band City Riots, which supported Smashing Pumpkins on Australian dates in 2010.
