Resound Magazine, started by UNC student Catie King, supports local music scene

Junior Catie King saw a void in Chapel Hill’s music community.

So she created a project for her entrepreneurship class that would fill that void.

The project, Resound Magazine, is funded by a $3,500 JNO Award in Entrepreneurial Studies.

The online magazine will report on musicians from Chapel Hill and Carrboro, publish album and concert reviews, interview local artists and connect artists with listeners.

After receiving the grant, King said her entrepreneurship professor, Buck Goldstein, connected her to Devin Buell, a UNC alumnus and Google representative who was interested in investing in Resound.

“I knew that Google was establishing a presence here in the (Triangle),” Goldstein said. “I knew what Catie was doing and didn’t really have a view of where that might go.”

Goldstein said that he was impressed with King’s project because it supported Chapel Hill’s historically vibrant music scene.

“There’s a huge vacuum in terms of providing some of the business acumen that any young musicians need,” he said. “As a musician, she saw a void and jumped right in.”

King said that Buell is working step-by-step with Resound’s webmaster, Stephanie Bullins, to make sure all of Google’s tools are on the Resound Magazine webpage.

“They’re looking for opportunities for outreach to show how Google can help companies and organizations,” King said.

“More than anything, we could put out a great website with awesome articles, but if we don’t actually facilitate a dialogue with the people connected to local music, then we’ve failed.”

King said the website will launch on April 21. The launch will be celebrated with a concert featuring local musicians such as Turchi, Morning Brigade, JSWISS, and King herself.

The launch party will have Resound merchandise available for purchase, created by UNC students.

Thrill City, owned by junior Ryan Cocca, created shirts for Resound. SEA, a hatmaking company cofounded by senior David Baron, made hats with the Resound logo.

Baron, like King, is an entrepreneurship minor. He said he decided to support Resound because he believed in King’s vision.

“She’s got a plan that’s going to bring a community of others together,” Baron said. “I wanted to support her.”

Baron said the profits from the hats will not go to SEA or Resound, but to a music-based nonprofit organization of Resound’s choice.

King said she wanted to create a place where music lovers could come together while providing a more unified support system for local music.

“Every person in the class was charged with coming up with some entrepreneurship project that was fulfilling a need,” King said.

“That’s the point – find an area of need and fill it.”

Contact the Arts Editor at arts@dailytarheel.com.