My name is Tasos Frantzolas- I ‘m the founder of Soundsnap and Beatopia. I‘m from Athens Greece and I am based between Athens, Cyprus, and Brooklyn, New York. My favorite thing to do is meditate.
I grew up with a music studio under my house that my cousin put together. I was more interested in hip hop, reggae/dub, and dance music than playing in bands so I started making my own at around 14 years old.
About SoundSnap
Soundsnap is the most popular sound effects library worldwide for film, TV and video games. Given that I am myself an SAE alumnus, we wanted to offer a completely free account to all SAE students, of all courses. Students can find over 450,000 sound effects that are useful in post production, video editing, but also in music!
Soundsnap was born way back in 2007. The idea was simple: offer high quality sound effects for a fair price. We also pioneered an Unlimited Annual subscription which no one else was doing at the time.
About Beatopia
Beatopia is the first beat subscription for rappers and singers. SAE students who are aspiring musical artists can sign up for free and download up to 5 instrumentals each month to add their vocals to each month. Tracks come with the wav file stems and they come with unlimited rights. Our producer credits include Gunna, Skepta, Kehlani, Katy Perry, NBA Youngboy, Ty Dolla $ign, Wizkid.
If you’re looking to grow a business, get some experience early or start your own thing early. Studies help but there’s nothing like learning in the real world. Entrepreneurship is definitely not for everyone! You need to be willing to work harder than your competitors and harder than your employees. There are a lot of ups and downs. If you are not very passionate about starting your own business and passionate about the product or service you are selling, you may quit when things are not going well. You may be happier having less risk and even making less money. Not everyone needs to be an entrepreneur and not everyone needs to be successful. For some people doing something you love is worth all the pain or the stress. Others prefer to have a lot more time for friends and family. Life-work balance is a myth so you really need to know yourself and what your priorities are in life.
My event during industry weeks
My Industry Weeks event is an open Q&A where students can ask anything about entrepreneurship, going from being creative to being a business owner. I will be explaining my background with Soundsnap and Beatopia and then have a Q&A with the students. I ‘m looking forward to it.
My experience at sae
I was fortunate enough to grow up with a studio at my house in Athens. From a young age, I fell in love with audio and the possibilities to affect people through sound and music. I wanted to turn this passion into a profession, which is why I decided to pursue an audio production degree, and somehow it worked out.
I chose SAE because, first of all, it was the global nature of the institution. There were campuses everywhere and they allowed you to move between them. I started out my diploma in Athens but then completed it in London. You can’t do that with most colleges. Secondly, the quality of the equipment and the studios were very impressive. Last but not least- I really liked the positive attitude I saw in the lecturers when I visited the Athens location. They were young and hip.
I really enjoyed meeting people from all over the world. These students became friends and professional contacts that live anywhere from Israel to Korea and from Brazil to South Africa. In Athens the lecturers and students created a warm team that was almost like a family. In London things were more serious and professional. Both atmospheres were great and I learned a lot in both locations.
If you’re considering applying to SAE, be prepared to enter a professional environment. SAE teaches you more than techniques and technology: it teaches you an attitude. Make sure you are committed and ready to work hard. In the end, after you have successfully completed the course and after all the hard work, it will be very rewarding. Trust the process. The journey is well worth it !
