In 2009, Fort Knox opened its studio doors on the North Side of Chicago. As of 2016, it houses 92 private studios in its 160,000 square foot space. National, award winning artists from all over, have come to rehearse and record at this once abandoned warehouse. For example, bands who come to town for large festivals, such as Riot Fest and Lollapalooza, have been seen practicing and recording during their stop in Chi-town!
Aside from recording and rehearsal, the studio offers gear rental and repair. It also offers a "Golden Ticket" program, designed to educate and mentor artists, and other creative industry businesses. To assist even further with the development and growth of musical artists, 2112 Chicago was created and housed within Fort Knox.
2112 Chicago is being called "Chicago’s first incubator focused on the development of businesses and entrepreneurs in music, film/video, and creative technology". Currently the incubator houses around 42 different companies that offer "a place where artists can get access to a network of industry professionals, connecting them with sound crews, lighting companies, website designers, photographers, T-shirt designers and other resources". Its current companies offer everything "from apps, to entertainment law firms, to music PR startups have joined the incubator".
Here's a list of current businesses housed in 2112 Chicago:
Aplaud
An online bidding service that matches vetted, highly skilled musicians with people seeking to hire them, either to create recordings or to perform live. Aplaud’s goal is to become the leading music industry platform for the discovery, promotion, and employment of musicians.
Arte y Vida Chicago
Arte y Vida Chicago is dedicated to fostering cultural diversity through the celebration and promotion of Hispanic art and culture, and it provides a calendar of events dedicated entirely to Hispanic art and cultural events in Chicago.
Boutique Branding Network
Boutique Branding Network focuses on branding and development strategies for artists and small businesses.
B-Raja Media Group
B-Raja Media Group is a media production company, modeling agency, and music label focused on bridging the gap between Bollywood and Hollywood.
Brown Paper Tickets
Brown Paper Tickets helps organizations sell tickets to their events, and it has no fees for selling tickets and live 24/7 phone and web sales.
Burning City, Inc.
Burning City provides graphic design and brand strategy help for the music industry.
Casey McMillan Law
Casey McMillan Law focuses on entertainment law.
Chicago International Music & Movies Festival (CIMM Fest)
CIMM Fest is a four-day showcase of films, concerts, VJ/DJ sets, Q&A’s, live score performances, industry panels and presentations.
ChicagoMusic.org
ChicagoMusic.org's goal is to promote Chicago as a world class music city by increasing the visibility of live music throughout the city and create a healthy economic environment for the music industry in Chicago.
Chicago Music Commission
The CMC is an organization working to transform Chicago’s relationship with its world-class music community. CMC wants to to ensure that the Chicago music industry's many diverse voices are fully heard by government and business leaders and that the community’s needs are being fully addressed.
CUSP Magazine
CUSP Magazine is an online magazine that focuses on creative entities and start-up businesses in an attempt to bring awareness to their brand and message.
Desoto & State Communications
Desoto & State Communications is a public relations firm specializing in non-profit and education.
El Beisman
El BéiSMan is a non-profit collective of journalists and educators that produces a bilingual online monthly magazine.
Emmis Communications
Publicly traded Emmis Communications owns and operates radio and magazine entities in large and medium sized markets throughout the U.S. Emmis is the 9th largest radio group in the U.S (based on listeners) and has been voted the Most Respected Radio Company in a poll of industry CEOs.
Fishaband
Fishband is an iOS app that streamlines how artists and venues network to book shows and build fan bases.
Gigity TV
Gigity.TV has been broadcasting concerts, plays and other live events from venues and theatres for 4 years. The company has captured more than 3,000 different artists in over 8,000 broadcasts from all over the country with its live video production systems.
Glo Glee Music
Glo Glee Music provides live piano entertainment, composition, and music licensing
#hellohiphop
#hellohiphop provides business consulting for independent artists including booking, marketing, branding and bridging a gap between the artist and sponsors, investors and venues.
IFP Chicago
IFP Chicago is a non-profit organization committed to the idea that independent film is an important art form and a powerful voice in our society.
imaginePR
imagePR provides PR services for creative entrepreneurs and growing businesses, specializing in entertainment marketing with musicians, music technology companies, recording studios, record labels, and lifestyle brands.
Invisible Records
Invisible Records is an independent record label based out of Chicago that has been giving artists a voice since 1989. The label is owned and run by Martin Atkins and home to bands such as: Pigface, The Damage Manual, Sheep on Drugs, and more.
King Lizzy Creative
King Lizzy Creative is a strategic branding and artist management firm.
MusicVisas.com
Music Visas is a division of the McEntee Law Group, an immigration law firm based in Chicago, and provides both US and global visa services to those in the entertainment and music industry.
Media House LLC
Media House LLC provides animation, motion graphics, music videos, video production, visual effects, and web design services.
Midwest Merch
Midwest Merch is an online merchandising services that creates custom band t-shirts.
NewAppetite
NewAppetite is a crowd sourced music promotion and discovery collective.
Personal Best Media
Personal Best Media is a Radio broadcast/documentary program focused on entrepreneurship.
Plus 1 Entertainment
Plus 1 Entertainment focuses on artist management, label, and EDM concert promotion.
ProSource
Prosource provides audio, lighting, staging, and video production services, equipment rentals, and installation/integration services.
RightNowTour
RightNowTour focuses on regional branding campaigns and artist showcases.
Small Business Advocacy Council
The Small Business Advocacy Council is a non-partisan, member driven organization that promotes the success of small business through political advocacy, support services and educational programs.
Strategic Boundless Marketing
Strategic Boundless Marketing provides brand marketing, social media, and data analytics services.
The Brand Lela
The Brand Lela focuses on business strategy, marketing, and event production.
Third Coast Music
Third Coast Music is an organization focused on bringing more recording to Chicago. It provides a range of musical services, coordinating all production and post-production needs.
Trackforce Productions
TrackForce Productions is a Chicago based full service music production company with offices in Chicago, Olso and Stockholm.
Two Headed Man Entertainment
Two Headed Man Entertainment is the publishing company for Wayne Baker Brooks focused on licensing for TV and film.
The Up Next
The Up Next is a mobile app platform for music discovery that puts the power of the record label in the artist's hands. By streamlining the music discovery process, artists are able to maximize exposure while still maintaining ownership of their music.
VL Group
VL Group creates award-winning digital media experiences for leading brands, including Corona, General Mills and Quaker. VL Group's flagship media streaming & delivery platform, Rhymba™, kindled the social music-listening revolution with the IMVU Music Store, and powers digital media for Live Nation, Billboard, Shazam, and more.
Volcanoes For Hire
Volcanoes For Hire provides custom development of an iPhone/iPad Artist App with your dynamic music on a budget comparable to a traditional indie record.
WFL III Drums
WFL III Drums is a family-owned drum making business.
Wicked Entertainment
Wicked Entertainment is an independent record label and media firm focused on hip-hop and rap.
Ziliak Law Firm
Ziliak Law Firm provides legal services for startups and trading firms.
Quotes taken from Dallke, Jim. "Meet The Companies Inside 2112, Chicago's First Music Tech Incubator." Chicago Inno. January 14, 2016. Accessed January 20, 2016. http://chicagoinno.streetwise.co/2016/01/14/chicago-music-startups-connect-at-fort-knox-incubator-20112/.
