2112 and the Center for Creative Entrepreneurship (CCE) announced the launch of SyncChicago, an initiative to grow Chicago’s commercial music licensing industry.

Posted: Friday, June 25, 2021

We're excited to officially welcome Shopflix to the 2112 Family! Congratulations Matt Matros, Lindsey Kilbride, and the entire Shopflix Studios team! Despite being a serial Chicago entrepreneur, Matros wasn't sure if he would launch Shopflix in the Windy City. He contemplated Austin, Nashville, and of course Los Angeles, which is home to the production talent needed to fuel the business. But he opted to stay in Chicago given its growing film production industry. "Most Chicago companies compete with Silicon Valley from a tech perspective. We’re a Chicago company that’s competing with Hollywood," he said. "Chicago is a good market for this."

Posted: Wednesday, June 16, 2021

2112 has partnered with Comcast Business on the development of a Startup Studio, with additional support provided by Shure, Wintrust, Hughes Foundation, and Karp Designs. Conceived to support the transition to digital in response to COVID-19, the studio will provide free access to small businesses throughout Chicago for the creation of high-quality audio and video content, with priority given to engaging communities of color and other historically marginalized business owners. Access to the Comcast Business Startup Studio will be made available through partner incubators, innovation hubs, government agencies, and chambers of commerce throughout the city for businesses who need to build their online presence and do not have access to affordable space and equipment to create ...

Posted: Wednesday, February 24, 2021

Amid Covid, news about small businesses shutting down seems inescapable, and rightfully somber. But for the newly-formed law firm, Zlatkin Wong, this outcome couldn’t be further from the truth. Read more to see how they firm got its start and overcame the challenges that the pandemic presented.

Posted: Thursday, October 1, 2020

2112 is thrilled to support the work of the Production Academy and the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership’s (The Partnership) Opportunity Works program. The Opportunity Works program places young adults in paid internships, exposes them to viable careers, expands their skill sets and connects them to the training and resources they need to achieve long-term employment in growing industries.

Posted: Monday, July 23, 2018

Songistry’s community-based collaboration, social, workflow, and metadata management resource is opening an office in the Windy City at 2112.

Posted: Friday, July 6, 2018

"DePaul University's Coleman Entrepreneurship Center has added its name alongside more than 90 music and film start-ups by claiming space inside the arts-focused Old Irving Park tech incubator 2112, university officials announced Tuesday." Full Article

Posted: Friday, August 4, 2017

DePaul University is joining innovation hub 2112, the first university to formally join the space on Chicago’s Northwest Side that focuses on business development in music, video, film and creative technologies. 2112, launched in 2015, operates out of the 160,000-square-foot Fort Knox Studios. DePaul’s Coleman Entrepreneurship Center is leading the university’s newly announced membership there, though the School of Music, College of Law and the College of Computing and Digital Media will also be able to use 2112 resources. Full Article

Posted: Friday, August 4, 2017

The future of Chicago’s entertainment industry is taking shape in an overlooked industrial corridor nestled along the Kennedy Expressway in Portage Park, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Tuesday. “I don’t think anyone would know this is here,” Emanuel said. “This is definitely a pearl in the oyster of Chicago.” Full Article

Posted: Monday, April 17, 2017

"Tonight, the folks over at 2112 — Chicago’s hub for innovation and tech in the entertainment industry — will celebrate the organization’s one year anniversary. And what a year it’s been." Full Article

Posted: Tuesday, July 12, 2016

"The music business incubator at Fort Knox Studios is rocking." In the year it’s been running in Chicago’s Old Irving Park neighborhood, 2112 has programmed 75 education sessions, held a music hack-a-thon that drew 100 participants and hosted international trade delegations, and taken its act on the road to South By Southwest. “Looking at what’s been done in the past year, I can’t image what this is going to be in five years; what this is going to be in 10 years,” said 2112 director Scott Fetters. Well, with Fort Knox’s recent launch of The Hangar, a 7,200-square-foot film and video production space, it’s getting into the video and movie business. The goal: To support small filmmakers. Full Article

Posted: Wednesday, June 22, 2016

“Chicago, meanwhile, has recently jumped into the music incubator game with 2112, a privately funded hub for music-focused tech startups that occupies 20,000 square feet of Fort Knox Studios, a 160,000-square-foot former factory building. The remaining space is taken up by band rehearsal spaces, recording studios and office space for managers, entertainment lawyers and other music-related professionals.” Full Article

Posted: Friday, May 22, 2015

“Chicago is ideally positioned to become one of the foremost music cities in the country, If we can create an environment where music businesses and music-aligned businesses are working together every day, not only can we catch up, we can develop something that no other city has.” Full Article

Posted: Saturday, March 21, 2015

“Last year, the founders established an incubator, called 2112 (the name inspired by an epic Rush song) for music, film and technology startups, under the direction of Scott Fetters, whose resume also includes music and business.” Full Article

Posted: Friday, January 9, 2015

“Fort Knox is in the process of building its own incubator, modeled after Chicago’s 1871 tech incubator. The incubator model relies heavily on mentorship and mutual learning. The goal is for musicians, music industry insiders, and technology entrepreneurs to co-locate and interact, creating a community and a common language. The ultimate outcome, according to Nielsen, would be a new template for how to develop a business in the music industry.” Full Article

Posted: Tuesday, November 18, 2014

“The popularity of Fort Knox has grown almost entirely organically, with the company doing next to no advertising outside of the occasional Craigslist post. And while it’s relatively young, Fort Knox has already housed musicians like Jennifer Hudson, Patti LaBelle and Kings of Leon, who recently popped in to work on some material before their headlining Lollapalooza set this summer.” Full Article

Posted: Tuesday, October 14, 2014