Music Startups

Here's Why Gareth Emery's Choon Won't Fix Artist's Problems

Why Blockchain Isn’t Even Close to Fixing Musicians’ Problems

Daniel Sanchez

May 16, 2018

After Burning Through $180 Million, Guvera CEO Plans To Launch New Music Startup

After Squandering $180 Million, Guvera CEO Plans To Launch New Music Business

Daniel Sanchez

December 21, 2017

Forget SoundCloud, Musical.ly & YouTube: Spotlite Is the Next Talent Incubator

Paul Resnikoff

November 29, 2017

Spotify Is Building Its Own Speakers and a Bunch of 'Hardware Products'

Spotify Acquires Online Recording Studio Startup Soundtrap

Daniel Sanchez

November 17, 2017

Former Songkick Strong-Arm Publicist Now Works for Harvey Weinstein

Songkick’s Former Publicist Now Works for Harvey Weinstein

Daniel Sanchez

October 13, 2017

Kobalt Beefs Its War Chest by Another $14 Million

Daniel Sanchez

October 12, 2017

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Music Startups

Two Rising Music Tech Companies Die on the Same Day

Two Fabulous Music Tech Companies. Both Dead on the Same Day.

Daniel Sanchez

September 20, 2017

Ricall and Blin.gy have gone the way of the dodo. UK-based platform Ricall offered music pre-licensed for use in advertising, film, and TV. Blin.gy brought special effects that magically inserted users in... Read More...

16 Reasons Why Music Startups Fail

Paul Resnikoff

August 10, 2017

1. Licensing. If you want major artists from major labels, be prepared to pay multi-millions of dollars for it. And it may take years to finalize those deals (just ask Spotify). If they don't make you gi... Read More...

No, Legacy Musicians Do Not Have To Tour To Make Money If They Don’t Want To

Ari Herstand

August 8, 2017

Donald Fagen | Photo by Fred von Lohmann I’m sure you’ve read by now the piece that has been shared relentlessly discussing how 69-year-old Donald Fagen (of Steely Dan) was "forced" to go on tour because his ... Read More...

Tunecore Stiffed Us Bad, Says Multi-Million Dollar Lawsuit

Paul Resnikoff

June 15, 2017

Did Tunecore stiff two of its original members? The answer to that question could cost the company millions. It was a revolutionary idea back in the day. Any artist, anywhere, could upload their music to a... Read More...

Tokenly Launches Bitcoin-Based Music Platform token.FM

Bitcoin Startup Claims It Pays 20 Times Better Than Spotify

Daniel Sanchez

April 19, 2017

Zach Copley (CC by 2.0) Will Bitcoin-based Token.FM truly hit, or end up in the music industry graveyard? Every once in a while, someone has a fresh, new idea to address existing issues in the music industry... Read More...

AdBlock Plus Acquires The Pirate Bay Co-Founder's Flattr Service

The Guy Who Started The Pirate Bay Is Now a Millionaire

Daniel Sanchez

April 6, 2017

Flattr (CC by 2.0) The Pirate Bay founder just sold Flattr to AdBlock Plus for millions. Now let this be a lesson to all you boys and girls out there! Flattr allows users to directly fund online publishers ... Read More...

7 Essential Music Tech Events at SXSW This Year

9 Essential Music Tech Events at SXSW 2017

Daniel Sanchez

March 10, 2017

Paul Hudson (CC by 2.0) While there are usually many events at SXSW, which are the must-attend for up-and-coming musicians? After a long flight, you’ve finally settled down at your hotel. Then, you arrive at... Read More...

Vadio Calls It Quits After Burning Through $11.8 Million In 4 Years

Paul Resnikoff

February 15, 2017

4 years. $11.8 million in funding. 1 dead company: Vadio. Vadio was a promising start-up focusing on streaming music video monetization. So WTF happened? Early this morning, the death knell rang loudly... Read More...

Anghami, The ‘Spotify of the Middle East,’ Boasts 30 Million Users

Daniel Sanchez

February 14, 2017

How did Anghami become the top Middle Eastern streamer? One word: piracy. The Middle East counts with a population over 400 million. Yet, in just five years, Middle Eastern streamer Anghami has claimed over ... Read More...

Grandpa, What’s a ‘Radio Station’?

Paul Resnikoff

February 7, 2017

When will traditional radio stop ignoring the internet? And, everyone under the age of 25? It's a question whose answer is obvious. Why are people tuning out of 'traditional' broadcast radio? Usually the ... Read More...

Shazam’s Slain Competitor Raises a Juicy $75 Million

Paul Resnikoff

February 1, 2017

Soundhound lost the war against Shazam. Now, it's raising $75 million for a post-music pivot. Is there life after the brutalities of the music industry? The answer is yes — if you've got the right pivot. ... Read More...

Getting Artists Paid: dotBlockchain Announces Public Partners

Getting Artists Paid: dotBlockchain Announces New Partners

Daniel Sanchez

February 1, 2017

Image by BTC Keychain (CC by 2.0) dotBlockchain proves music publishers and organizations are searching for a music industry alternative. The dotBlockchain Music Project (dotBC) started with interesting goal... Read More...