This post is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark as a new part of the Spark of Genius series that focuses on a new and innovative startup each day. Every Thursday, the program focuses on startups within the BizSpark program and what they're doing to grow.
Working against the notion that most online music startups are dead on arrival is newcomer Soundtrckr.
The young startup breaks all the rules; it offers listeners unlimited streaming access to 10 million songs on the web, across a smattering of mobile platforms and soon the television. Plus, Soundtrckr has social and local components on lockdown -- you can listen to the "stations" of friends or people nearby. And it costs nothing. No subscription fees, no mobile surcharge, no ads, nada. So, where's the catch?
Soundtrckr takes the similar artist, algorithmic playlist selection model that Pandora uses and has song skip limitations, so it's not of Spotify's or Rdio's on-demand ilk.
But rarely do the adjectives free and good go together to describe a single music service. Soundtrackr is an exception. It's already growing fast in the U.S. and overseas -- 35% of users are spread across the U.K., India, Brazil, Germany, France and Mexico. It's also nearing 500,000 users just three months post launch.
Soundtrckr hits at the cross section between mobile, social and local in a fresh way, creating new conditions for success, founder and CEO Daniele Calabrese tells me.
"You can tune into your friends, tune into what's nearby, and tune into discover music. That's what it's really about," he says.
"We had two choices," says Calabrese of the startup's debate between the only two legal options available for a music startup: to forge streaming deals with music labels or work with a third-party music provider. "We went with the option that brings the largest and richest experience to our users."
Soundtrckr uses MediaNet, the same company that powers MOG's music offering, as its music database. MediaNet delivers ten million tracks, with 20,000 new ones added each week, and Soundtrckr delivers the user interface and performs the algorithmic magic on-the-fly to create playlists based on artist selections.
MediaNet's services are far from free. "The arrangement is sustainable for a startup," Calabrese assures me.
Soundtrckr has raised $800,000 from private angel investors. That's not a lot of dough, but it's enough, according to Calabrese. Soundtrckr is looking at raising more funding in the next quarter to help finance growth, and to likely offset music streaming costs. No word yet on how much and from whom.
The startup plans to skip ads and subscription fees for the time being. Revenue, instead, will (hopefully) come from a recently cemented partnership with Songkick that will add concert ticket sales integration to Soundtrckr's mobile applications in May.
"There are ways to bring in revenue and still bring value to users," says Calabrese. "We want to create the best conditions, so [bringing in revenue] doesn't hurt the experience."
This means that the experience will remain entirely ad free, for now. Calabrese is against the idea of forcing users to pay to remove annoying features (like ads), but does indicate that he's keeping a close watch on mobile advertising opportunities.
Already on the web, iPhone, iPod Touch, Windows Phone 7, Nokia, and in the Chrome Store, Soundtrckr is readying the release of several more applications and new features in the weeks ahead.
First up is the obligatory integrations with Twitter. Soundtrckr is not the social music experience it seeks to be without these integrations. Calabrese promises that users can expect the social add-ons to come to the iPhone application and the website next week.
A Google TV Soundtrckr application could be released as early as next week as well, and iPad and Android versions are also in the works.
The applications will be soon be everywhere, but they'll also be ubiquitous in language as well. Soundtrckr is currently available in six different languages: English, Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese and German. Russian and Japanese versions are scheduled for release in three weeks time.
The startup is aggressively targeting multiple distribution channels and international audiences because it believes those two factors will combine to create a cataclysmic effect that propels it to immediate popularity.
"We're going to grow fast," says Calabrese confidently. "You will hear more about us."
Images courtesy of Flickr, (e)Spry, chiarashine, lism
Series Supported by Microsoft BizSpark
The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark, a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today.
Working against the notion that most online music startups are dead on arrival is newcomer Soundtrckr.
The young startup breaks all the rules; it offers listeners unlimited streaming access to 10 million songs on the web, across a smattering of mobile platforms and soon the television. Plus, Soundtrckr has social and local components on lockdown -- you can listen to the "stations" of friends or people nearby. And it costs nothing. No subscription fees, no mobile surcharge, no ads, nada. So, where's the catch?
Soundtrckr takes the similar artist, algorithmic playlist selection model that Pandora uses and has song skip limitations, so it's not of Spotify's or Rdio's on-demand ilk.
But rarely do the adjectives free and good go together to describe a single music service. Soundtrackr is an exception. It's already growing fast in the U.S. and overseas -- 35% of users are spread across the U.K., India, Brazil, Germany, France and Mexico. It's also nearing 500,000 users just three months post launch.
Soundtrckr hits at the cross section between mobile, social and local in a fresh way, creating new conditions for success, founder and CEO Daniele Calabrese tells me.
"You can tune into your friends, tune into what's nearby, and tune into discover music. That's what it's really about," he says.
Outsourcing the Music, Holding the Ads
Soundtrckr uses MediaNet, the same company that powers MOG's music offering, as its music database. MediaNet delivers ten million tracks, with 20,000 new ones added each week, and Soundtrckr delivers the user interface and performs the algorithmic magic on-the-fly to create playlists based on artist selections.
MediaNet's services are far from free. "The arrangement is sustainable for a startup," Calabrese assures me.
Soundtrckr has raised $800,000 from private angel investors. That's not a lot of dough, but it's enough, according to Calabrese. Soundtrckr is looking at raising more funding in the next quarter to help finance growth, and to likely offset music streaming costs. No word yet on how much and from whom.
The startup plans to skip ads and subscription fees for the time being. Revenue, instead, will (hopefully) come from a recently cemented partnership with Songkick that will add concert ticket sales integration to Soundtrckr's mobile applications in May.
"There are ways to bring in revenue and still bring value to users," says Calabrese. "We want to create the best conditions, so [bringing in revenue] doesn't hurt the experience."
This means that the experience will remain entirely ad free, for now. Calabrese is against the idea of forcing users to pay to remove annoying features (like ads), but does indicate that he's keeping a close watch on mobile advertising opportunities.
Music, Everywhere
First up is the obligatory integrations with Twitter. Soundtrckr is not the social music experience it seeks to be without these integrations. Calabrese promises that users can expect the social add-ons to come to the iPhone application and the website next week.
A Google TV Soundtrckr application could be released as early as next week as well, and iPad and Android versions are also in the works.
The applications will be soon be everywhere, but they'll also be ubiquitous in language as well. Soundtrckr is currently available in six different languages: English, Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese and German. Russian and Japanese versions are scheduled for release in three weeks time.
The startup is aggressively targeting multiple distribution channels and international audiences because it believes those two factors will combine to create a cataclysmic effect that propels it to immediate popularity.
"We're going to grow fast," says Calabrese confidently. "You will hear more about us."
Images courtesy of Flickr, (e)Spry, chiarashine, lism
Series Supported by Microsoft BizSpark
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